No problem, dude. Drop me an email or something if you have any questions.

Hello Mark. Thanks for getting in touch. Great question. I can only advise you on the tower crane aspect, because that's what I know. Although, I imagine it's much the same with other categories, like mobiles and crawlers. There are a couple of options. You could get your red card, then apply to agencies as a priority over crane hire companies. There are agencies out there who take on red cards. Another option is to apply for in-house training or apprenticeships. That way, once you've passed, you're guaranteed work within the company, providing you see the probation period through, if there is one. Select and HTC are the 2 main companies that do this. They used to be apprenticeships but is different now. For example, HTC pay for the course and you pay them back a certain amount each week out your wages. So, the site contractors who tend not to allow red cards on site, do allow operators from these companies because they're reputable, and because of the programme they provide, in terms of quality training, mentoring, shadowing, etc. You could also do the slinger work for a while, for a company that have their own cranes, then apply to operate their cranes once you have the ticket. At least then, you're in the door and have inside knowledge of the landscape. I think all crane operators should have some prior experience as slingers anyway, and vice versa. And at the end of the day, buildings will always be going up, so I don't think people will ever be out of work too long. Sometimes in life, you just have to take this risk and make the leap. If you get your ticket but struggle to find work for a little while, at least you have something to fall back on. Plus, you also have a crane ticket under your belt. It gives more options. I hope that helps. Please do let me know how you get on.

@CCcranelife Are all crane layouts the same ? There's nothing worse than jumping onto a bit of kit and not knowing how to operate it, lol. And is it possible to get work abroad? To be honest, that's the main reason I want to do it, I want to escape this hell hole in the next couple of years and thought this could be the way out. I did consider mobile cranes, but I'm worried about working over 60hrs a week , travelling to work, travelling to site, travelling back, travelling home and so on

@@Mark.Claughton The controls for the motions are pretty much all the same. Although some controls have progressive movement for the speed, whereas others have the gears that click. Although the motions are the same, most cranes feel different. They operate different. There are differing speeds, the deflection varies, the screen layouts might be different, etc. Mostly it will depend on the manufacturer and what configuration they're in. Yeah, it's possible to work abroad. I don't know how much work there is out there, though. You can check on crane forums for that. You'll also easily do over 60 hours on the towers as well as all the travelling. That's one downfall of the job, unfortunately. But yeah, at least if you're not staying away, you haven't got the extra travel of going back home.

@CCcranelife if u have to do 60 hours plus a week , I'm guessing it's the same for slingers. That would be hard graft in the pissing down rain all day, slinging up loads.

@@Mark.Claughton Yep 😆 I often wind em up. Especially in the winter. I tell em I've had to turn the heating down coz I'm too warm.