Getting a job as a mechanic, own tools?

Greyfoot

Ladies and gents just wanted to ask you whether one still needs his own tools to get a job as a mechanic in the green Isle. I remember 10 years ago one must had his own hand tools at a bare minimum to work in garages and constructions as a carpenter too and was wondering if things were the same.


Any input is appreciated.

biko

I had a quick look at job sites and some jobs do indeed state "own tools".
Suppose it depends on what outfit you work for.


Example
https://www.blackstonemotors.ie/about/careers/

Qualified Motor Mechanic / Technician – must be fully qualified
Individuals must have their own tools, however work-wear will be provided.

Blueshoe

Yes. Definitely need your own tools. Not uncommon for lads to have giant snap on roll boxes with thousands of euro worth of tools for every occasion.

A middle of the road box would do grand though

BDI

Most trades want you to have hand tools and supply power tools.

Most jobs will have payment schemes if you have no tools from theft or whatever.

Greyfoot

Thanks for the input, guess I'll need to save up a few more quids before moving back to Ireland.

biko

Maybe start by getting a few interviews before splashing on tools. You might not need to buy tools.

khaldrogo

I can't think of any reason why a qualified mechanic wouldn't have his own tools tbh???

Hellrazer

Greyfoot wrote: »

Thanks for the input, guess I'll need to save up a few more quids before moving back to Ireland.

A lot of the tool companies allow you to pay for tools weekly. Thats how most of my lads got their big huge snap on trolleys.
Mind you half the tools aren't used anyways. A decent mid sized box with a good range of tools will serve you well. And if you do come home pop me a PM Im always looking for qualified technicians.

Greyfoot

@khaldrogo

Maybe because I am abroad at the moment?

@Hellrazer

PM sent!

Blueshoe

Hellrazer wrote: »

A lot of the tool companies allow you to pay for tools weekly. Thats how most of my lads got their big huge snap on trolleys.
Mind you half the tools aren't used anyways. A decent mid sized box with a good range of tools will serve you well. And if you do come home pop me a PM Im always looking for qualified technicians.

Is there as much of a shortage of technicians these days as they say there is?

Interslice

Blueshoe wrote: »

Is there as much of a shortage of technicians these days as they say there is?

Word on the street has it that kids these days dont want to do any physical work.

Blueshoe

Interslice wrote: »

Word on the street has it that kids these days dont want to do any physical work.

I used to be in the trade myself. Left it about 4 years ago. Back then the workshops were struggling to find lads and apprentices.

Obviously nothing changed in that short space of time

enumbers

2 months looking for someone decent here with no joy. Offering decent rates but getting very little in the way of worthwhile applicants. Too many easier ways to make a living.

greasepalm

With todays take home pay is peanuts and sometimes struggle to get cars in the door,its not as busy as 10 years ago and with more diagnostics done now will your machine talk to car.
New generation of electric cars will need its own tools and safety protocol ,and just heard if your gaff has water sprinklers and electric cars.????

Hellrazer

Blueshoe wrote: »

Is there as much of a shortage of technicians these days as they say there is?

Its a disaster trying to get anyone these days.

Blueshoe wrote: »

I used to be in the trade myself. Left it about 4 years ago. Back then the workshops were struggling to find lads and apprentices.

Obviously nothing changed in that short space of time

What happened was when the recession hit no one was taking on 1st year apprentices--now that had a huge hit on new technicians coming through and everyone is looking to get mechanics from a much smaller pool than there used to be.

enumbers wrote: »

2 months looking for someone decent here with no joy. Offering decent rates but getting very little in the way of worthwhile applicants. Too many easier ways to make a living.

Im the same --cant get anyone decent no matter what we offer.

greasepalm wrote: »

With todays take home pay is peanuts and sometimes struggle to get cars in the door,its not as busy as 10 years ago and with more diagnostics done now will your machine talk to car.
New generation of electric cars will need its own tools and safety protocol ,and just heard if your gaff has water sprinklers and electric cars.????

Take home pay for a technician has rocketed. We`ve offered 40k + bonus and still cant get anyone.

But you see you have the likes of the tyre centres employing unqualified lads working on cars and that's destroyed the training processes that used to be essential to work on cars.
Years ago to work in one of these you needed to be a qualified mechanic having served your time.
Then theres the NCT. I know lads straight out of their time who go to the NCT amd earn decent enough money for very little work--well physical work anyway.

Ive said it before on here and that's the industry needs certification like Gas and Electrical installers. And it needs to happen before an untrained person kills them self working on high voltage systems without the proper training.

enumbers

Hellrazer
All Sounds very familiar to what im seeing. Average guys are going into nct or into factory jobs as they haven't got either the skills or the drive to learn enough to progress there career and have given up or you have the skilled driven lads who end up pushing on and do ther own thing in the black economy.

Midnight_EG

Last place I was in offer 46k + bonus, and a car with overtime and still hasn't hired anyone. For a Master Tech.

TheBoyConor

It is all foreign nationals nowadays and an irish apprentice is very rare thing to see.

scamalert

Midnight_EG wrote: »

Last place I was in offer 46k + bonus, and a car with overtime and still hasn't hired anyone. For a Master Tech.

I know many lads that ventured to make their own cash on their own time, some highly qualified in their areas, and they would have no bother making ends meet doing repairs side jobs, flipping cars etc.


Thou in same manner since many small garages sprung up there's a lot of amateurs who dont have proper skills, and do half arsed jobs, that one has to be aware of these days.

Thou with apprenticeships it was sort of mandatory to get your own tools, most would do it as they knew it would serve them in other jobs, even thou likes of Snap-On costs a ton for even basics.

stratowide

Just stumbled into this thread by chance.

I worked as a mechanic for about 25 years. Hgv/construction plant mainly.
Gave it up about 3 years ago as the money was ****e for the work you were doing.
Also was just sick of it really.

Work now as a clerk in an office.Got trained in about a week and was proficient after a month.
Took me 5-10 years to become fully confident/proficient as a mechanic..!
Get paid more as a clerk though.

I see some of the posts here saying 46k plus bonuses..is that a car mechanic or what..?

Last mechanic job I applied for was €600 gross per week about 3 years ago.
Didn't take it.

Are mechanics scarce these days.?

On bringing your own tools question.Anywhere I worked I always had my own hand tools.
Sockets,spanners,screwdrivers,1/2 impact gun etc.
Anything bigger the garage usually had their own supply of tools.

fryup

its one tough job ...Ed China has a lot to answer for making it look so easy,

"i'll just give this troublesome nut a squirt of easing oil and it will come off"

but its not like that in real world is it

Toyotafanboi

It's a tough one because mechanics, or at least ones that are any use are very thin on the ground at the moment but at the same time the wages really arent increasing in proportion to the demand. One or two outfits are starting to offer reasonable rates but plenty are still only offering mid 30's to lads with diagnostic tech certs and mid 20's for a general tech which is shocking really.

khaldrogo

Greyfoot wrote: »

@khaldrogo

Maybe because I am abroad at the moment?

Did you not have tools before you left??

uck51js9zml2yt

A question..why on earth would a company think it's ok to employ someone to do a job as an employee, not a contractor and not supply the tools needed to do the job.

It's their customers, their business and their profits on the back of the employee who provides them with the tools used to work on their customers cars.
It really looks like a scam.
It's like asking me to pay for the computer and phone I use in work.

greasepalm

It has always been that way start with nothing then build up basic tools and bigger boxes and garages usually have their own special tools to service branded cars.40 years later and still looking at tools is infectious.

Captain Slow IRL

Hellrazer wrote: »

.... We`ve offered 40k + bonus and still cant get anyone.....

Where is that garage based?

I left the trade a few years ago due to the recession, retrained for a different industry and don't think I'd go back now. I worked for a few main dealers and never came close to that figure - don't even mention a bonus!

@OP - I've worked in a few garages and none supplied tools with the exception of manufacturer specific tooling. You had to pay for your own with no help from the employer. And try machinemart.co.uk - they ship to Ireland for a reasonable rate and have some very competitively priced tool boxes and tools.

greasepalm

I see a few German roll boxes with tools for less that e400 on face book.

swarlb

Captain Slow IRL wrote: »

Where is that garage based?

I left the trade a few years ago due to the recession, retrained for a different industry and don't think I'd go back now. I worked for a few main dealers and never came close to that figure - don't even mention a bonus!

@OP - I've worked in a few garages and none supplied tools with the exception of manufacturer specific tooling. You had to pay for your own with no help from the employer. And try machinemart.co.uk - they ship to Ireland for a reasonable rate and have some very competitively priced tool boxes and tools.

It's funny this... I'm 'semi retired' from the motor trade, after 35+ years. I have my own workshop, and I do a few days a week for friend in his repair shop.
All of my career was at main dealerships. I packed it in a year or so ago, simply because I got tired of dealing with customers, and the constant conversation between owner and customer as to 'how much everything costs', and 'I'm making no money'
After a while away, I did apply online for a few 'mechanic wanted' jobs that popped up online.
NONE replied, not one, not a single response. And this is from someone who started when cars had points and condensers, and diesel engines had mechanical injection, and were usually found in vans or trucks !!!

After a while I put it down to age.

Greyfoot

@greasepalm

It`s time to re-register on facebook I guess, sleeping much better since "I got off the grid" lol

@swarlb

Too right mate, grown up working on carburetted cars and diesels that ran like a bag of nails. Somehow I ended up working in a garage where we restore classics, so back to the roots again, I enjoy it very much.

@khaldrogo

Knock it off will ya?

the_syco

greasepalm wrote: »

I see a few German roll boxes with tools for less that e400 on face book.

I'm assuming that these were on a liquidators Facebook page that were selling them at 80000000000000000000000% off? I'd doubt those tools would be any good for regular work, tbh.

Hellrazer

Captain Slow IRL wrote: »

Where is that garage based?

I left the trade a few years ago due to the recession, retrained for a different industry and don't think I'd go back now. I worked for a few main dealers and never came close to that figure - don't even mention a bonus!

Its in Dublin and to be honest that's around the norm for a mechanic these days>

swarlb wrote: »

After a while I put it down to age.

That's strange. Id have snapped someone like you up. You cant pay enough for knowledge of someone in the trade that long.

Del2005

Jairo Wrong Sarsaparilla wrote: »

A question..why on earth would a company think it's ok to employ someone to do a job as an employee, not a contractor and not supply the tools needed to do the job.

It's their customers, their business and their profits on the back of the employee who provides them with the tools used to work on their customers cars.
It really looks like a scam.
It's like asking me to pay for the computer and phone I use in work.

For the same reason why kitchens rarely provide chefs with knifes or builders don't give trowels to brick layers. The job requires you to have tools, so to work in the trade you need to have your own tools.

The bigger reason maybe that stuff that supplied free tends to go missing more than stuff that's bought by the person.

The lads out buying Snap-on are just gobsh1tes who pay too much as most tools are lost, borrowed and not returned, than break.

uck51js9zml2yt

Del2005 wrote: »

For the same reason why kitchens rarely provide chefs with knifes or builders don't give trowels to brick layers. The job requires you to have tools, so to work in the trade you need to have your own tools.

The bigger reason maybe that stuff that supplied free tends to go missing more than stuff that's bought by the person.

The lads out buying Snap-on are just gobsh1tes who pay too much as most tools are lost, borrowed and not returned, than break.

That's like saying the sky is blue because it is.

stratowide

Del2005 wrote: »

For the same reason why kitchens rarely provide chefs with knifes or builders don't give trowels to brick layers. The job requires you to have tools, so to work in the trade you need to have your own tools.

The bigger reason maybe that stuff that supplied free tends to go missing more than stuff that's bought by the person.

The lads out buying Snap-on are just gobsh1tes who pay too much as most tools are lost, borrowed and not returned, than break.

I'd always buy mid-range price when buying hand tools etc.Not s**te but not snap-on either.
Most tools and end up getting lost or borrowed never to return.

Especially if you are out on sites or on the road doing breakdowns.
Vice grips were like curry to a piss head.
Couldn't keep them under enough locks.

Dr Turk Turkelton

This be any good to you op?
Most things you would need in this and not badly priced.

https://www.hls.ie/shop/hand-tools/tool-kits/teng-tools-1001-mega-master-tool-kit/

Captain Slow IRL

Del2005 wrote: »

..... The job requires you to have tools, so to work in the trade you need to have your own tools..........

I'm in a factory at the moment and all tools are bought for anyone that requires it - electricians, fitters, engineers, etc. Anything and everything they need is supplied.

fryup

^^^^^^^^^^

and what's the name of that place?? i presume the cost of tools is taken out of your wages??

stratowide

fryup wrote: »

^^^^^^^^^^

and what's the name of that place?? i presume the cost of tools is taken out of your wages??

It's probably a tool allowance or something similar.Not uncommon in factories.

When I worked in garages/workshops they would usually replace any broken or lost tools at no cost to me.
Usually from travelling salesmen types.

That said you would be expected to supply your own tools on starting.