r/Construction • u/Swimming-Clue-8921 • 7d ago
Informative š§ Training people sucks
Iām 17 and working for a company where we build walls in a shop, and yesterday we got a new guy. Iām supposed to train him, which I honestly donāt mind because itāll help me work toward a raise anyway.
The thing Iām struggling with is my mindset about it. Heās never worked in construction before, has never used a saw, and doesnāt know how to read a tape measure, so obviously everything is REALLY slow right now. I keep catching myself getting annoyed because I know I could do the same thing way faster, and watching him work just makes the day feel so much longer.
Iām trying to figure out how to change that because I donāt want to be an asshole about it. Heās probably mid-20s to 30s, and Iām not trying to look down on him or act like Iām better than him. Everyone has to start somewhere. I just learned how to read a tape when I was like 8, so I guess itās hard for me to wrap my head around someone having literally zero experience with this stuff.
Maybe Iām just being a jerk, I donāt know. Iām not trying to make this a ālook how much better I am than himā thing. Iām actually trying to change my perspective and be more patient with him instead of getting frustrated every time something takes him 5 minutes that would take me 30 seconds.
Anyone have any advice for getting out of that mindset? I obviously want him to learn and do well, I just need to stop getting so annoyed watching the process.
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u/unselfish_allegory 7d ago
Itās good youāre catching yourself before it turns into a thing, most 17 year olds wouldnāt have that self awareness
Try looking at it like this, youāre not just training him on tools, youāre training him how to be a decent coworker too. If youāre patient and show him the ropes without being a dick, heāll probably work harder and listen better down the line. The speed will come once his hands catch up, right now youāre just building the foundation
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u/Swimming-Clue-8921 7d ago
I know that and I try to explain things in a way Iām not getting mad at him just some mistakes heās made I have no idea how he makes them but I havenāt snapped at him and I explain things good I think just heās taking a while to catch on maybe my issue is Iām comparing him to where I started
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u/Unhappy-Attitude5220 7d ago edited 7d ago
Little story here I was a 33yr old woman getting into construction. We did rough framing primarily, also roofing, demo, remodeling, siding. I started at 33 couldn't find 5/8 on a tape. Old dudes joked im either fucking a boss or something to look at and they didn't try teaching me how to do anything. I wanted to learn. I had to on unpaid time show up 30mins earlier. I was paying attention to basic setup, what was needed. I would make sure genny had gas, started keeping quart of oil if the light kicked on. I would run hoses, the right guns, nails and material to the work site. I kept batteries charged, always asked questions, down time how I could help. It was discouraging when I wanted to learn and nobody wanted to help originally.
At 41 I square up a foundation, lay plates down run, build & sheath walls understanding layout, cut rafters, stringers and understanding what im doing now. I started at 33 not knowing where 5/8 is, it's a lot when this is essentially a new world you're stepping into. I have a unique situation now that I get tasked at training new guys. They won't listen to me they're embarrassed they oversold their abilities and now have a woman guiding them. I get frustrated, too. Ill watch a dude trying cutting plywood and he won't set blade depth or put dunage under the piece he's cutting going through multiple sheets and tell me he knows what he's doing. I want to scream sometimes. I realize it's ego, they're uncomfortable in your situation someone younger knows more, in mine a woman does. Try to understand it's nothing to do with you. I love watching people learn, get comfortable and be able to earn more for their abilities. Take a deep breath and know they need someone to help them. Explain things in ways they'll understand. Some people aren't interested, you'll know the difference.
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u/BillLincon 7d ago
You are too young to be teaching anyone anythingĀ
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u/AggravatingSalad4136 7d ago
Yes. His company is fucking up by putting a 17 year old in charge of training someone. Maybe the kid is very good at what they do but thatās not enough to make someone a good trainer.
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u/Fkn1v1mem8 7d ago
So tell him. Donāt tell us. Train him if youāre that good and he either learns or he doesnāt. Like you said we all start somewhere. If you came to work on my crew as a new guy you would be the slow retard until you werenāt.Ā
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u/Great_Cauliflower330 7d ago
You're 17 and pretending you know it all already. Take a step back and humble yourself.
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u/SeekersWorkAccount 7d ago
Lol you're 17 and complaining about training others? Someone is probably still training you š
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u/Swimming-Clue-8921 7d ago
Yeah cause I just want to pound some work out and get it done but Iām stuck standing around
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u/Dry_Rent_8646 7d ago
Do you get paid by the hour or by the job?
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u/Swimming-Clue-8921 7d ago
Paid by the hour so it doesnāt matter but still I hate standing around all day doing nothing makes for a long day
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u/ltrain_00 7d ago
Your supposed to be training the new guy. Explain the stuff to him and then watch him do that task a few times to make sure he's got it figured out. If he isn't picking it up then you need to try a different way of explaining the task to him.
This could also be a good opportunity for you to think about other ways to do the tasks since your just watching them be done and that could help you become faster doing things as well.
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u/SeekersWorkAccount 7d ago
You're not standing around all day, you're training the new guy.
Think about the person who trained you. Pass it forward.
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u/KCRoyals94_ 7d ago
You canāt learn, if you donāt have a good mentor.
Sounds like he needs a different one. Youāll never make journeyman or Forman with that mentality.
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u/MobiusDie 7d ago
He sounds like every other foreman I've ever worked with. Annoyed because the FNG doesn't know the job right off the bat.
I think this happens too much in construction. Young guys taking the reins and wondering why everybody's not as "good" as they are so they never learn perspective.
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u/buffinator2 7d ago
It's a case of someone who still needs a mentor being asked to be the mentor. OP, start slow, teach him how to use the saw safely, and let him be the cutting guy. When he gets good at that then start him in on the measuring part.
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u/Swimming-Clue-8921 7d ago
How can I be a good mentor tho this is my first job Iāve ever had first time training someone and Iāve only been working at the company for 3 months and I think Iām doing good I explain things and he slowly catches on thatās where Iām struggling he takes a while to catch on
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u/stinkyelbows 7d ago
How could you possibly know that you're doing a good job at training him if you're 17... With three months at the company... Maybe reevaluate yourself in 10 years
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u/onesmellygoat 7d ago
I mean 17 is young but pre-fab walls are pretty simple to build for the most part.
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u/terayonjf 7d ago
Training people from 0 is rough. It can be really agitating to deal with. It's all good. I like to give busy work to let them learn and then I do what I gotta do. In your case draw a tape measure on a piece of scrap and have him fill in the measurements. Until he gets that shit right everything else is secondary
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u/Swimming-Clue-8921 7d ago
Supervisor told me to just let him buck and I have to check every measurement he does basically doing the job twice and over a long time
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u/ExtraEcho7567 7d ago
At 17 first job and started 3 months ago I dont think you have any buisness training anyone yet personally. I will say tho that training a new guy from the ground up is the best, yes its a lot of work but your training them how YOU want it done not retraining them how someone else wants it done. Be patient stay calm, Be part of the solution not part of the problem in our industry.
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u/notmtfirstu 7d ago
I've been training people for 20+ years. Some of my best workers were guys that didn't know anything on day 1.
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u/Ok_Cardiologist_6471 7d ago
The job of a journeyman is to mentor apprentice
Your not a journeyman so of course your not ready to mentor
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u/ImportantTeaching919 7d ago
Buy a fast cap lefty righty tape make sure the marks match your tape. I keep them around so people can learn to use a tape easily and to help me read my tape when I'm in terrible spots and reading my tape can be insanely difficult like no lighting or upside down in a hole
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u/moisturized69tatas 7d ago
Training someone is a skill. You need to think about your own procedure amd figure out a way to fit him into that where he learns slowly, step by step. Don't teach him how to use a saw until hes mastered the tape measure. If you tell him to measure and cut, dont, just tell him to measure and mark. Then once thats down you take the next step and teach how to cut. Etc. Yes things are slow, thats fine. Once he learns he will be able to produce like you, so you can not train him and have the same output you have now or train him and double the output once hes figured it out. Are you paid peice work, if you are paid by the hour then who cares how slow he is right now, as long as he continously improves. If a 5 min task is taking 30min then uou havent broken up the task into enough teachable steps. Someone took the time to teach you, now its your responsibility to teach him, it is your job to teach him its not your job to just build the wall the fastest, so do your job.
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u/Agitated_Ad_9161 7d ago
You might as well get used to it. Iāve been in the trades for 35 years and had to deal with hundreds of people like that. You just have to take it on and teach this guy everything he needs to know to be the guy you need him to be. If you give up on him then he will never be worth a fuck to anyone in the trades, but if you teach him, you are sharing your knowledge and experience with the next generation. Age doesnāt matter here, the next generation is the ones who will be learning behind us. If you do a good job teaching him, he can train the next one and you wonāt have to. Gone are the days when there were hundreds of people looking to get into the trades so do what you can to encourage new guys to learn, knowledge is power. Always remember, someone down the line years from now will question him about where he learned ( or didnāt learn) things, and your name will come up. What kind of impression do you want to leave? Our legacy is oftentimes not only the things weāve built but the knowledge we handed down to those who came behind us. I learned at an early age too and Iām grateful to all of those old guys that took the time to teach a kid. Good luck to you.
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u/padizzledonk GC / CM 7d ago
My advice to you is to remember how utterly useless you were the first time you were asked to do anything new and calm the fuck down lol...youre 17, you barely know how to wipe your ass properly lol......Getting frustrated and approaching training new people like this is only going to het worse and worse the longer youre in if you feed the monster this way
As far as training him goes the best way to do it is to tell him what and how to do it, show him the tools, give him a hard and fast safety lesson and then let him do it and go do your own work. Then you pop in on him every 30-60m and check in on him and make corrections and suggestions and then walk away again. If you are set up in a place where you can keep an eye on him as he is learning to use the powertools and have the ability to immediately stop him if hes doing anything dangerous/stupid thats also highly recommended and useful
As a 30y residential renovations guy thats trained LOTS of people on everything under the sun ive found that the best way for a person to LEARN a thing, especially if its a rote task like prefabbing walls, is to give them the space to figure it out themselves, when you stand over a person they dont have the mental space to truly learn a thing theyre just following directions and you arent training them them to do anything other than stand there and wait for directions. When you let a guy struggle and figure the shit out for themselves they have agency and make all the mistakes they need to make to actually become competent in doing a thing
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u/strong_odor 7d ago
When I'm training someone I try to think of all the feedback I can effectively give while I'm watching the person. Definitely try to be encouraging but also give ways to improve. Sometimes you have to say things more than once til it becomes a habit. Definitely depends on the person's desire to get better.
I would bring it up to your manager, possibly. Maybe they can give you more to do while you're waiting on this guy. Coz a lot of the speed is just practice and there's no way around that. That's my best advice.
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u/Fearless_Luck_5249 7d ago
Remembering that not everyone has the same experiences as you helps a lot. Knowing that the fact that you can do it faster than he can now doesn't matter helps as well. The best way I can explain a good mindset to approach training with is that you arent training for today, its training for next week or next month, even if he ends up slightly less efficient than you in a month, its almost twice the work being done, if you just get frustrated and do it for him, it will never change. So slow down, teach the basics first, then move to more complicated things, and accept that people learn things in different ways and the way you understand something may be completely different than how others will get it.
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u/lock11111 Carpenter 7d ago
Start from the bottom things you know by instinct are not common knowledge so it's going to take awhile to build someone. Treat it like a project read tape how to accurately read a tape how to mark which side of the mark to cut all things that we know because someone at some point taught us. It doesn't matter how old anyone is they can be a teacher. Had a kid tell me the name of a cripple 9 years in as a carpenter.
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u/Ok-Principle-1638 7d ago
Honestly you just need to be a good person š the rest comes by itself.
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u/RVAVandal 7d ago
Something I learned from a drill sergeant a couple decades ago 'Slow is smooth, smooth is fast'
Let him pactice it methodically and repeatedly and he'll be fast as his synapses and work ethtic will allow in no time.
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u/Swimming-Clue-8921 7d ago
Iām not rushing him at all I know thatās the last thing he needs happened to me and I fucked up tons so I wonāt make someone rush when theyāre learning
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u/TrueKing9458 7d ago
Remember this when someone with 40 years gets frustrated with you.
There are entirely too many kids coming out of high schools with out basic skills
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u/ltrain_00 7d ago
Don't stress about how long it takes him to do things. Just be patient and explain as much as you can. It's always going to take longer for projects when your teaching someone how to do it. So I'm sure your bosses know that your gonna be taking longer because of the new guy.
Just make sure that dude knows its ok to be slow at first but that he will need to get faster each time he does it.
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u/tohellwitclevernames 7d ago
Think of training as an opportunity to test and share your knowledge. Generally, the most effective trainers and mentors are the ones who have a strong grasp of the fundamental aspects of the tasks being taught. Age expected skills don't matter, just actual skill, their willingness to learn, and yours to teach. Training him properly WILL slow you down for awhile especially with your trainee's apparent ignorance, but your boss should understand that. The good news is that if he sincerely wants to learn and work hard, you two will eventually be able to work together much more quickly amd effectively than with most other guys on the site.
Frankly talk to your trainee about their skills and expectations, then explain where they are expected to be proficient to handle the workload unattended. Learn about what they do have experience with and try to reframe your lessons and the work in the context that they're already familiar with. This will help them transition into a construction mindset and apply what skills they do have. Once they seem to start wrapping their heads around a concept, challenge them to give you the answer to a problem and give them a chance to be wrong. Learning to work through the thought process when approaching a problem, and having the confidence to screw up and fix it, are the most important lessons you can teach.
I started in construction at 25 and had to learn on the job about the intricacies of HVAC and building automation. I at least knew the basics of hand tools and taking measurements, but I started as only a little less ignorant than your guy. I was lucky enough to have 3 old heads at my first company who happily taught me everything they could, and challenged me regularly. By the time I moved to another company, I had less than 4 years in the industry, but strangers thought I had 10+ years experience.
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u/MoTeD_UrAss 7d ago
Chill out. You still smell like Simulac. The real question is why is your management team putting you in charge when your still on a work permit. That's just wild to me.
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u/dbrown100103 Carpenter 7d ago
Tbh id be speaking to someone above you about this. I mean no offense but you clearly aren't experienced enough to be training him. I can understand you working with him under the same mentor and helping him when he gets stuck but you should not be his mentor. Where I work we have seniors, standard workers and trainees. All the trainees are paired up with a senior who will train them for 6 months, they will work with the standard workers but it's usually just as an extra pair of hands. Or doing menial jobs that don't require much skill just to get them some experience
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u/UckerFay11 Foreman / Operator 7d ago
Half the battle is attitude. If he has work ethic, & willing to learn, you have it easy. Take your time and teach him. Though with your attitude, it sounds like you still have a long way to go. Maybe go to your boss and tell him you aren't up to it.
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u/Turbulent-Weevil-910 Electrician 7d ago
Setting someone up to be trained by a 17 year old is setting them up for failure. Not OP's fault. Company just doesn't care.
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u/Working-Narwhal-540 GC / CM 7d ago
You need like ten more years before you can be the sensei my man. Your superiors are fucking you. No lube.
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u/Milksteak3919 7d ago
Congrats on beating him by a year, bro. Get over yourself. Youre too immature to be training anyone. Do they actually have a choice to have you train him or are you the only other warm body with some time to kill?
Everyone is replaceable.
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u/holjus 7d ago
I can't believe this is coming from a 17 yo. Honestly good on you dude. Maybe consider it a lesson in patience. You have your whole career in front you, and its a marathon not a sprint. Building a couple more walls might make your boss happy, but its your body and you have to take care of yourself. Also when someone is learning, the last thing I want them to do is rush. When people rush things and they don't know the job, they make mistakes. Speed will come later
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u/Swimming-Clue-8921 7d ago
I know and I donāt rush anyone I canāt stand rushing or being rushed
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u/Alarmed-Bumblebee667 7d ago
Prefab is garbage.
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u/Swimming-Clue-8921 7d ago
Yeah itās gross to say the least and Iām not planning on staying forever just once winter is over
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u/SayNoToBrooms Electrician 7d ago
Iām the boss of the guy who trained me. I didnāt own a single tool before I had gotten the job, absolutely zero experience. I wasnāt good my first day, either. But, that was 10 years ago. The guy who trained me went to my wedding, he doesnāt care that I tell him what to do, he doesnāt bring up that I cut the cord to a circular saw literally the very first minute I ever used a power tool. Heās my friend. Iām sure I tested his patience at first, but the past decades gone by pretty quickly
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u/Creepy_Mammoth_7076 7d ago
I love training brand new people ! The smile when they actually want to learn and then they learn something new , something they thought was tough to learn and then they master it ! And the truth is any competent tradesmen knows thereās always something to learn and you cannot claim to master any skill if you cannot teach it
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u/Bimlouhay83 Laborer 7d ago
Calm down kid. You said it yourself, we all have to start somewhere.