You make a good point there. The advent of the meaningless qualification has lead to people thinking that they should be able to get a better job than they actually can. In the days before the Travel & Tourism GNVQ etc people who weren't that academic just went out and learned a trade, and worked their way up. That was where your plumbers, electricians & brickies came from. Give someone a HND in Media Studies, and they would probably consider those sorts of jobs beneath them.

There has also been an influx of people from new EU countries who have come over and been happy to do the jobs that the British people with equivalent skills have turned their noses up at

Might be helpful if schools weren't all about teaching children to pass exams so they can move on to the next step in the educational ladder, be it from GCSEs to A Levels, or from A Levels on to Higher Ed.

The education system as it stands is all about league tables and bugger all to do with preparing kids for the world of work.

Thats the trouble with much these days. We get caught in the middle of measuring things to have clear metrics and be able to compare, and becoming blinded by anything other than the attainment of the target. One size does not neccesarily fit all.

My other half is a KS1 teacher in a pretty rough area of Nottingham, where kids come in barely able to talk, as the white trash parents don't give a . Most of them haven't a hope of attaining the standard SAT results, but the school has to jump through the hoops rather than actually work to improve what they will eventually get out of life. Hopefully one or two of them will find jobs. Most will never leave the city

There was an article in todays Metro on the front page about a company trying to get folk in for job interviews and such. Most wouldnt turn up due to it raining, being too tired etc with one actually telling the guy "I get more on my benefits than i do working, so im not doing it".

Shocking. or actually, not shocking at all anymore. There used to be a social stigma at one time being out of work and not earning etc now this has been replaced by the total apathy to going out and earning a crust.

Came as no surprise. Heard of places giving up recruiting because the people they recruit can't be bothered

As someone in his early 20's i'm not going disagree with the comments above, i'd rather endorse them. From my experience at high school they're solely focused on preparing kids for their GCSE's and nothing about the real world and so much of what you get taught there for your GCSE's simply isn't needed after you leave. And they do make things as easy as they can so the school can show good pass marks every year.

I remember a friend of mine doing a bit of Year 11 coursework in English, first time he handed it in he got a D* and the teacher would write down how he could improve it, eventually after 5 rewrites he got an A to be able to hand in as his final coursework. I did mine just once and got a B- got the chance to rewrite it but turned it down because then its not your work. As i pointed out to the teacher even though i was only 15, you won't get the chance to do things 5 times until its right out in the real world of work so why should we do it here, she didn't answer me.

In several years at my work i've seen about a dozen lads around the late teens/early 20's age come in, to do the menial jobs and around 10 of them within the first TWO WEEKS of mediocre effort have come to me (even though i'm not the boss, must be an age related thing) and asked about getting a pay rise because its not enough, and i always point out that firstly, you knew the wage when you started and secondly that 2 weeks is nothing, get your heads down for at least several months before asking that.

I will say though they're some good young workers coming through but as has been written in previous comments, its because its the parents that have taught them well about the values off hard work, and not the education system. And also i would point out that i know a fair few people in their 40's and 50's that ain't exactly employee of the month material.

It’s always great to read about the real world where the likes of some people on this thread are keeping it real. Well since we’re on the topic of British high schools not preparing their pupils for the real world I have a proposal. We should have a one year exchange programme where kids from Britain spend time working in a sweatshop in Asia. In return the poor Asian kids can come over here for a year to get an education. The laws are a lot more relaxed in Asia so our fantasy world kids from Britain will be in for a culture shock. This programme will churn out the lazy ones and if any of them that die from starvation due to not earning their bag of rice then it’s just collateral damage.

Now onto those family’s that have been workless for generations. We should make then swap lives with the Philippians rural poor families. Hard workers them lot over there. Some of them work $3 a day on farms and that’s only when there’s work on. Farmers could only dream of paying that much for a British person to do a full day’s work on their farm. But out government won’t do the swap because they’re too soft and get kicks out of killing the agriculture industry over here. Or maybe just maybe the British government is a lot more ethical than other governments around the world that some people on this thread would find themselves at home with.

Then there are them misguided kids that go into further education to study travel and tourism, media and other tin-pot subjects on offer. We should scrap these courses all together and this would free up all those teachers who are world weary enough to take up those vacant 400,000 jobs that are currently available. The education sector has had too much of an easy ride and it’s time it got with the real world. The fantasy world that’s dependent on taxpayers throwing money into the fire and kids willing to spend time studying imaginary industries needs to stop immediately. The less education we have in this country the better. The less academic ones will just go out and learn a trade whilst the more academic ones will be granted the privilege of further education.

Britain is very good at playing imaginary. That’s why we still have Queens, Princes and Princesses in the twenty-first century. We even have a Fairy flying about on tv at the moment in the shape of the Fairy Job Mother. She’s so good and that’s why she’s on tv as much as Jeremy Kyle. She could just wave her wand and get Britain’s mass unemployed back into work in an instance. But the unemployed are far too busy sticking pins into voodoo dolls to make sure that her magic doesn’t work on them. It’s such a shame really.

That bloke who’s in charge of washing the cars at where Sherbet Dip gets his car washed. He always has work for everyone apparently. If this is the case then why is Chris Grayling the employment minister and not the bloke at the car washers?

Back into my world. I was totally out of it on booze when I was at AMF bowls. Had a bit of a surprise bar crawl with my mate and got really drunk.

Have you been to any of the car washes & asked for work?
Rhetorical.....we know your answer!

Muppet

You wouldn't know a hard days graft if it kicked you in your Iestyn Harris

Nope but I’m at the job centre this dinnertime to discuss about transferring onto the New Enterprise Allowance. Admittedly it’s not the most ideal thing (I wanted investment other than the job centres but it looks like I’m going to have to earn that) in the world but it means the end is nearly in sight and it gives my business plan three months to build a reputation to attract further investment. Three months down the line I’d be only getting £33 a month from the job centre but I’ll be trying my damned hardest to make sure that I’ll be off the scheme by then.

I can live on £65 a month because I’m financially responsible. Besides car washing places aren’t that secure for a long term wage. I do seem to remember reading someone getting fired from such a job on these very forums so I decided to give that little venture a miss.

What a difference a week makes..

Damo, You might as well know now. No one on Gods green earth is going to invest in someones business plan who refuses to work... and your right, car washing isn't a viable long term wage. No one ever said it was. But its still a wage all the same.

I'm meeting a fella from Business Enterprise Yorkshire in Costa coffee on Tuesday morning. I'm taking an iPad with my business plan on and everything. Going to be a right douche aren't I.

I feel like [url=http://youtu.be/lVmmYMwFj1Ithese guys[/url atm



If my mate can get to Brazil by giving away cake for donations then anything’s possible in this world.Good luck with your business plan Gav

In the late 90s I took early retirement from LEEDS PUBLIC WORKS DEPT after 25 years service and I thought I would spend a bit of time on the dole and do a few jobs before I get a regular job,I told them I didnt want to go follow my trade at my age in the private sector,they said "oh fine, you will have no trouble getting employment after 25 years at LCC"2 weeks before I found myself a job,they never left me alone asking me what interveiws I had?but it seemed they left alone the longterm or those who never worked.My last job at Leeds uni halls of residence was 7years before I retired,they told me later I was taken on before younger people was because of my employment record and experience and that I gave the impression that I actually wanted the job.I think now there are almost two generations who have been without a job culture and with the loss of all the industries when they would have gone into factories and been trained in the jobs and shown how to conduct themselves in life.Tell me Damo you dont come across as what is termed a chav,but do the people at the dole place ask you regularly how is your job search going?

You're

No real point made really badly. You can't write and you have not much of interest to say based on this. You need to switch off the computer for a few weeks, stay out of the pub and get a job. I've spent time out of work when I left university and when you have sweet FA to do apart from look for a job you actually get out and look for a job. If the alternative is sitting watching Neighbours with you Mum then warehouse work is actually a really fun way to spend the day. I guaratee you that you spend a week unloading lorries or washing cars or whatever, you sit in the pub on a Friday with your mates and feel like you earned your beer.
Forget the blogging crap, the computer is a con - emptying your every thought onto it is not "working" and it won't be a living. Stop wasting your time looking for something on RLfans - it's a forum for people who support Leeds RL to gas about Leeds RL. Do you think you can make a living chatting with your mates? Of course you f******g can't.
Stop moaning about being let down and stop the passive aggressive defence of you "qualifications". Nobody on here put a gun to your head and made you do them, you made that mistake all on your own - we've all made them when we're young, that's what you do when you're young. I did the wrong A levels, took the wrong degree and then made the mistake of not doing a PhD. So what?

The best thing you can do right now is unplug the computer, you're looking for something online that you won't find. You are obviously afraid to do something outside what and who you know. That's why you unload everything on here. You're more comfortable being abused on Southstander than taking a chance and interracting with the real world.
I'm saying this for your own good. I don't think you're lazy, I think you're scared and you've got into a bad set of habits - one of which is that you need affirmation for things you do. It's not enough just to get a job, you have to have people tell you how worthy what you are doing is. This makes it very difficult for you to just do a job and earn some money. Most people work because they need to pay bills and a bi-product is that you don't feel quite as crap about yourself (here's a revelation for you - everyone feels crap about themselves to some degree). You're also in a real victim mentality, which completely blocks you from taking responsibility for your situation.
The scariest thing for you to have to think about is that you're not actually special, there is nobody holding you back and it's actually all down to you - no anti-Damo conspiracy, no plot to keep you out of work so the rest of us can feel superior.

I offered you some sound advice at the beginning of the thread, 9 pages on and you've not listened. You need to start listening to people and learning, but you won't so any of that on-line. Unplug the thing.

1-0.

Ok – let’s put a lid on this for once and all.

Damo, we all know your unemployed, we all know your know really bothered about getting a job, we all know that your that constant threads about this emotive subject winds everyone else up.

We all get the point now, you’ve had your fun and got all the attention you’ve asked for.

No more about your threads personal situation please, let us try and stick to Rugby League and cakes and stop winding up the majority.

Amen

"We all get the point now, you’ve had your fun and got all the attention you’ve asked for."

That quote explains exactly why Damo will be back on this topic within a matter of months. It appears that any attention is better than none.

As you requested Damo has unplugged his computer in doing so he has been unable to read your good advice. I popped round to his house yesterday and relayed your comments to him. He asked me to tell you to Fuc£ Off!

Job hunting advice 101:

Get off the smack dude. Seriously.

On behalf of pretty much everyone on the forum please could you relay the same message back to him. TIA.

I just want to confirm that this didn’t happen. Peggy has a vendetta against me due to the fact that I’m very critical of charity’s that do more exploiting than helping. Don’t just take my word for uncharitable charities though. Didn’t George Osborne do a speech about them recently?

Do I come across as a typical tory supporter?

I’ll let you all make your minds up on that one.

I agree that this subject winds everyone up including me. I’d like to call it a truce and end it on this note. This involves other people not bumping up the thread when it lingers down at the bottom. This is the last word you’ll get from me on this thread unless someone decides to spread rumours.

Time to draw a line then