How do you get an apprenticeship?
Way back when, it used to be that if your father was a tradesman, you'd almost always automatically get trained in that trade, so you could carry on the family business when the time came.
And if your father didn't run a business, your parents would come to some sort of arrangement (almost always involving finances) with someone who did, who'd not only take you on as an apprentice, but also pretty well as one of the family too, feeding and clothing you throughout your apprenticeship.
These days the usual way is to look through apprenticeship vacancy postings both on and offline, put in your application, wait for an interview invitation ... and keep your fingers crossed from there on in.
There are other ways, too, like walking in off the street and selling the proprietor of a business on the idea of taking you on as an apprentice - and on the idea of a fairly substantial grant from the government if you do get taken on.
But here's a little heartwarming "how do you get an apprenticeship" story from Down Under, where the men are super-macho and they wouldn't be seen anywhere near anything as sissy as ... er, dolls?
It's all to do with the Brisbane Doll and Teddy Hospital.
It's been going since the early 1940s, and the current proprietor, George Georgiou has been refilling bodies, replacing joints and other parts of much-loved companions since 1977.
But once he hit 65, he started thinking that he needed to step back to give his own joints and other parts a bit of a rest, especially since he'd been reminded of his own mortality when a good friend passed away.
But all of the Hospital's customers worried about what was going to happen if George wasn't there to look after their dolls and teddy bears.
So ... who to hand the baton to? It was impossible to find the right person, because it wasn't just about the skills George needed to pass on. He was looking for a certain attitude - the same kind of passion he himself felt for the job.
But he couldn't find anyone suitable.
That was until George's long-time friend delivery driver Laki Augustakis dropped by to deliver some food he had ordered ... and we'll let Laki take up the story from there.
“One day he said he was ‘busy, busy, busy’ and could I help him, because I had a background in construction. I didn’t know what I could do, but I said yes and one day led to another day to another day and here we are.
“My friends are stirring me up now asking me how my dolls are today. It’s not a career I would have thought of, but life throws these things at you and you should grab them with both hands. There is never a dull moment here.
"You’re always doing something different. The best thing is when you hand the doll back and you someone’s eyes light up.
"You hear a story about a doll and how much it means to a person and when they get it back, the thing that they love is back with them. It’s always a happy moment.”
It seems that the master has found his apprentice, but we'll leave the last word to Laki.
“There are so many dolls heads and parts around that you start to get a bit blasé about the creepiness of it...but if they ever talk to me, it’s time to go."
