Thatching Apprenticeship : By Tom
Please note: We do not currently have ANY apprenticeship vacancies
Back in 2005 I was just starting my second year of sixth form when it occurred to me that I wasn’t really interested in the subjects I was studying or the job prospects it offered. In fact sixth form just seemed to be a next logical step to take after my GCSE’s. After thinking about what I wanted to do I decided I wanted to work outside and I wanted to make something with my hands. The sort of professions that came to mind initially was things like carpenter, bricklayer and slate roofer. But I wanted to do something a little more specialist than this so I started looking at the traditional crafts like dry stone walling, blacksmithing and thatching. Thatching struck me as the most interesting.
I wrote letters to every thatcher within reasonable travelling distance informing them that I was interested in becoming a thatcher and that I would love to do a few days work even if it was unpaid. I hoped to get an idea of whether thatching was for me and maybe a few job offers. I ended up doing a few days work with various thatching companies including Rumpelstiltskin who offered me a job.
Doing my apprenticeship with Matt and Dave has been great. There are not many employers you can go out and have a few pints with and actually enjoy yourself. Even if they do talk about straw most of the time! They are very fair and it always feels like you’re treated on an equal level rather than as an employee. I’ve learned a lot about the tradition and regional styles of thatching in Oxfordshire from them, which sadly a lot of thatchers I have met seem to have no real interest in.
As part of my apprenticeship Matt and Dave paid for me to go through the thatching college in Knuston (Northamptonshire). This is the only thatching course in Europe and maybe the only one in the world. 
As a result it sometimes has apprentices from outside of the UK attend. The college was great for meeting other apprentice thatchers and seeing how they do things in different areas of the country. It was good to try things out which I might not get a chance to try on a customer’s roof. Testing theories and trying out ideas there has changed the way I approach thatching a roof. I found the college tutors to be a wealth of knowledge and I’m applying a lot of the things they taught me to my work on the roof.
However, the college course felt as though it was poorly funded as there was often a shortage of materials. My course had six people on it and it was the only course to run for two years. It seemed there was a real lack of thatchers willing to send their apprentices there because of the costs. Some of the apprentices on my course paid their own fees and received no wage from their employers whilst they attended. I think this is a bit of a shame because the course helps to maintain good industry standard and a lot of apprentices are unable to attend.
I feel lucky to have served my apprenticeship with Rumpelstiltskin and I wouldn’t want to train with anyone else if I had to do it all again.
Note from Rumpelstiltskin: Tom completes his apprenticeship with us after four years in March 2010. Tom gained his NVQ in thatching in October 2009. Congratulations Tom you have worked and studied hard.