16th September 2004, 04:23 PM
Oxbeast,
My contribution was a general comment. Of course the abilities and speed of learning curves of graduates vary from individual to individual, and joining a smaller unit might not be a disadvantage to an inexperienced digger. Thinking about it more, I suppose smaller units and projects might be more beneficial for the trainee in that they're not going to get lost amongst a mass of site staff. They will be working amongst a smaller team, which might be more conducive to learning. You might be put in a small team of highly experienced people, amongst whom you can learn at a brisk pace. I'd still maintain that a structured tuition programme for a graduate would be hard to achieve with a small unit. Such opportunities do arrive occasionally when things become quiet in the field - "down time". But under these circumstances, smaller units usually have to lay off field staff, and those laid off are likely to be the less experienced members.
My contribution was a general comment. Of course the abilities and speed of learning curves of graduates vary from individual to individual, and joining a smaller unit might not be a disadvantage to an inexperienced digger. Thinking about it more, I suppose smaller units and projects might be more beneficial for the trainee in that they're not going to get lost amongst a mass of site staff. They will be working amongst a smaller team, which might be more conducive to learning. You might be put in a small team of highly experienced people, amongst whom you can learn at a brisk pace. I'd still maintain that a structured tuition programme for a graduate would be hard to achieve with a small unit. Such opportunities do arrive occasionally when things become quiet in the field - "down time". But under these circumstances, smaller units usually have to lay off field staff, and those laid off are likely to be the less experienced members.