General Discussion
http://news.sky.com/story/1428774/pm-young-unemployed-will-work-for-benefits
Another good idea, only makes me wonder why it wasn't done years ago.
Surely we all think this one is a great move?
@leatash, perhaps that's the plan. no one will want to work for that, so they'll have to get a real work.
@roberta, why would anyone have to be laid off?
My young person started full time work on an apprenticeship earning £2.68 an hour - this was not years ago this was last year, out of that there was travel costs to pay so not much was left at the end of the week but an NVQ was added to the list of qualifications gained at school and college. (Uni was decided against as the preferred subjects would naturally have led to a teaching career and my YP hated that thought!)
After realising that the employer was using the apprenticeship scheme as a way of gaining cheap employees and would not be offering a permanent role a short-term job was taken elsewhere but after that followed a period of unemployment.
I would suggest that the prime minister gets a grip on reality, seeing your child bored rigid, gradually getting more and more depressed after applying for job after job and not hearing anything isn't much fun. He should watch them travelling weekly to sign on to various recriutment agencies who promise to send your CV off to all sorts of jobs but then you hear nothing.
The soul destroying weekly signing-on process isn't a life-style choice - it's a necessity, after all if you still live at home you only get about £24 (quite rightly too, your living expenses are lower but mum and dad still have to feed you etc)
So if the PM wants young people to do community work it needs to be something that will enhance their skills, not just pick up litter or work in Poundland, make it worthwhile. Make sure that it really counts on their CV. Make them feel valued.
And these apprenticeships need looking at - I started my working life on a Youth Training Scheme knowing that at the end of it I had a real chance of a proper job and in fact after 10 months I had that job, it was worth those few months on a lower wage.
BTW my YP has a job now and is very happy in it.
Agree Duckileaks but I'm starting to get fed up about these 'new schemes' that are set up. It's all very well until you are at the end of one of them and get dropped with no hope of completing anything worthwhile. I have a family member who undertook a YTS back in the day at the very end and was left with two disparate qualifications which were of no use to man nor beast as a total. The same went for the company he did the YTS who was also just after cheap labour.
I can't believe in this day and age we haven't found a system that works and stuck to it, giving employers, employees and students stability and faith. Let's face if you make a mistake in your education these days, tough. Unless you have a lot of money behind you or the sponsorship of an employer, too bad.
From our MP's column in this week's Dawlish Gazette.
"I was really pleased to see official figures which stated that over 3,500 people have started an apprenticeship in Teignbridge since 2010. This is fantastic news - apprenticeships not only give young people the chance to earn a salary and gain a qualification, they also gain valuable work place skills and experience at the same time".
I do sort of agree that the apprenticeship schemes are worthwhile, providing the qualification gained is relevant, the experience in the workplace is progressed during the time of the placement ie. not stalled after they learn how to make a brew and take a phone message, and there is a real chance of a full time job at the end - not just a thanks and 'next trainee please'.
I understand that providing training for new members of staff is an expensive process and if the government are going to help you out with the cost of it then most employers in small business' are going to take it up. But some of these youngsters are exploited and it just isn't right.
Anyway, back to the op....