Why are managers not recruiting 16 - 24 year olds?

[andygambles]

No-one ever seems to want to do the 'normal' jobs anymore....everyone is led to believe they are too good to do menial jobs,but somebody has to do them. Putting everyone through Higher education makes them all believe they are better than that, but if everyone goes to Uni we are left with a nation of youngsters who are all looking for "graduate" jobs, and that is totally unrealistic.

Thank god for all the hard working europeans stealing our menial jobs so we can moan about there being no menial jobs.

 

[10032012]

I don't think schools, colleges or universities prepare their students for the world of work and, to a lot of them, it comes as a complete shock. Many can't adapt or can't adapt quickly enough.

A good percentage of youngsters also have no idea how to prepare themselves for interview. Surely part of the role of the education system is to prepare people for work - certainly it should be at higher education levels.

The problem is there is no uniform procedure. Its all scatterbrained and no matter if you are young or much older... there is too much variety in interview styles and recruitment expectations. With the redundancies over the last 4 years in particular, these mature and keen people who just want to get back into work... get the huge shock that todays recruitment process is nothing like the process 20+ years ago... in fact its has little resemblance.

I was doing interviews last week for my company and with a couple of the candidates, discussion made it on to interviews and CV - their experiences between job interviews and expectations varied significantly.

My style is I like to see where people began in their career and any changes. I do not like the advice given out these days that:
1) CV must be no more than 2 pages (I think its unimportant if its relevant, presented properly and flows well... 20 pages? hell no! 3 or 4? perfectly fine if relevant)
2) Do not stick any more than the last 3 jobs you had or any further back than 10-15 years. (If you worked for a big employer for 20 years in addition to knowing briefly about your roles over the years, I see it as interesting to know what they did before that)
3) Dumb down your CV
4) Undertake a 360 point strategy to excel at an interview (if only the average human could remember 3/4 of them)
5) Write your covering letter/application based on job description content and job advert... use the main keywords... (this is why I do not release a job description pre-interview... such as 150 candidates, 95 have written pretty much the same (~80%) boring stuff... 55 didn't bother at all. OK, can eliminate the 55, but its back to the CV to determine interview places (only spelling and grammar is going to stick out) unless done at random)

I much prefer at first interview to allow it to be relaxed. Ask some non-stressful questions etc. You still pick up their enthusiasm, appearance, confidence, presentation and communication skills... but even more so most questions are tasked to catch them out without knowing it. Its not about what they say but their body language etc. (i.e. are they lying etc) Once they are at ease ask them the usual questions about their past work history etc

Result? People show them true-selves after 5 minutes of nerves, just how they are likely to be in the workplace. The compliance of adding all the level of fakery as a job candidate and the uneasiness for most candidates, does nothing for them or for the interviewer. If I did the typical tough employer thing... it will only stress me out when the quality of most candidates were below expectations. Less stress for everyone. Then step it up for second interview!

 

[matt seymour]

There are different factors involved here.

We are in a recession and there are a lot of people out of work, employers are inundated with applications and can afford to be fussy. Given the choice between an experienced individual with a family and responsibilities or a youngster with no experience at all who is basically looking for beer money, they will go for the older person most of the time.

I also think a lot of younger people are unrealistic in terms of the jobs they apply for. Since Labour's idiotic "degrees for all" policy, degrees have been seriously devalued, but those who are leaving university still think their degree entitles them to walk straight in to a very well paid good job. Unfortunately for them employers aren't quite that stupid. A lot of younger people need to accept that when building a career you start at the bottom and work your way up over a number of years regardless of whether or not you have a degree from a university that used to be a polytechnic or a petrol station.

Unemployment in general is high and youth unemployment is a symptom of that. There are a lot of people in the same boat young and old.

 

[10032012]

I disagree Matt - I don't think the recession has made that much impact in increased job applications. As an (small) employer, I think the attitude of blaming the "Credit Crunch" and now the "double dip recession" is an awful attitude to have. Its now an excuse for employers to make budget cut backs on recruitment (regardless if their profits are increasing year on year).

It used to be an old fashioned custom that if an employer was advertising a job with an salary of £20k a year that they would spend around 20% on recruitment (£4k). These days employers are rude and do not confirm receipt and reply back if unsuccessful. This goes for online and emailed applications also where there is no excuse for it.

Many people feel alienated from the jobs market and are passively receiving jobseekers allowance. This means they are NOT making application for jobs... the number of people chasing jobs will be high in some areas and industries, but its not new. There never used to be some official count of unemployed persons to advertised vacancy ratios as highlighted a lot by the press. Its assumed everyone is applying... that is not the case. This is becoming a culture of "I cannot compete, I wont bother applying". The recruitment process has always been about a certain amount of luck.

Furthermore, big bloated useless organisations like Woolworths hit the wall... but hype aside, albeit on a smaller scale, people always got laid off from time to time due to "restructuring" and introduction of new technology etc. It was just 5 years or redundancies all at once (in one year).

I remember 9-10 years ago placing an advert in the newspaper, requesting interested parties to phone up for an application form. (I was an employee at this time) We had a pile of C4 envelopes alongside about 6 different piles of paper to be included (i.e. application form, job desc, person spec etc.) Seriously... the phone didn't stop ringing for 2 weeks! It was pretty much a fulltime job and a half just dealing with the phone calls and sending out applications forms - we had to take on extra staff to deal with demand as the administrator had her usual work to do also. Short-listing was a tough time.

This was all ok... there was a budget for coping with this all. It resulted in the ideal job candidate getting the job which can be rare. I can say for a similar role, advertised over 2 weeks, recently that even when accepting emailed CV's (read: free for many) there was less interest in the job.

This is despite the labour market full of part time jobs, an increased population (reproduction and EU migration), an apparent shortage of jobs and everyone being broke lol

As an employer, I am not going to say I would employ 3 people to do a 2 person job... but I am man to admit that I wouldn't depress my staff by getting them to take on extra responsibilities (i.e. doing a 2 person job) under the credit crunch/recession umbrella with the attitude of "they are lucky they have a job"... You know... where the company is still profitable and the financial crisis only being used as an excuse to make savings for greater profits. Even before the recession big businesses were reducing staff and opting for part time workers.

Its the employment market trend... yes its been tweaked on steroids during the recession but had developed that way when everything was so rosy and perfect. lol

 

[Salt&Pepper]

There are several reasons I see for this trend, which range from political to personal:

1. Tony Bliar set the goal that half of young people should go to University. There are 2 inevitable consequences of this - 1. The bar to entry must be lowered so a degree will be less respected. 2. There will be an increase in graduate unemployment (And unfortunately it is tough for a graduate to understand that they need to start at the bottom).

2. In times of recession, employers go for absolute fit rather than potential, which mans that experience counts for a lot.

3. Sloppy presentation - 'press button' applications or generic unfocused CVS. he more computer-dependent we become the greater this problem will be.

I totally agree with this.

Recently the front page of the Evening Standard read: I have a degree in Architecture and I can't find any job"

Well a degree nowadays means very little. Young people and their families need to understand that people, when it comes to jobs, are like goods and the job market is the place where these goods are traded, hence one should:

1. Choose a degree/field of study that will give good chances of landing a job
2. Try to get a degree with top marks
3. Get working experience in the desired field as soon as possible (this will mean many times working for free)

 

[Lucan Unlordly]

I've always felt that a degree can incorrectly determine your suitability for a job.

For instance, a relative of mine who's degree was in engineering product design secured his first job in desk top publishing and is now in video and web production. A lad I worked with who had an engineering degree and a brief spat with the armed forces made his career in advertising sales.

At one time a degree was seen by many as a benchmark with which to ascertain the applicants ability to achieve at a certain level and whilst the subject matter had relevance when perfect fit was essential, employers would take a chance on transferable 'capability'.

Nowadays an applicants qualification gained in e.g. Equine Studies is not assessed on transferable capability but more likely seen as a degree gained because the person before them likes horses and thought it would improve their CV!

 

[10032012]

I totally agree with this.

Recently the front page of the Evening Standard read: I have a degree in Architecture and I can't find any job"

Well a degree nowadays means very little. Young people and their families need to understand that people, when it comes to jobs, are like goods and the job market is the place where these goods are traded, hence one should:

1. Choose a degree/field of study that will give good chances of landing a job
2. Try to get a degree with top marks
3. Get working experience in the desired field as soon as possible (this will mean many times working for free)

I am glad this person cannot secure a job. With a degree, s/he doesn't realise the difference between finding and securing a job, obviously says it all.

Can't find any jobs? Try looking in the jobs paper, going to a job fair/careers fair, and websites such as monster.co.uk, dgjobs.co.uk, jobisjob.co.uk, jobsite.co.uk, direct.gov.uk etc (hundreds out there!!)

At the end of the day though, what do you expect? Labour decided forcing all young people into college and university was a solution for a weak job market... its all politics, it buys time... obviously it makes the job market problem worse, as after going to uni aspirations are higher... and then opens the door for migrants to take jobs which Brits are apparently not wanting to do.

(Fair enough really, you work your way from the bottom to the top... but after all that work and time, would you consider something poorly paid and not related to that industry? Doing so can be catastrophic... would you believe someone who has a degree distinction and then all their work history was low-paid irrelevant jobs? Most employers would think the degree was made up (i.e. a lie) or consider the person is unreliable jumping from job to job without any clear goal)

Anyone who has children who have left school or know someone who does, might have heard of the Connexions career service... which is aimed at getting young people into college or an apprenticeship... those just looking for a job are persuaded into going back to education or taking an apprenticeship.

 

[matt seymour]

I disagree Matt - I don't think the recession has made that much impact in increased job applications. As an (small) employer, I think the attitude of blaming the "Credit Crunch" and now the "double dip recession" is an awful attitude to have. Its now an excuse for employers to make budget cut backs on recruitment (regardless if their profits are increasing year on year).

It used to be an old fashioned custom that if an employer was advertising a job with an salary of £20k a year that they would spend around 20% on recruitment (£4k). These days employers are rude and do not confirm receipt and reply back if unsuccessful. This goes for online and emailed applications also where there is no excuse for it.

Many people feel alienated from the jobs market and are passively receiving jobseekers allowance. This means they are NOT making application for jobs... the number of people chasing jobs will be high in some areas and industries, but its not new. There never used to be some official count of unemployed persons to advertised vacancy ratios as highlighted a lot by the press. Its assumed everyone is applying... that is not the case. This is becoming a culture of "I cannot compete, I wont bother applying". The recruitment process has always been about a certain amount of luck.

Furthermore, big bloated useless organisations like Woolworths hit the wall... but hype aside, albeit on a smaller scale, people always got laid off from time to time due to "restructuring" and introduction of new technology etc. It was just 5 years or redundancies all at once (in one year).

I remember 9-10 years ago placing an advert in the newspaper, requesting interested parties to phone up for an application form. (I was an employee at this time) We had a pile of C4 envelopes alongside about 6 different piles of paper to be included (i.e. application form, job desc, person spec etc.) Seriously... the phone didn't stop ringing for 2 weeks! It was pretty much a fulltime job and a half just dealing with the phone calls and sending out applications forms - we had to take on extra staff to deal with demand as the administrator had her usual work to do also. Short-listing was a tough time.

This was all ok... there was a budget for coping with this all. It resulted in the ideal job candidate getting the job which can be rare. I can say for a similar role, advertised over 2 weeks, recently that even when accepting emailed CV's (read: free for many) there was less interest in the job.

This is despite the labour market full of part time jobs, an increased population (reproduction and EU migration), an apparent shortage of jobs and everyone being broke lol

As an employer, I am not going to say I would employ 3 people to do a 2 person job... but I am man to admit that I wouldn't depress my staff by getting them to take on extra responsibilities (i.e. doing a 2 person job) under the credit crunch/recession umbrella with the attitude of "they are lucky they have a job"... You know... where the company is still profitable and the financial crisis only being used as an excuse to make savings for greater profits. Even before the recession big businesses were reducing staff and opting for part time workers.

Its the employment market trend... yes its been tweaked on steroids during the recession but had developed that way when everything was so rosy and perfect. lol

I can't agree that the recession isn't having an effect on jobs and the number of applications. That is certainly not my experience.

I'm unemployed at the moment and have been for a while now. First of all, the number of jobs being advertised has dropped massively. The number of jobs on the Jobcentre Plus website is well down on what it usually is and the same can be said of all the recruitment websites I visit. The jobs section in my local newspaper, which is usually a very thick pull-out section in good times, now runs to about two pages.

All the employers I have spoken to during interviews have said that they are receiving a huge number of applications - many of them from people who are vastly overqualified for the position.

In all honesty, I have never known things as bad as they are in my area of the country. I can't speak for other regions of the UK, but down here in sunny Pompey, finding work is a nightmare.

 

[internetspaceships]

Do you mean finding work or finding work of a particular nature/income?

 

[Brian_210]

While I was at University, I set up and ran my own retail business. I graduate in November and sold my shares to my business partner due to different opinions on the direction the company should take. Now that I'm looking for work I can fully appreciate how difficult it can be.

I never thought a degree would result in me getting a well paid job, in fact I quite like the idea of joining a company and working my way up... though some of your thoughts on why people won't employ younger individuals.

I've applied for over 150 jobs with no luck. I've done this in various ways and for roles in all levels. I would be more than happy to do basic warehouse work (in the past I've been warehouse manager), retail assistant or anything else. Is being ambitious really now seen as a possible downside to employing that person? Because they want to step up through the company but there's little opportunity to? Maybe I find it difficult because they assume I'll only be there temporarily until something better comes along?

I believe that if I can get an interview I am likely to be successful in obtaining the job however I can't seem to get to that stage. I've no idea what employers are looking for now.. being turned down for shop assistant, supervisor, assistant manager and manager jobs based only on my CV seems ridiculous as my experience shows I am more than capable of holding any of these roles. So as an employer - what WOULD make you employ a younger person or graduate?

 

[webgeek]

If instead of waiting for a position advertisement in the newspaper or job site, the person researched our company and approached me directly, saying I want to work for you/your company.

The proactive self-starter who has done their homework has a MUCH better chance than someone wallpapering offices wherever open job adverts are placed.

 

[Perenius]

Hi James

I am a manager, and I would love to employ more young people, but whenever we advertise a job we do not get many applications from people in that age gap. The people we require need to have the equivalent of A-level education or higher, so I think they do not apply because they are probably in full-time education.

Regards

P

 

[Brian_210]

If instead of waiting for a position advertisement in the newspaper or job site, the person researched our company and approached me directly, saying I want to work for you/your company.

The proactive self-starter who has done their homework has a MUCH better chance than someone wallpapering offices wherever open job adverts are placed.

I'm doing this as much as possible. There are a lot of head offices of large companies in my area which I'm applying to. I do agree with most people on here about 16-24 year olds not having the right work ethic. We found it extremely time consuming training young employees and in particular having issues with their lack of effort. They completely lacked a sense of urgency.

 

[Luolou]

My sons have opposite experiences..
the 25 year is a pilot but drives buses whilst he awaits the hopeful improvement in the economy and hopefully more airline jobs becoming available. He has experienced the job centre when he briefly had to claim job seekers....says those visits were the worst time in is life. The staff were totally inflexible - they challenged him when he asked to change his Fortnightly appointment.....because he had a job interview!! The good thing (from a benefits point of view) is as that he had to update them at every meeting as to how his job seeking was going, so he took it seriously.
Number 2 son managed to get an 8 week internship programme between second and third yea at uni, with a guarantee of a job if he got a good enough degree. ( he did fortunately) But my god he had to work hard to even get accepted on the programme - most of his mates decided to leave, it until their final year, and unfortunately paid the price as there was little available. They are all now working, but mainly in pubs and call centre type jobs which is not how they saw themselves....

 

[matt seymour]

Do you mean finding work or finding work of a particular nature/income?

Finding work in general.

My approach to finding work is to basically put my applications into three different categories:

1, Jobs I want.

2, Jobs I think I have a chance of getting.

3, Jobs I have no experience of, but I apply for anyway because the skills I have can be used in that occupation. Needless to say, I very rarely get a reply when applying for jobs of that nature.

In terms of income I've applied for minimum wage jobs and reasonably well paid jobs. I've even applied for jobs working as a carer as they are the one type of job there seems to be an abundance of. I have absolutely no experience of it, but the ads say that no experience is necessary and training can be given, so I give it a go. I have to say the fact that I am a man usually goes against me when it comes to those positions.

Trust me, I'm not being fussy.

 

[matt seymour]

If instead of waiting for a position advertisement in the newspaper or job site, the person researched our company and approached me directly, saying I want to work for you/your company.

The proactive self-starter who has done their homework has a MUCH better chance than someone wallpapering offices wherever open job adverts are placed.

I've tried that approach a few times and had no luck, but I know where you're coming from.

 

[10032012]

If instead of waiting for a position advertisement in the newspaper or job site, the person researched our company and approached me directly, saying I want to work for you/your company.

The proactive self-starter who has done their homework has a MUCH better chance than someone wallpapering offices wherever open job adverts are placed.

Do you mean speculative applications or a mandatory face-2-face or telephone contact?

The former rarely works for most employers. Especially that the long term employed gets to send off 50 in a week - and although they might want a job genuinely they obviously don't care much about the company. I think the latter, is great. Someone who is a self-starter... got dressed up in their finest clothes, got a copy of their CV and goes down to employers to express an interest. I have to say most employers will simply say hand us a copy of your CV and we will get back to you... which either means they wont or perhaps the initial contact by means of presentation (i.e. how smart you are, body language, confidence etc) was enough to get someone to call you back. You never know, sometimes someone might take time out to meet you.

 

[webgeek]

Exactly!

I don't want 100 unsolicited emails, so that's the wrong approach.

I might take the phone call, if the pitch was quick and sound.

If someone just showed up and gave it their best shot, they'd have a better shot than 100 other people responding to a jobsite post.

 

[black31]

it our fault we buy them everything ,they dont know what its like ,to see save and buy for themselves ,and have pride in themselfs , the main motivators have been removed, material objects are shallow BUT the want to have for some people is a big motivation , my kids get everything they need , but not everything the want , they work for them things just a bit of gardening or hoovering etc they are 11 and 9 year old girls but they are already looking forward to the saturday to pay for college travel , yes i could say never mind , but its about enabling them ,

 

[black31]

it our fault we buy them everything ,they dont know what its like ,to see save and buy for themselves ,and have pride in themselfs , the main motivators have been removed, material objects are shallow BUT the want to have for some people is a big motivation , my kids get everything they need , but not everything the want , they work for them things just a bit of gardening or hoovering etc they are 11 and 9 year old girls but they are already looking forward to the saturday to pay for college travel , yes i could say never mind , but its about enabling them ,

 

[Young Recruit]

Excellent responses from everyone, it's also good to get the views from both employees and employers.

From the employers perspective, it seems that there is the view that youngsters have a bad attitude, a sense of entitlement, can be lazy and they are not willing to start at the bottom.

From the perspective of the youngsters it seems like it's really hard to get a job and they are constantly being told that there is no such thing as a job for life anymore leaving them insecure about their uncertain futures.

I think employers want to take on youngsters but it's to big a risk that they might get a bad apple and waste time and money recruiting them.

Young employees on the other hand are constantly being told to 'follow your dreams' by society. What society doesn't tell youngsters is that there is normally ten years of learning about how to work before they will actually get to that dream job. Is it any wonder they get a shock when asked to make the tea or take the post to the post box instead of more exciting tasks?!

Do you think that employers want to employ youngsters but its to much of a risk for them? or is there simply not the jobs available for them?

JA

 

[Cornish Steve]

On my recent visit back to Cornwall, I happened to see a BBC news article about youth unemployment. There was a short 20-second interview with a young lady who graduated recently with a first class honours degree. While well-spoken, she said something like "everyone told me I could go straight into middle management - but I can't find a job" - and there was obvious bitterness in her voice. What naivete - and therein, to my mind, is part of the problem: "Ask not what a company can do for you but what you can do for a company." It's attitude. Those willing to start at the bottom and work really hard, and forgo luxuries that come later in life, will - without doubt - succeed. They'll have no ego problems, no entitlement mentality, no qualms about working long hours for a pittance, and they'll learn and impress and progress and succeed. Those who believe the world owes them a living - or an instant well-paid position in middle management upon leaving university - will struggle.

 

[Fred_the_frog]

I'd happily work up from the bottom, just I don't want to work for a big company, especially the big retail stores.

 

[10032012]

Well there are two main issues why the culture has grown this way:-

1) the job market circumstances
2) cost of living

There is obviously the assumption that all youngsters live with their parents or that they should if they are unemployed or in education. They have a really low NMW rate. The cost of living is always on the increase. So many are living in income poverty.

Back in the day, I don't think anyone knew how anything worked. Today, people do. Things were so much simpler then and more face-2-face. These days as a cost cutting exercise it can be hard to talk to anyone (in person or on phone) and everyone is advised to make an application without any prior personal contact (its impossible to present and communicate yourself - you have to chance it to interview).

Everything is about low waged part time jobs or apprenticeships (also low wage), for these young people (... and yeah you can get apprenticeships in retail - joke!). Or there is education, college and uni... grow your aspirations without a job at the end of it. Oh and then there is the dole, some money while being treated inhumanely.

Employers aren't even flexible for these candidates, the same rules of application forms and CVs are required... but at that age what do most have to go on them?!

So you have your over-proud uni graduate boasting a degree and wanting a high position straight away and refusing to take anything less, and on the other end of the scale you have the long term unemployed person who has very low standards and low self-esteem willing to be treated like cr@p for some income to live day by day applying for the odd general job that comes up, from time to time, that everyone applies for and stands no chance.

 

[10032012]

I'd happily work up from the bottom, just I don't want to work for a big company, especially the big retail stores.

that sounds a bit dodgy.

 

[Fred_the_frog]

that sounds a bit dodgy.

:redface:

 

[Talay]

20 or perhaps even 10 years ago I would have thought a degree for my kids from a top university would open the door to a world of opportunity but I now take a more pragmatic approach.

I would love them to have that choice but I do not see even a decent degree in a proper subject as necessarily opening the doors it would have done in my time.

Thus, I am somewhat consigned to developing assets and business which could prove to be their career as well as my pension, should other opportunities not be available or indeed should they choose to be their own boss from the outset.

 

[Root 66 Woodshop]

To engage a younger person with menial tasks is like asking them to go out and shoot someone.

The amount of time's I've had someone look at me with that goldfish look when asked to clean the kitchen up after using it... if I had £1 each time... WOW!

We actually have a policy in our company whereas if all jobs are done within the shop, all areas are clean and ready for the next day... staff CAN sit and learn how to pick a lock or learn about the trade via the internet with no questions asked.

To be paid to be sat on their backsides while trawling the internet (pictures of locks, video's off youtube etc - sure sounds boring, but better than doing nothing plus their technically learning something too) surely is any young person's dream?

You'd have thought so! - But no! each apprentice we have had just couldn't be bothered... when I started work I'd jump at everything I was asked to do, it felt that I was more important than the lazy gits down in the warehouse... now it's the other way around, the Management or Directors are the lazy gits, and asking an apprentice to clean up after they've made a brew for folk is just too much to ask for!

I asked one lad to jump on the cleaning at 4.30pm so he'd be done for 5pm, give him a whole half hour of "nothing to do" ... cheeky sod answered with, I'll wait for you to finish so you can do it with me! (in quite a snotty tone I might add) - My Director overheard this and suggested that if he wanted to keep his job not to speak to Management like that, the lad started to cry and walked out! - His Daddy rang and started to shout and ball at me down the phone so I passed the phone over to the Director who sat, listened and answered politely...

"Well, we can see where he get's his attitude from can't we". and put the phone down.

Couldn't help but laugh

 

[jack.tang]

Where did you find your candidates? There are many high quality, studious and hard working individuals. Searching in the right place and a good job description is so important. The words you put in your job description will heavily determine the candidates you get.

Thoughts?

 

[internetspaceships]

Where did you find your candidates? There are many high quality, studious and hard working individuals. Searching in the right place and a good job description is so important. The words you put in your job description will heavily determine the candidates you get.

Thoughts?

Sure my thoughts. 95% of fresh graduates we have interviewed have been clueless with regards to common sense and the ability to be practical.

Many have been intelligent, well presented, well educated people but with so little ability to actually function in a working environment it makes it hard to take them on.

 

[Fred_the_frog]

Did anyone watch that programme called 'The town that never retired' ?

They took OAPs and put them back in a job, then they took Teenagers and put them in a job. The OAPs turned up every day, and most of the teenagers didn't turn up after day two.

Reason? Those jobs (excluding the builders) were jobs that i'd class as 'Part time jobs to earn a bit of money'. They were jobs that you wouldn't do for the rest of your life. Perfect for the OAPs but not great for the younger people who are looking for full time work.

(I'm not trying to hijack the thread, but this is related to the topic )

 

[jack.tang]

Sure my thoughts. 95% of fresh graduates we have interviewed have been clueless with regards to common sense and the ability to be practical.

Many have been intelligent, well presented, well educated people but with so little ability to actually function in a working environment it makes it hard to take them on.

And whilst checking their CV and background, did most of them have any extra curricular or other interest outside of university? We've seen many students with great qualifications with lots of common sense, I think again its down to where you got the candidates in the first instance. You can find professional / consultants with a narrow mind-set with no ability to think laterally..

 

[jack.tang]

Did anyone watch that programme called 'The town that never retired' ?

They took OAPs and put them back in a job, then they took Teenagers and put them in a job. The OAPs turned up every day, and most of the teenagers didn't turn up after day two.

Reason? Those jobs (excluding the builders) were jobs that i'd class as 'Part time jobs to earn a bit of money'. They were jobs that you wouldn't do for the rest of your life. Perfect for the OAPs but not great for the younger people who are looking for full time work.

(I'm not trying to hijack the thread, but this is related to the topic )

You said it was TV right? Yes? then there you go, if its not entertainment worthy, why televise?

 

[LeafletsInLincs]

In my experience "youngsters" aren't prepared to work hard. I get tons of job applications from students for example and they waffle on about which subjects they're studying when it really has no relevance at all to the job on offer. Also as soon as the student loans arrive they either quit or cut down the hours.

One thing i have noticed about younger people is just how terrible they are at applying for jobs. It can be quite comical.

I had an application recently from someone wanting to work as a leaflet distributor and when i checked his facebook page he had a photoshopped image of him with a trotter as a hand and i couldn't tell whether it was genuine or not.

Be very ware of what is on your facebook page folks lol

 

[Fred_the_frog]

In my experience "youngsters" aren't prepared to work hard. I get tons of job applications from students for example and they waffle on about which subjects they're studying when it really has no relevance at all to the job on offer. Also as soon as the student loans arrive they either quit or cut down the hours.

One thing i have noticed about younger people is just how terrible they are at applying for jobs. It can be quite comical.

I had an application recently from someone wanting to work as a leaflet distributor and when i checked his facebook page he had a photoshopped image of him with a trotter as a hand and i couldn't tell whether it was genuine or not.

Be very ware of what is on your facebook page folks lol

I photoshopped my face onto the queen a few years ago. That picture is long gone now though

 

[JandJC]

In reality we have over 1m unemployed young people...with the current policies of our current government - we will have a forgotten generation...come on people - start thinking proactively!

Think of the hidden talent within - how we can help them become an asset towards their local community!

Support is all they need, from successful people like ourselves to get out of the rut they are in!

 

[Cromulent]

Surely part of the role of the education system is to prepare people for work - certainly it should be at higher education levels.

No. The role of education is to educate (surprisingly enough). It is the employers job to provide job specific training.

This is the reason why we have young people today studying stupid degrees that have no intellectual merit simply because the business lobby group has insisted that schools and universities waste their time teaching students things that should be learnt on the job.

People should be studying intellectually useful subjects at school and not life skills.

 

[JandJC]

No. The role of education is to educate (surprisingly enough). It is the employers job to provide job specific training.

This is the reason why we have young people today studying stupid degrees that have no intellectual merit simply because the business lobby group has insisted that schools and universities waste their time teaching students things that should be learnt on the job.

People should be studying intellectually useful subjects at school and not life skills.

In my honest opinion, I would rather educate a 13 year old in business protocol than the standard curriculum.


If they have an idea and want to carry it through - having experts in the field to check its feasibility then Schools must let young people excel!

Business and Education can work hand in hand as it does in the business world!

 

[TheWhiteGroup]

Unfortunately, being in this age group (18), the majority of people my age honestly cannot be bothered to search for jobs, or if they have applied it's rarely because they want to. It's usually forced by either parents or their financial situation.

It's very rare for people my age to succeed because of their backgrounds. It's also rare to find young people who are interested in starting businesses.

Sometimes I worry for the next generation of adults.

 

[aakash]

I used to own a pub, older women would see an empty glass on the table and think "its my job to clean that so i will go and get it", an 18 year old will be checking their phone, talking to people, staring out the window anything but using common sense and pulling their finger out.