Motorbike maitenance/repair courses, for the "older" person, lol

can any1 advise me on the above?

now i may be looking for something that will be an entry into the motorcycle buisness etc for full time work etc.

had look at some courses but they state for 16-18 yr olds and gotta have english maths etc, i have got english and maths but they are cse’s old style, lol.

realise wont be till next september now but that will be fine as changes are on the way here.

i am in se16 so as close as poss but realise might have to travel, the 1 i read was for lambeth which would be cool.

Cheers, John

In my past I’ve attended and passed a couple of those forthe unemployed courses, and quite frankly they weren’t worth the price of thepaper the certificate was printed on to a potential employer. So my advice toyou is go visit a couple of bike shops and just ask if they were hiringmechanics what qualifications would they be wanting on the CV? That way you canaim for a piece of paper that is actually worth your time trying to earn.

As for essential prior qualifications for a course, if you arereally serious about going back into education for something higher than a CSE thinkof them as the first hurdle and go to night classes and go get them. Level oneCSE equals grade C of the old GSE but sometimes you still have to start on thelowest rung of the ladder and at least the getting of the GCSE’s gets you backinto being a student again. Which can be a system shock to us oldies.

yeah was thinking of going the bike shope route, maybe work for nowt for a while in aim to get job there etc.

Cast your eye over http://www.trainingandcourses.com/all/motorcycle-maintenance-and-repair-courses/default.html

Not being funny, but I think that is why the collages wantyoungsters to be on these courses because they haven’t the life experience torealise when they get put on work experience (without wages) they end up doinga full time job (sans reward).

What I meant by talking to someone in a shop was I’ve gotqualifications for electrics, electronics building… and they are worth jack toan employer who demands better on your CV. I wouldn’t want you to spend moneyon a course they won’t even look at.

Don’t be put off by those “minimum entry qualifications” clauses.

For us more mature types, that’s a physical measurement not necessarily a mental one, the providers can show a lot of flexibility. Remember that it’s bums on seats they need so they might need you as much as you need them. Go see them and give it a try. Just be prepared so you can convince them that you are experienced and serious.

Having been both a part time lecturer and a part time mature student, having an older person (i.e. over 30) in the class can be a real asset when the rest of the group are mainly teenagers with nowt on their mind except their hormones.

Merton College have probably the country’s best motorcycle mechanics/engineering training dept - http://www.south-thames.ac.uk/FP929/Motorcycles_at_Merton

with the exception of when i applied for a job at chiswick honda, no workshop has ever cared about my qualifications. they are more worried about time on the tools, experience etc.

back when i was building race cars for a living, we had a lad join us, full on engineering degree etc. he didnt last a week, as for example, it took him 3 hours to diagnose a blown fuse for a tail light bulb…

i think nearer the time i will be onto as many bike shops i can find and see if their hiring etc, maybe on minimum wage to leanr etc and maybe get a job full time after.