I was given an offer of employment letter for an apprenticeship, should I sign it or

You have to strike a balance between looking after you’re own interests and doing as you would be done by. It’s not unreasonable to ask you to sign for something starting in a couple of weeks. Perhaps read what you’re committing to by signing, to see what the situation is if something you prefer comes up and you want to leave. Or speak to the apprentice provider about your concerns on gender diversity and agree a latest decision date. I would also assess how much you want the apprenticeship and if you’re lukewarm let it go and keep hunting. Something else will come up

You have to strike a balance between looking after you’re own interests and doing as you would be done by. It’s not unreasonable to ask you to sign for something starting in a couple of weeks. Perhaps read what you’re committing to by signing, to see what the situation is if something you prefer comes up and you want to leave. Or speak to the apprentice provider about your concerns on gender diversity and agree a latest decision date. I would also assess how much you want the apprenticeship and if you’re lukewarm let it go and keep hunting. Something else will come up

Only you know how being in a male dominated environment will affect you, but it’s not always what you imagine it to be. I did my first graduate job in an industrial flour mill on a dock. I was the only female in a the team and often worked night shifts. The guys were great and really looked after me, helping when I had no idea what I was supposed to be doing and taking the blame when I made mistakes. It’s not because an industry is male dominated that the workforce is definitely sexist. Do what you feel is right for you but don’t write something off due to do preconceived ideas. Things are changing.

Only you know how being in a male dominated environment will affect you, but it’s not always what you imagine it to be. I did my first graduate job in an industrial flour mill on a dock. I was the only female in a the team and often worked night shifts. The guys were great and really looked after me, helping when I had no idea what I was supposed to be doing and taking the blame when I made mistakes. It’s not because an industry is male dominated that the workforce is definitely sexist. Do what you feel is right for you but don’t write something off due to do preconceived ideas. Things are changing.

There is no office on the construction site so where would I be? At the reception desk? That's fine because as an administrator I am booking orders and speaking to customers, so surely that means customers are going to come in? I don't want it to be somewhere where no one comes in but by the looks of it people could visit or may not. At the same time it doesn't seem like that because I may not be on ground floor I may be on first floor or something so does that mean I speak to customers on the phone?

I was always immature in school and you could say I am now. People in their teens especially in secondary school get boyfriends/girlfriends, sit next to the opposite gender like it's nothing. Some people were like me, they didn't like sitting with boys. I only had crushes and I am always sick and can't fend for myself because of it so I didn't get a boyfriend and I used to turn away from boys and act like they aren't human in years 7 and 8, saying I am the only girl on the table and it embarrassed me etc. Boy girl boy girl order in mixed secondary schools used to make me feel awkward too. By year 9 I got used to it but it doesn't mean I accepted it.

I know that in male dominant trades they are encouraging women to join, but can you tell me if you know about any female dominated trades?

Things are changing but in my religion (Islam) we believe that things like murders and things will increase over time and eventually lead to the end of the world and judgement day. It just worries me. These things can happen anywhere of course.

There’s no easy answer, trust your instincts and follow your heart.

I start on 3rd April 2023 and I was hoping saying yes to the training provider gives me a lot of time to change my mind without signing anything, but on Friday they gave me documents and things to do to sign up and I need to make up my mind of whether to sign it or not, I was hoping I wouldn't commit to anything and I could go for interviews and see if I get one because it's not guaranteed that I will get one.

Read the contract small print. It’ll say in there if there is a penalty to pay for quitting early. There shouldn’t be for an apprenticeship though. If there’s no penalty, then accept, send them paperwork and continue looking. If something better comes up then make your excuses and withdraw from the other role. Eg you could say i found another role I like more, or: I changed my mind and would like to withdraw, or the commute is not viable. Lots of reasons for withdrawing.

I haven't even received the contract, it's just a small letter like one document from the manager saying I have an offer of employment. Read what I said about travelling above if you have time.

Ok just read it. In your case i would speak to the company and see if they can make adjustments to help you manage your disability. If they can and you’re happy with it, you can accept as per before. If they can’t then simple, quit. Then if job centre asks then tell them i tried to make it work but the company could not accommodate my disability.

And for future roles don’t bother applying if there’s something like this that wouldn’t work cos it’s not worth getting stressed over. I admit i’m guilty of applying for jobs I don’t want then i panic when i get offered them and i feel obliged to take them, but im gonna try harder to only apply for stuff i like now.


I hope this helps.

I didn't know they wanted me to go to Kent until the interview stage. I also didn't know that they didn't make the Aldgate site yet. Why advertise it for Aldgate when the building is not made yet and will most likely be made next year?

I have to be quite close with my parents because of my disability and health problems so my mum tells me to tell them if the site is made in Aldgate then to contact me but obviously the job is going to go by then but I don't really care because it's male dominant and I probably won't feel comfortable working with mostly men.

Donno why they do it. Don’t worry about it. You don’t have to explain yourself to me or anyone else on here.

i had a job offer for london but when the contract came through it said welwyn. Really annoyed me. Luckily in the end they don’t make me to to welwyn. I do my office days in london. If the role sounds ok and only the location is an issue you could see by asking if this is something they can compromise on. If they can’t then it’s a non starter tbh, and you should just withdraw/reject them.

They actually accommodated to my disability and they said the site I was thinking of is not the right address, they are saying Chiswell Street is in Aldgate, it's not. They combined both addresses and mixed it up. Aldgate is in E1. I know my postcodes even though I can't travel. They said that it's in E1 1ST but offer of employment says Aldgate and then Chiswell Street EC1Y. Even then, it's not in E1 1ST, because the location isn't even on the map as the building is not made. The training provider says Chiswell Street is near Aldgate Station and it's 20 minutes away checking from my house, Chiswell Street is 57 minutes away, Aldgate is roughly 20 minutes away. Then they realised after persisting a lot and speaking to 2 people about it, the manager and the training provider who doesn't live in London. They apologised and they said I don't need to go to Chiswell Street, I go to the other site that is easier to get to but also in central London but that was only a suggestion because they didn't want to delay my apprenticeship but now they said I don't need to go to that either and I can just go to the Aldgate site when it's built so I accepted.

Good stuff! Glad you got it sorted! Now see what other offers you get if they are closer/better. If nothing else materialises at least u can do this one now!