I’ve just been made redundant 😥 but am facing it like a chap.

Embracing change, I thought I might get some training in bike maintenance, as I might be able to find an agreeable job and, even if I can’t, my bikes are an important part of our domestic economy and repairs aren’t cheap.

Cytech two seems to be the standard, and a very nice man is phoning me back next week about it. I’d like to be prepared, as I’m not a quick thinker. Because I’m slightly long in the tooth for an apprenticeship, does anyone here have any knowledge about funding courses for employability and the like? It’s £1200+VAT. I’m seeing the Jobshop about signing on (and to correct all my errors on the impenetrable online JC+ application form) but I’m told they’ll only fund how-to-turn-on-a-computer type courses.

I am making sensible job applications, by the way, but the dream of a life of honest poverty, working in a bike shop fiddling with suspension forks, gives me a warm glow.

working in a bike shop fiddling with suspension forks, gives me a warm glow.

For £7p/h

According to her in doors (who is an advisor at said job shop) they sadly won’t fund to retrain, but will fund additional training in the field that you have worked in.

PeterPoddy on here is on a similar journey i.e. getting Cytech qualified after redundancy. I’m sure he’ll pop up on this thread.

Irish_AL – Member

According to her in doors (who is an advisor at said job shop) they sadly won’t fund to retrain, but will fund additional training in the field that you have worked in.

Fortunate for the OP that he’s been working weekends for my bicycle repair business. 😉

Irish_AL, allthepies and sbob, thanks.

Greeble, my wants are many, but my needs are modest.

It depends on your age, have a look on ATG Training and it says about it on there I think. Crap wages working in a bike shop I’m afraid, but lots of tea.

PeterPoddy on here is on a similar journey i.e. getting Cytech qualified after redundancy. I’m sure he’ll pop up on this thread.

Hello! 🙂

Nope. You won’t get funding for it. Forget it. It seems anything to do with cycling simply isn’t on the radar at the Job Centre. It baffles them because they don’t have a drop down box for it on their computer.
That said with a bit of luck they are going to pay 25p/mile for my travel to Aylesbury and back for 2 weeks, which will be the best part of £300
But because I’m “not available for work” my job seekers allowance was stopped. Which riles me a fair bit.

A word on the course itself: it’s fantastic. Do it! But be prepared: there’s a fair amount of assumed knowledge, you really do need to know one end of a bike from another and be fairly competent before you walk in there. If you can strip and rebuild a bike you should be fine, you’ll learn how to do it properly. The wheel building was my favourite bit and you have to build 3 wheels for the assessment during the week. I did 5 including some high end road wheels. Loved it. There was one bloke who struggled like hell with the wheels though. If you can true a wheel you’ll fly through it, if you can’t, but you’re of a mechanical bent, it’ll fry your brain but you’ll learn a lot.
Also, I was slight dubious about lumping £1500 for a two wheel course but, by god, it’s worth it! The kit you get to play with is frankly astonishing. It’s certainly worth the money, if just for the bit where he dragged out all this lush Campag gear and let us fondle it. 😉

Oh, and don’t listen to those that say Cytech isn’t worth it, or a mechanic only earns £7/hr 🙄
If you want to do it, then do it. You won’t regret it, and you’ve gotta have the qualifications these days. 🙂

Do you have any spare space in your home to set up a little workshop? That way you can advertise in the local paper and people can bring bikes to you.

What also works pretty well is setting up a stall at your local market.

That way you get the full wage, and you don’t need to a qualification. You will need to know your stuff though. A bad reputation travels much faster than a good one! Cytec is useful, but i’ve worked with some crap mechanics with Cytec, and some fantastic mechanics who’ve just learnt on the job.

I did the same thing, redundancy, retrain, Cytech quals etc. Haven’t regretted it one bit and all of what PeterPoddy said is bang on. For me the wheel building beat me like a ginger step-child…but still very much worth it. If you’re doing it with ATG then I’d do it at Aylesbury, personally I thought the teaching there was better than Manchester (when it was there), but that was just for me and the way I took the info in. Either place you go will still attain the same qualification and you’ll be taught by extremely knowledgeable guys.

There’s another guy you can go to for Cytech Quals as well so have a shop around; alternatively you could look at Cycle Systems too. Not sure if everyone here would agree but it seems to me that Cytech is not as well regarded in the cycle industry as people think, just ‘some’ employers require it for various reasons – Either way, good luck mate and you won’t regret it at all.

there was a guy doing it last year when i did mine who had it paid for by the job centre. think it took a bit of negotiation on his part but they coughed up in the end. there was another guy who had got some funding to do some kind of diploma/btec type course that he had managed to incorporate cytech into aswell and that was all being government funded. both had been made redundant and were retraining. that was only last september.

cytech seems to be the industry recognised qualification and alot of insurers require it for public liability insurance and also give a discount if you are cytech qualified. as bristol says, just because you’re cytch qualified doesnt make you a good or even competent mechanic. practice and experience does that along with the correct mental attitude.

Couldn’t you just get a job at Halfords & see if they would send you on the course ?

What exactly does Cytech teach you…?
I mean, I can strip & rebuild a bike, rebuild & bleed brakes, rebuild suspension forks etc. With the greatest of respect its not difficult. I’ve never had any training, just a set of tools & a love of taking mechanical stuff apart to see how it works. If your going to open your own bike repair business, do you actually need this certificate…
Just sounds a lot of money that might be better spent on tools, eqpt etc.

Halfords aren’t recruiting anywhere right now. Believe me, I’ve looked, and I also know one of our local Halfords lads who says the same. But they will take you to Cytech 3 if you can get in there.

Just to reiterate, please don’t think I’m belittleing those who have worked bloody hard to get this Cytech Qualification. Can’t help but think it’s like the energy assesor thing, an opportunity for a few canny training companies to cash in. 😕

to be honest there isnt much i couldnt do but my insurance wanted me to have the certificate so i did it. if you can already do gears, brakes, facing bb’s and headsets and build wheels then unless you need the certificate then its a waste of time in my opinion especially the first few days (cytech 1). that said, the guys there were brilliant and i did learn a few new ways of doing things.
if you can already do the everything but just need the cetificate then you can just do the assessment.

Oh, hadn’t thought about it being a requirement for insurance. Good point. My company are just starting a bike to work scheme, but what concerns me is the service I’ve “endured” from some LBS’s over the years. If they make it a requirement that we buy locally I doubt many would come away with a good experience. 😥

unfortunately there are some shit bike shops around. there are however some great ones. traditionally customer service has been a massively overlooked aspect of the bike trade. poeple get too caught up on the technical aspects and forget about the whole reason that they should be doing it. you shouldn’t be running/working in a bike shop just because you love bikes. It is important but not the be all and and all. i know loads of people who love bikes but have no people skills at all. the whole point of working/running a bike shop for me is to be able to pass on my enthusiasm and knowledge to others who are thinking of taking up the sport or just want to find an alternative way of getting to work. being friendly and helpful costs nothing.
but we digress. 😀

Just to reiterate, please don’t think I’m belittleing those who have worked bloody hard to get this Cytech Qualification. Can’t help but think it’s like the energy assesor thing, an opportunity for a few canny training companies to cash in.

I’d think that. 🙂

Most big chains and reputable stores will insist on training to C2 standard at least. Is a (sad?) fact that if someone assembles a bike and gets it wrong then someone could get hurt, and the shops need to cover their asses by having a traceable system in place, a system that begins and ends at the bloke assembling the bike. If he’s trained, and reliable not just a bodge merchant, then that’s as much as you can do.
Sure, there’s good, unqualified mechanics. I was one. But I learned soooooo much in those two weeks. It’s all about improving yourself. Some people pooh-pooh that and say the training is worthless. Fine. I disagree. I was a reasonable, self taught wheel builder, but I’ve improved and learnt a massive amount just because someone with knowledge and the enthusiasm has trained me. Yes, there’s better wheel builders than me, but that’s not the point. I’m now a fair bit better than I was, which IS the point!
Plus, I’ve got a sniff of an actual job now, and I have no doubt that getting training has helped.
Diss it if you like, but it’s a rather short sighed thing to do. 🙂

I’d think that.

Bad typing and too late to edit! Should say:

I didn’t think that 🙂

The wheels you built me are still good Peter. I’ve still not ridden them mind….

This is great. Thanks to all.

The wheels you built me are still good Peter. I’ve still not ridden them mind….

LOL! If they’re ever any problem, let me know. 🙂
(They shouldn’t be. I can’t break my own wheels….)