2 surprises both not nice

[chesters1]

i have had 2 surprises today the worst one is i am being made redundant (lack of funds for university etc)

my job consists of 3 elements

1) safety testing all the departments mains powered devices (lasers,p.c`s,coffee machines everything mains powered) this will be contracted out.

2) making prototype p.c.b`s (a job i love) this will be finished.

3)repairing equiptment damaged by students ,this will be contracted out.

unfortunatly i got this job in september ( i had it for 5 years prior to being homeless) so no legal fightback.

2)my Phil waller "fishing reels ,collecting for all"arrived today took Hammics 5 weeks to get it ,not one mention of intrepid although they were formed in 1953 DOH!

what a crap day.

at 48 am i over the hill ,can i survive the dole???

[chesters1]

i see on the cover of the book " volume 1 " is there a volume 2??????????????

[Newt]

chesters1 - major rotten news. Been there. Not fun at all.

 

However, I was 56 when it last happened. Major downsizing when I was on day 87 of a new job with a 90 day probation period so they could let me go easily.

 

New job isn't the easiest thing to find but it can be done.

 

Wife just went thru the same thing and is in her late 40s. Took her longer a her background was pretty specialized and she had to get creative and look for jobs she could do but were not the normal ones she first though of looking at.

 

I do have to say that things were tight financially and not much fun for a bit since the above events happened within the same year.

 

I did get a lot of fishing in while looking for a new job though. And I absolutely love internet job search engines and the fact you can send an application request and resume via email.

[John S]

Sorry to hear that chesters1

 

I was made a doley late last year, and have been trying http://www.employmentservice.gov.uk since then, though personally I get better results from sending spec-letters!

 

You'll find a new job soon enough mate, just enjoy the extra fishing until then

[peter morton]

Chesters,bad luck mate

Any chance of going self employed and tendering for the two elements of your job that they are going to contract out i suppose :confused:

Peter.

[chesters1]

no the pcb work is extremly specialised as i was working almost on the impossible (using archaic equiptment )it would cost thousands to set up a company and the work depended on how good the students were (if i trained them right the artwork didnt need fiddling with) .we bought a £10,000 pcb mill that ground out the tracks down to 0.2mm within a week the boards presented were at 0.1mm (i never even used the mill) so back to using lights and ferric chloride

as for the safety testing it must be the worlds worst job ,just trying to get a academic to switch off his p.c was a week long negotiation i shant miss that part of it.

[chesters1]

interesting it wouldnt let me post with the < showing

[chesters1]

when i tried to post the <0.1mm bit it refused.

[Alan Taylor]

peter morton:

Chesters,bad luck mate    

Any chance of going self employed and tendering for the two elements of your job that they are going to contract out i suppose   :confused:  

Peter.

You beat me to it Peter, I was going to sugest the same thing or failing that, go to the firm that gets the contract and apply for a job with them, even possible on a sub-contract basis.

 

Chesters1, I am realy sorry to hear about the job and just wish I could help. I have been there as have lots of others and I know, that does'nt help either.

 

Alan(nl)

[chesters1]

when i meant "contract out" i meant internally ,all departments have safety testers ,if their job description is the same as mine it will read (safety testing as required )this means they have to safety test wherever their told (as i do) when i first started i tested 3 floors ,i now do the whole department and others,so some underpaid overworked smuck will have my testing to do as well :mad:

unfortunatly he wont get anymore money just more work,i found it impossible to keep up with it whilst doing the other parts of my work,he will find it impossible also.

the repairs will go to another workshop to increase their work ,whilst mine will be closed down (the engineering workshop was closed last year)

my two accomplicies who work in my workshop ,one has been made a "research officer" and the other a "experimental officer" they have been there for 20 odd years so are much more expensive to get rid of.

 

when i started in 94 there was 11 full time staff in the four labs and workshop + 3 trainees (they spent 3 months in each department learning) now there are 5 and no trainee`s ,do you want to send your kids here? the equipment is from the ark but at least we pay lots for out head of departments whims (new carpets for his whole floor)imported from america for over £200,000 most of it needing replacing after 3 years due to students walking on it