L33_WRX

My brother is an experienced panel beater (approx 8 years) who can do pretty much anything body repairs wise, jig work, various types of welding etc

He was laid off the other day and is thinking of getting away from the Panel Beating thing and starting something else.

Can anyone make any suggestions of other careers his panel beating experience could relate to?

He is looking to start something new and lives in the Bristol area.

Cheers

PaulC72

General fabrication, shopfitting {on metal side}, if he can work with any metals, weld, etc he may get on with that, many moons ago my father was a guard maker using sheet metals and he moved into general fabrication too so is can be done.
It has been a while since I dealt with any companies in Bristol but a search around should find some

The only thing he may need to learn is reading drawings, this isn't all that hard

L33_WRX

Cheers! I'll mention that to him

L33_WRX

I think he will have to put a time limit on looking for another career otherwise it's back to panel beating

sti-04!!

The industry is crying out for good panel beaters. I have been looking for a decent one for the last 6 weeks, i need two painters & two coachbuilders as well to complete the bodyshop team. Struggling to get decent guys that actually want to work.
PM me if he fancies a change of surroundings to sunny Scotland

The Zohan

Hi there,

Sorry to hear he has been liad off.

Couple of things.
Does he enjoy panel beating?
Would he like to carry on in this line of work?
If not, then waht can he do or does he fancy?
Has he got the time and finances to cover himself whilst he retrains.

I would be suprised if general bodyshops are that badly hit by this recession as they rely on insurance work, it is not like tpeopl;e will stop having accidents and winter is coming up fast.

Suggesty that if tha naswers to my first two questions are 'yes' then maybe he looks around the area for work in the same line.

Good luck to him

L33_WRX

cheers for the comments everyone - will give him something to think about. I think he's fed up of grafting sometimes 12 hrs a day for what he sees as little pay. He basically relied on bonus payments for getting jobs out much quicker than they should and never getting any reworks - he wants a decent / reasonable basic rate of pay I think

The Zohan

I know a few panel beaters, good ones earn good money - at the right companies/places anmd alway seem to be in the pub before me!

Maybe worth him looking into classic/restoration work if he is well skilled maybe aircraft restoration.

Paul

chrisUK300

iTrader: (10)

Could he not go self-employed. Something like a mobile dent repairer?

Neil..

iTrader: (35)

Bodyshop estimator..?

Insurance engineer..?

The Zohan

Current climate may be a bit of a downer as people tend to go this route if they have cash to spare although a lot of dealerships use them to removes dings prior to sale. Need to look carefully into the area offered to ensure it is really worth it. IMHO of course