I am a mega caffeine addict like i’m sure many of yous are too, I’m a fiend for dare iced coffees and monsters. Recently I tried some caffeine pouches / snus that I found on Amazon and really enjoyed them. This got me thinking about if I was missing any other ways to stay caffeinated? While I love a drink, I don’t like having too many because then I constantly need to piss. Are caffeine pills any good?

I.e the job holding the stop/go sign. I'm aware that it is night time hours, with long periods of standing on your feet in the freezing cold. I think I can handle all of that. Is there anything else I should be aware of before doing the training?

Edit: I didn't ask for your opinion about me being on Centrelink. I have a job and I'm not a dole bludger, I'm not on Jobseeker.

Hi, I’m wanting to start an electrical apprenticeship as a mature age apprenticeship (currently 24). I’m applying to start my cert II in electrotechnology either this year or the start of next year (it depends on whether or not I have to move areas and change jobs). I’m just wanting to know if there’s anything else I should do/get as I’m not entirely sure if anything is different for mature aged apprentices other than the wage.

I do understand that getting my cert II does not automatically make me an apprenticeship and that it’s just a career start, but I would also love any advice I can get for applying/looking for apprenticeships after I get my cert.

I know chances are that I won’t be starting until I’m about 25/26 depending on when I can do my cert II (I live in a small town, so unless if I wait until next year I will have to move towns and change jobs versus just changing jobs as I do a 7/7 roster currently), but honestly I just wanting any advice as it’s better starting late then never.

Thank you in advance.

How do We get in front of Tier 1 CA s to present our capacity? seems they just not interested ..? We do Bespoke metal work and anything screwed to a building packages. We already work for Mult iplex and Bu ilt and some others . eg Len d lea se are closed shop , b md , Jo hn h . how do we bait these important humans to give us time. Tried Linkedin and Email and Phone to reception . the thing is once they use us they want us on every job just busting the Gates down is hard??

I’ve got a bunch of tradies coming to put up some house frames next week, about 5 guys. They’ll be here all week but I was wondering if there was something I can do to be hospitable in a way they’d appreciate. Hot water urn with tea and coffee on a table & snacks? I don’t want to just dump stuff out there and it goes to waste but I would like to offer something just as a gesture. Also tell me don’t even bother if it’s just going to be a waste of my time 😅

Hi crew, can anyone share other options of banks to operate with a trade business? I've been using COMMBANK for the last few years and they are making things really tough as I have a couple different business names for different businesses and I have moved addresses also and everytime this happens, they think is oK to block my account which I use veryday until I update my details, I had enough.

Has anyone tried with digital banks or keep trusting old school banks? thanks, appreciate any input.

Just doing a google search on Seek and Indeed I see one Drywall/Plastering apprenticeship? I don't know much about the trades and am going into it. Is it because other trades now do majority of drywalling/plastering? Has it become too specialized. Dumb question

Wonder if you guys would be interested in learning about a lesser known trade that isn’t plumbing or being a sparkie. I’ve been an estimator for a commercial stonemason company for 1-2 years and an estimator/contract admin for a bespoke one for 4-5 years.

Feel free to ask me anything about the industry, I’ll try to answer it to the best of my knowledge.

I’m at work so I might be a bit slow with my replies.

Hey yall I have 6 7 months background in mig welding abroad , I came to Australia last year . Had an opportunity cutting and hammering for a welder 1 day it was satisfying work hitting metal with hammer. I was wondering what fields you could dive into if hammering metal is satisfying. I googled but didn't have any finds with this specific idea

I’m trying to get started as a mature-age apprentice carpenter in SEQ and could use some advice.

I’ve already completed an apprenticeship in another trade, so I’m not completely new to working on the tools. I’ve applied for a lot of carpentry apprenticeships but haven’t had any luck so far.

Would it be worth showing up to building sites and asking if I can do a free one-day trial to prove myself, or is that generally frowned upon these days?

Also, are there any good labour hire companies or apprenticeship agencies in South East Queensland that are worth contacting?

Any advice from people who’ve been in the industry would be appreciated.

My experience with Sydney Tools.

This post is simply to document what happened during my recent purchase.

Part 1 – My original Click & Collect order

This was my first time purchasing from Sydney Tools.

On the early morning of 25 June, I saw a Sydney Tools promotion and immediately placed an online Click & Collect order for over $1,000 worth of Makita tools.

Shortly afterwards, I found a Hikoki kit priced at around the same amount. Since both kits suited my needs, I realised I actually preferred the Hikoki kit instead.

I looked through my online order but could not find any option to cancel or request a refund, so later that morning I contacted Sydney Tools' online customer service and specifically asked whether my uncollected order could be refunded.

The online customer service did not answer yes or no. I was simply told to contact the store directly.

That afternoon, I visited the store. While I was there, I purchased the Hikoki kit for over $1,000.

After completing the purchase, I followed the online customer's advice and asked the store staff how to refund my original uncollected Makita order.

Again, I was not told that the original order was non-refundable. Instead, I was told to contact head office.

By then, head office had already closed for the day.

The following morning (26 June), I contacted head office. I was told to contact the store instead. After hanging up, I felt something wasn't right. I couldn't understand why I was being sent back and forth between the store and head office without anyone giving me a clear answer.

I called again and repeatedly asked the same question. Only then was I finally told that Sydney Tools does not offer refunds for Change of Mind purchases.

By that point, I had already spent more than $2,000 across both transactions.

If I had been clearly told by either the online customer service or the store that my original order could not be refunded, I would never have purchased the Hikoki kit before making that decision.

Part 2 – Refund during my second purchase

While purchasing the Hikoki kit, I noticed that one drill bit I expected to cost $69 had instead been charged at $197, so I requested to exchange it.

The staff processed the exchange and informed me that my reward points would decrease from $200 worth of points to $100 worth of points, even though the final value of my purchase still met the promotion threshold for the higher reward points.

I accepted this.

What I Noticed

After this experience, I noticed several things.

• During the online ordering process, there was no obvious indication that Click & Collect orders were not refundable for Change of Mind. The only place I later found this information was buried in the Terms & Conditions, which customers would have to actively open and read themselves.
• When I specifically asked whether my uncollected order could be refunded, neither the online customer service nor the store gave me a direct answer. Instead, I was repeatedly referred between the online team, the store and head office. I was only informed that the order was non-refundable after I had already completed my second purchase.
• Throughout the process, obtaining a clear answer about the refund policy was unnecessarily difficult. Rather than receiving a simple "yes" or "no", I was repeatedly redirected between different departments, which meant I only learnt the actual policy after spending more than $2,000.
• Reward points earned from online purchases and in-store purchases are managed separately and do not appear to be synchronised.
• Even though my original online Makita order has never been collected and remains active, I still have not received the reward points associated with that purchase as of today.

After everything that happened, I have decided that I will never shop at Sydney Tools again.

The financial loss itself is something I can recover from. What I find much harder to accept is the amount of time, effort and unnecessary stress I went through, all in an attempt to save a relatively small amount of money. Looking back, it simply was not worth it.

In the end, I spent over $2,000, ended up with products I had never originally intended to buy, lost part of the reward points I expected to receive, and still could not obtain a refund for my original uncollected order.

For me, no discount is worth putting yourself through this kind of experience. I would rather pay a little more somewhere else than spend days dealing with uncertainty, multiple departments, conflicting processes and unexpected outcomes.

What I Learned

After spending over $2,000 and going through this experience, here are the lessons I learnt.

• If you're buying from a retailer you haven't used before, spend a few minutes reading their reviews and refund policy first. I had previously shopped at stores like Bunnings and Total Tools, where I never had to think twice about after-sales service. I wrongly assumed every retailer would operate in a similar way.
• If you're buying from Sydney Tools—or any retailer you're unfamiliar with—take a defensive approach. If there's any chance you may want to change your order, make sure your previous order has actually been cancelled and refunded before purchasing something else. Don't assume you'll be able to sort it out afterwards.
• Don't let a discounted price push you into making an impulse purchase. Even if the product itself is identical, the buying experience and after-sales service can be completely different. Sometimes paying a little more elsewhere is worth avoiding days of frustration and uncertainty.

In the end, Sydney Tools won.

I paid around $1,000 for a lesson I won't forget.

From now on, I'd rather pay a little extra to buy from a retailer I trust than save a few dollars and risk going through this again.

This post is simply a factual account of my personal experience. Others may have had different experiences, but this is exactly what happened in my case.

I work 5 days a week casual as a labourer, i want to upskill but i cant find any weekend courses for EWP working at heights, ect, how do other people even do it? All these courses, even short ones only seem to run on weekdays and during work hours.

What do you reckon is the easiest or quickest way to get a labouring job?

I'm a 27 year old 2nd year that quit in January after my boss came to my house and tried to fight me, I went back to being a farm hand at my old job and took a break but now I want to get back into it.

I've got all my own tools and ladders already and want to try just rocking up to a few sites and asking around tomorrow.

Feel I could annoy some people but hear me out. I am 27 and a mature aged apprentice (aircon). My pay is terrible and because of the amount of fuel I use and bills I have to pay I just don’t save any money. Some weeks I’m actually in the negatives. Plus I feel way behind in life compared to all the people I graduated school with, it’s like I’m doing what they did at 18 now. When I qualify I will be 30 (which is scary), and only then will I finally be on a good pay. So I sit here thinking, are these 4 years even worth it? Should I just go be a truck driver and use my money to travel the world or something? It’s a lot quicker to get to good money as a truck driver. I couldn’t imagine doing this any older than I am now. Opinions thoughts?