My question is to the original poster who seems to have enough 1st year apprentices but cant seem to be able to hire 2nd to 4th year apprentices. Why dont you train your 1st years and grow them to second, third & fourth year apprentices?
I have some experience in this area and what I am hearing is that many first year apprentices quit because of the way they are treated, especially in GA. Many GA companies hire apprentices purely as cheap labour, without really considering that they are required to train these apprentices. By the way, that's why they get paid lower wages, as they are, in a sense paying for their training. If you want to hire someone to clean up after the LAMEs and do general work around the hangar, hire a TA or hangar rat and pay the going rate, which is much more that an apprentice. While I understand and don't disagree with the concept of "paying your dues", training must still be acomplished under the tutelage of an experienced LAME. This often just does not happen, many LAMEs have the attitude of "I learned the hard way, you must too". This attitude is quite prevalent today. Business pressures also tend to push training into the category of, I just don't have time for it.
Taking on an apprentice requires a company to commit to a contract of training. Many companies forget this almost immediatly. I have had many apprentices, former apprentices and LAMEs confirm these things to me. If you are going to take on an apprentice, make sure you have the resources to do it. Identify a LAME or LAMEs who "desire" to pass on their knowledge and experience to the apprentice, dont throw them to the grumpy old farts who dont want them anyway.
I understand fully why it's hard to find 2nd to 4th year apprentices willing to join a company. If they made it past their first year and still like it they will stay where they are. If they dont stay with that company then the old line of "once bitten, twice shy" seems the appropriate reason.
As to the comment about Training institute graduates being no better than the average 1st year "off the street" apprentice, you are missing the point. These graduates have been given all the theory of a 4 year apprenticeship, but very little in the way of practical experience. While they may seem no better than the "off the street" version at first, I will venture to say that by the end of the graduates' first year of their apprenticeship, he/she is much more capable than the off the street apprentice at the end of their first year. This is because they have most of theory knowledge already and dont have to be released for training for up to 10 weeks a year, Many of the so called "traditional" apprentices came back from tech forgeting their hand skills and have missed a lot of the continuity that the hangar provides. The other obvious advantage is the company doesn't have to pay the apprentice while he/she is non productive at school. Again I constantly hear the harp of the "old fart LAME's" thats not the way I did it, so it's no good! Get over it! This is the way it's being done more and more now.
Bottom line, if you want good 2nd, 3rd or 4th year apprentices, invest time and effort into your 1st year apprentices.