Dropouts ‘on the dole’.
Posted by Big John on November 7, 2007
When I left school in 1955 at the age of sixteen, there was no problem about finding employment, for as I recall, I was offered a number of job opportunities by an advisor from what I believe was then called ‘The Youth Employment Service’.
In those days I really don’t believe that young people ever thought about not working for a living, unlike today where it seems we have a new type of unemployed youngster who is classed as a … ’NEET’ … not in education, employment or training. In fact at the moment we have some 200,000 16 and 17 year olds currently in this category.
Now I’m sure that among that number there are many who find it difficult to get a job for one reason or another, but I’m bloody sure that there are plenty who are very happy to sit on their arses all day living on ‘benefits’ provided by the tax payer.
A few years ago I ran a small workshop in a poor area of South London where unemployment was high. I employed half a dozen skilled and semi-skilled men; and at that time the government was offering cash incentives to employers to take on young people, so I requested the local ‘Job Centre’ to send along any likely young candidates who were prepared to help out around the place with a view to picking up a few useful skills. The pay wasn’t bad and there were opportunities for further training.
Almost immediately I started to get phone calls from the youth employment office about young men ’on their books’. I made appointments to interview more than twenty of the applicants during the following week, and at the end of that time I was asked … ”Have you selected someone for the job yet ?”
My reply was … “Not yet, but I’ll give the job to the first one who actually turns up for his interview !”
Now it seems that the government’s answer to this sort of behaviour in the future will be … a piece of paper known as an ‘attendance order’ (that’ll scare the shit out of ’em !) or .. as usual, a £50 fine !
Now assuming that they will even ’bovver’ to pay the fine; where do you suppose they will find the money ?
Yes, of course … It will come out of …
… those same bloody ’benefits’ !
gawilli said
Here we have an increasing amount of young people with a college education that return home to their parent’s house, rather than make their own way. Who’s to blame for that?