What are your Youth unemployment concerns?

What are your concerns with youth unemployment?
It seems students are the most disadvantaged and those whom are wanting a part time job while at college, well, good luck there.

My concern is that colleges are teaching skills for employment, but this is useless if you've not had the experience of the workplace.
Only those who are doing apprenticeships have any chance, in my view, because part of the program is being in a place of work.

So, please discuss your concerns?

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 1

DaveLawson

OP

I have moved this thread. I don't know how to delete.

Reply 2

Scots King

7

My main concern is that many young people have left school and are nowhere near ready for the world work. Schools are failing abjectly to prepare our young people for the world of work. I remember leaving school and managing to secure a summer job. Basic things such as how to type out a letter properly, how to fold a letter properly, I had to be shown how to do.

Further, state education is in a decline. Too many of our young can't do basic maths, and fail to understand basic english. Just 53% gain 5 GCSEs from A* to C including English and mathematics. Too many of us aren't ready for the world of workhttp://www.education.gov.uk/inthenews/inthenews/a0072297/parents-get-more-information-about-school-performance

Arnold Clark held interviews for apprenticeships with their company in Scotland. 1,850 of the 2,280 youngsters who applied were deemed to be "not employable at all." This is a damning indictment on our young. The important thing to remember is that training is provided on these schemes, they aren't expecting applicants to have in-depth knowledge of the car industry. With this in mind, it is nothing less than shocking that Arnold Clark could see no redeeming features for such a large proportion of those who applied.

I think it is immensely sad for the young people in this country - it isn't their fault that they have been educated so poorly, and it has put them at a massive disadvantage in the job market. And the worst thing is, it is a downward spiral. Many young people can't get jobs because they don't have experience. The longer they remain unemployed, the less attractive they are to employers. The result: if that young person is lucky enough to secure employment in future, it will likely be low-paid, unfulfilling, with little or no promotion prospects.

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 3

Alex17595

13

I find it difficult because my college hours were so screwed up, It was either having 1st lesson off, then lesson in the afternoons or lessons in the morning and 1 in the afternoon after a break.
Its stupid.

Reply 4

Herr

13

Original post by DaveLawson

What are your concerns with youth unemployment?
It seems students are the most disadvantaged and those whom are wanting a part time job while at college, well, good luck there.

My concern is that colleges are teaching skills for employment, but this is useless if you've not had the experience of the workplace.
Only those who are doing apprenticeships have any chance, in my view, because part of the program is being in a place of work.

So, please discuss your concerns?

I'm not so concerned about this issue in Switzerland, our youngsters tend to be quite well prepared for the working world and generally have world class work ethos.

As for Britain, though I no longer live there, I still have a few business interest, my biggest worry of the young is many are falling through the cracks within the system and it isn't really a problem that money can solve.

I've hired many people in the last 7 years for my own business, one of the most shocking aspect is the piss poor work-ethic, tbh it's rather disappointing because I can pay a young 17 year old Brit £9/hour and after pay day I'm bound to have them show up late or some never bother showing up at all... while at the same time I can pay a Pole or someone from Eastern Europe £7/hour and it is a good job every single time... now if I pay someone from Poland £9/hour I'm pretty much getting the best of their best.

A lot of the young, this one extends to British graduates as well, just don't seem to have the attention to detail and skills needed for many types of work, a few months ago I had someone send me a CV with BSc. (Honest) Architecture, I could have understood it if the candidate was from a crap place like London Met or one of those dodgy places but this was from someone who was coming from one of the Top 10 in UK.....sigh. I believe this is partly the fault of the school and the lax exam standards which has been on a race to the bottom for a while now.

Finally the biggest problem is just the overall frustration at many employers who'd rather take in highly experienced labour than to give a chance to the nation's youth.... while I don't agree with ageism, I do think there needs to be a balance.

Reply 5

Scots King

7

Original post by Herr

I'm not so concerned about this issue in Switzerland, our youngsters tend to be quite well prepared for the working world and generally have world class work ethos.

As for Britain, though I no longer live there, I still have a few business interest, my biggest worry of the young is many are falling through the cracks within the system and it isn't really a problem that money can solve.

I've hired many people in the last 7 years for my own business, one of the most shocking aspect is the piss poor work-ethic, tbh it's rather disappointing because I can pay a young 17 year old Brit £9/hour and after pay day I'm bound to have them show up late or some never bother showing up at all... while at the same time I can pay a Pole or someone from Eastern Europe £7/hour and it is a good job every single time... now if I pay someone from Poland £9/hour I'm pretty much getting the best of their best.

A lot of the young, this one extends to British graduates as well, just don't seem to have the attention to detail and skills needed for many types of work, a few months ago I had someone send me a CV with BSc. (Honest) Architecture, I could have understood it if the candidate was from a crap place like London Met or one of those dodgy places but this was from someone who was coming from one of the Top 10 in UK.....sigh. I believe this is partly the fault of the school and the lax exam standards which has been on a race to the bottom for a while now.

Finally the biggest problem is just the overall frustration at many employers who'd rather take in highly experienced labour than to give a chance to the nation's youth.... while I don't agree with ageism, I do think there needs to be a balance.