Employment?

[kerry davies]

This is possibly highly political but needs posting because many BR members will be leaving college and university looking for work.

Young people leaving education with no job to go to will be made to do three months' full-time unpaid work experience with charities and social enterprises or have their benefits cut, the Government has announced.

 

Under new plans 18 to 24 year-olds who have spent less than six months in employment since leaving school or college will have to work at least 30 hours a week to get their £56-a-week jobseeker’s allowance.

 

They will also get a guaranteed 10 hours a week help preparing their CVs and searching for a job.

 

This means that those on the scheme will receive £1.40 an hour for 30 hours work in a care home and 10 hours job search with someone like A4E and eventually all school and college leavers will be on the scheme.

 

Words fail me! My link

[Dave SA]

That's it. I'm off.

[photographic08]

I can see pros and cons to this.

 

Quoting Boris later on in the article 'it is “not at all unreasonable to ask you to give something to the community before it gives something to you”. Writing exclusively in today’s Standard, he said: “It’s time to look at a different way in Britain. A something-for-nothing culture does no one any favours.'

Also as some of us youngsters are leaving school with very few qualifications, a nice bit of charity work, albeit forced, could be a really good thing for their employability.

However you do have to question wether its right to force people to work, and if the work is in a a care home like the article suggests, do work that they may not be comfortable with. From my reading its not clear if there will be any choice in jobs, which could be an issue for alot of people pushed onto the scheme.

[mark_s]

There's no denying that the current system is broken, but I'm not sure that this is the way forward. As Boris says in the article, it isn't unreasonable to give something in return - but thirty hours work for £56 isn't it.

 

What can't continue is the current system where people can illegitimately live on benefit money. That's not on, and anything which takes steps towards fixing that is a good step forward in my opinion.

[Jivemaster]

Employers always want people with experience -sometimes just any experience. Those without any experience will suffer and need to be sent to schemes to get experience. In this industry worked in am dram is better than no experience and that is totally unpaid, but you can do it in your final year to get another point at interview.

[Shez]

Whilst I fully appreciate that university isn't right for everyone, I think the life experience gained outside of lectures is a significant factor in developing people in to more employable adults. For many students, it's the first time they've had any significant amount of responsibility. They suddenly become responsible for putting food on the table, for getting out of bed on time, for keeping a roof over their head, for doing their own washing (sometimes) and for all manor of other things. That changed me hugely as a person, probably more so than doing the degree. Yes, that stretched my intellect and taught me skills in research, analysis and so on, but it didn't help much with making me a good employee.

 

During my first year after graduation, I did flounder a bit. I had done some work during each of the holidays during my final year which certainly helped, but it still didn't get me to a place where I could walk confidently in to a job and do what was expected of me and get on effectively with everyone around me. Those are the kinds of skills you can only learn by experiencing the work environment, be that in a "proper" job or in some kind of work experience placement. (If you're doing useful work, you should be paid for it; I'm not going to delve further in to that worm can.)

 

I notice that most, if not all GCSE students around here now study something called LPDP, or "preparation for working life". I can only hope from the title that there's something useful in there to start them off on the right foot in an employment situation. I don't know whose responsibility it should be to prepare young people to be useful employees, but someone needs to step up to the mark. The academic part of my university didn't help; I don't recall if we did anything in school but if we did, it was too long ago to have been useful.

 

A couple of years ago, one of my employers sent those of us who were interested on a five day management course. Whilst some were sceptical, it turned out to be very interesting, looking at things like how different people process data - visual / aural / kinaesthetic; whether we're better at small details or with the bigger picture and so on. Being able to identify how other people in your workplace process data and adapting accordingly makes a big difference. It's no good trying to explain an idea in words to a visual processor as drawing a diagram will be far more effective for example. Many people probably make these decisions subconsciously but for someone starting out in the world of work, being armed with this kind of knowledge of how to effectively communicate with different people would be a big help.

 

My advice then? Move out of home as soon as possible and experience as much work as you can in as many different places as you can.

[the kid]

 

A couple of years ago, one of my employers sent those of us who were interested on a five day management course. Whilst some were sceptical, it turned out to be very interesting, looking at things like how different people process data - visual / aural / kinaesthetic; whether we're better at small details or with the bigger picture and so on. Being able to identify how other people in your workplace process data and adapting accordingly makes a big difference. It's no good trying to explain an idea in words to a visual processor as drawing a diagram will be far more effective for example. Many people probably make these decisions subconsciously but for someone starting out in the world of work, being armed with this kind of knowledge of how to effectively communicate with different people would be a big help.

When I was taught VARK 2-3 years ago I was told by someone else it was out of date and only last year someone mentioned VARK and the tutor said that it was not really relevant anymore and everyone is different. (had a google http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1041608006000331 )

 

Our students have been on a pilot scheme (college only I think) various good and bad things have come out of it but all the "wonderful" ideas are staying, one is doing sessions on "how to live & budget"

 

I don't know what is going on this year but I believe we are trying to get a large % of of students in the college to do work placement 1 day a week, who as a company will take a student I don't know but it seems to have the idea of a half apprentice scheme.

 

As for NEETS we were made to run a performing arts NEET course and only 2 turned up IIR so we scrapped that. Filling up education with people who don't want to be there or wont get help from being there (certain 16-18 students, NEETS etc) wont fix any issue. The people I have encountered who are NEETS generally are / have tried for work or simply don't have the best skills when it comes to writing a CV. I am fairly sure if it was not for my luck before the current finance crisis I would be a NEET.

[kerry davies]

Interesting comments. No, it is not voluntary, if you turn it down it means up to 12 weeks sanction, then second refusal is six months and a third is 3 years and yes you may have to do night shifts. Sanction means no benefits, no housing benefit, nothing and the parents have lost child allowance and child tax credit.

 

No, you will not be working for a charity, it will be a private care home, the charities have already been filled with disabled and sick people on Work Related Assessment Group which is of indeterminate length.

 

The current system, Mark, has a fraud rate in DWP's own figures of 0.5% and the Fraud Hotline has a success rate of 0.3% with 99.7% of calls about genuine claimants, people not on benefit or plain malicious nastiness. Underpayments run at £340M to £700M a year due to DWP errors. Anyone here 99.7% efficient?

 

If, during this time, the work providers doing the mandatory 10 hours job search find you a job down the sewers you take it or get sanctioned. Doesn't matter whether you have a PhD in astrophysics, down you will go or lose all benefits.

 

I completely agree that "ready for life" training is needed since parents no longer prepare kids as they used to by making them "work" at home but this scheme ain't it. This has far too much of the punitive about it.

[djw1981]

The sanction part is hard to argue with - benefits come with responsibilities. As for the nature of the work, I;d rather they were doing value added tasks not simply replacing the lowest paid workers.

[paulears]

It could really help if perhaps somebody could explain the acronyms - VARKS and NEETS for example.

[Jivemaster]

I've said before that at uni, years 1 and 2 are for learning and partying, the final year is for studying and preparing for final exams AND for getting a job. Job search isn't best done in the August after.

 

For school levers the last year is when they need to get grades and get a job. BUT it's hard to get some folk to prepare to be interviewable and employable while they think school will never end.

 

Stacking up CVable experience in the last two years of education is what makes employers notice you.

[the kid]

NEET - Not in Education Employment or Training

 

VARK - Visual, Aural/auditory, Read/ Write, Kinesthetic (you have a "prefered" learning method)

[kitlane]

 

I notice that most, if not all GCSE students around here now study something called LPDP, or "preparation for working life".

 

 

LPDP stands for 'Leicestershire Personal Development Programme' which I think follows the National Open College Network “Careers Education and Preparation for Working Life” qualification.

 

PDP (Personal Development Planning) is something we are required to deliver in every year of a higher education course.

 

 

When I was taught VARK 2-3 years ago I was told by someone else it was out of date and only last year someone mentioned VARK and the tutor said that it was not really relevant anymore and everyone is different. (had a google http://www.sciencedi...041608006000331 )

 

 

As your link suggests, many now believe that whilst learning styles exist there have been no controlled studies that prove they can be applied in the classroom in a practical manner. Just remember to use a variety of presentation styles and don't fall into the trap of teaching only in your own learning style. Moreover, there are a number of other models of learning styles including Kolb, Honey and Mumford, Gregorc etc.

[laddersukdirect]

I think its disgusting you go to uni for 4-5 years learning something you want to do... getting in to debt also, and then you are forced to wipe some old guys arse. These govenrment officials dont live in the real world.... ABSOLUTE MUPPETS!!!

[djw1981]

If you spend your time learning also planning your career afterwards and fettling contacts and links, then you can hopefully avoid doing same.