Rupert_Baehr Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 I was talking with some young people today and was alarmed at their desolate view of their futures. All but one of them is out of work in spite of good qualifications and the right attitude, and they are becoming increasingly cynical. All but one still live at home and can see no prospect of ever leaving, or doing the sorts of things that I took for granted at their age such as eventually owning a car and getting married. They are good kids, who were promised a future and feel it has been taken away from them. The one's who haven't pretty much given up are seething with anger and resentment, and I fear for them. They only see the situation as getting worse, much worse, in the long term. At the time listening to them I couldn't think of anything realistic or reassuring to say, and I still can't. They're smart kids, and can smell bull**** a mile off. Help me out here, what could I have said to give them hope apart from platitudes like never give up? 'Good qualifications'. How good? Were those qualifications pertinent to the job they were looking for? They are good kids, who were promised a future Who promised them a future? When I was born, if you were lucky enough to be born into a wealthy family you might inherit (I wasn't.) Otherwise, you were on your own and life was what you made of it. When did the rules change? When was a law passed which says: 'The world owes you a living? If you want to go out, set up a business (In Sheffield or in most other parts of the world) and make a fortune, who's going to stop you? Yes, I've read (on this forum) about how Richard Branson's dad was rich ... But Branson's dad didn't buy Virgin for him ... he did that on his own. How many unemployed Doctors are there in Sheffield? How many unemployed Veterinarians? How many unemployed Nurses? How many unemployed pharmacists? How many unemployed Engineers? How many unemployed physicists, chemists, microbiologists, civil engineers, architects, lawyers (probably a few of those) mathematicians? (to name but a few.) There may well be a few unemployed Alpine flower arrangers, a few meeja studies graduates and more than a few underwater basket weavers, but didn't they check the employment prospects before they started their studies? Thats the recession for you even if you go to university when you get out you're not any better off just £20,000 in debt most jobs with big companies are taken by eastern european workers. Why do the big companies take on Eastern European workers? Can those Eastern European workers read, write and express themselves fluently in English? (No doubt many of thems can do that in at least one other language.) Can the English people they beat out to get the jobs read, write and express themselves fluently in English? - Or R they ltd 2 txtspk m8? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mecky Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 People (Adults) were only saying the same thing when I was a kid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epiphany Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 Nice one. Difficult with no money, but I applaud the sentiment.. Well I can only say what worked for me. And I was young not so long ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrSmith Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 Kids are being told it’s the taking part that counts, I told mine winning is more important and if you don’t win you lost. They are told you can achieve anything and be anything, get real aim for something that is achievable based on your abilities. It may be harsh but some kids are destined to be physicists and doctors whilst other should aim for a job stacking shelves, cleaning toilets. No matter how hard some work they will never achieve the dream job they have been told everyone can achieve. When they fail their life coming crashing down to reality and leave them resentful. It’s not the fault of the kids it’s the fault of our soft system, they now have to compete for jobs with people from the whole of Europe and many of them have been brought up to work hard from a young age. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
llamatron Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 I was talking with some young people today and was alarmed at their desolate view of their futures. All but one of them is out of work in spite of good qualifications and the right attitude, and they are becoming increasingly cynical. All but one still live at home and can see no prospect of ever leaving, or doing the sorts of things that I took for granted at their age such as eventually owning a car and getting married. They are good kids, who were promised a future and feel it has been taken away from them. The one's who haven't pretty much given up are seething with anger and resentment, and I fear for them. They only see the situation as getting worse, much worse, in the long term. At the time listening to them I couldn't think of anything realistic or reassuring to say, and I still can't. They're smart kids, and can smell bull**** a mile off. Help me out here, what could I have said to give them hope apart from platitudes like never give up? What I don't understand is the two sections of society, one is working long hours 5 days a week and will work until they are 70 getting mental and health problems like stress and obesity caused by enforced sedentary lifestyles, the other is doing nothing by choice or because there are not enough jobs getting problems like stress and obesity because they have nothing to do. Is it me or is there a ridiculously easy solution to a lot of this bull, a 4 day working week for example? My job could easily be shared between two people maybe adding a bit of responsibility to each role. We would be paying less for people not working which could go towards pensions, we would be paying less into the NHS because everyone would be healthier. I know this is very simplistic but surely it would help! There are a lot of salaries that could be cut in two the amounts bankers and lawyers get. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
love_rat Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 It is harder for kids these days than it was in the 1990s (the last recession). In 2011, a Shelf Stacker at Tesco is regarded as a sought after job, did they not get over 3000 applications for the new place at the wicker? rewind back to 1992, and a job as a Shelf Stacker was still regarded as a job for duffers and no hopers and only suitbale for someone who had the intelligence of a rabbit dropping. QUALIFICATIONS...Again, rewind back to the las recession in the early 1990s and lets compare qualifications. In 1992, 4 GCSES or above were regarded as a benchmark and I don't care what people say, 4 GCSEs in 1992 gave you a better chance than someone who had no qualifications, doors opened. If you had say 2 A levels, you were now regarded as very qualified and could command a decent job (for example a good job in public sector) with above average pay, good working conditions and job security. If you had a Degree the world was your oyster, you could walk into some very good jobs. Fast forward to 2011, a Degree is does not have the same value in todays job market and many graduates cannot get a job. Of the graduates who are getting jobs, a fair percentage of these are applying for the sort of jobs that a 1992 school dropout/or school duffer would have applied for, Lets not also forget that in 1992 a degree was done for FREE, so in effect, not only did you get a FREE DEGREE, you could walk into virtually most jobs on graduating, command a very good salary, have no debt and have spent your best years (aged 18-21) attending partys, attending protests and pretending that you had Irish Ancestry. A graduate now could have debts of £50,000 and not have the guarantee of a job. The other issue that in 1992, if you wanted a job you could get one. It may not have been a good job, it could have been long hours at low pay, but you got a job. Can the same be said for the generation of 2011? I think not Buying a car..........rewind back to 1992, can we all remember mark 2 Escorts? or how about a Fiat Panda? cars that could be bought for £150 (I bought an Escort for £150), stuffed it full of body filler and sprayed it up, and I remember many lads did the same. Or what about a fiat panda, a mate bougt one for £50. Anyway your humble nail bought by many teens could cost less than £200, would cost less than £390 to insure (a fiat panda could cost as little as £150 for a 17 year old), £8 in petrol bought you fuel for over a week (£8 in petrol fuelled a fiat panda for a month ). Compare that with a youth of 2011, insurance costing £5000+ how can that be right? HOUSING - In 1992, if you had a full time job, then you could buy a home it was a simple as that. Even a terrace in Walkley would only set you back about £14,000, so even if your wages were only £8000 a year, you could buy a home. As a part time worker, with saving I was able to purchase a home in the 1990s. People say house prices are relative, but that is simply absolute nonsense. So all in all, I do agree that the young in 2011 have got it bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chazco Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 I'm in my early 20's and agree with a lot of what love_rat said. There are a lot of young people in this generation who feel that we've drawn the short straw. Consider housing as an example. My parents were able to buy a semi-detached two-bedroomed house in a nice area on a factory wage and a part-time shop assistants wage. The house cost around £18,000 I believe - approximately their combined income. I'm earning much more than they were combined and yet I stand no chance of getting a mortgage for an equivalent property. I've looked at a similar house (same road, same specification) - at todays prices it's over £175,000! University education is another popular bug-bear at the moment. Not too long ago you could get a free university education if you deserved it and worked for it. The same education today will get you upwards of £20,000 worth of debt. Grade inflation has also made qualifications such as A-Levels and GCSEs effectively useless when job seeking. I've not even considered buying a car. I took one look at what it would cost to add myself to my parents insurance and decided that it was unaffordable. Factor in the high cost of fuel as well and I don't think I would stand a chance with my own car at the moment. Don't get me wrong - the opportunities for a decent future are still there if you're willing to work for them, but it seems like they're a lot harder to come by. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrSmith Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 I'm in my early 20's and agree with a lot of what love_rat said. There are a lot of young people in this generation who feel that we've drawn the short straw. Consider housing as an example. My parents were able to buy a semi-detached two-bedroomed house in a nice area on a factory wage and a part-time shop assistants wage. The house cost around £18,000 I believe - approximately their combined income. I'm earning much more than they were combined and yet I stand no chance of getting a mortgage for an equivalent property. I've looked at a similar house (same road, same specification) - at todays prices it's over £175,000! University education is another popular bug-bear at the moment. Not too long ago you could get a free university education if you deserved it and worked for it. The same education today will get you upwards of £20,000 worth of debt. Grade inflation has also made qualifications such as A-Levels and GCSEs effectively useless when job seeking. I've not even considered buying a car. I took one look at what it would cost to add myself to my parents insurance and decided that it was unaffordable. Factor in the high cost of fuel as well and I don't think I would stand a chance with my own car at the moment. Don't get me wrong - the opportunities for a decent future are still there if you're willing to work for them, but it seems like they're a lot harder to come by. My kids are your age, 21 and 25. 25 year old has A levels, which were as waste of time, he works, is on his third new car. Money in the bank and never been without a job. 21 year old GCSE’s worked since leaving school, new car paid for and money in the bank. They have had the advantage of staying with use because housing is far too expensive but they are both saving for their deposit, they don’t spend money of drink and fags which also helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chazco Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 My kids are your age, 21 and 25. 25 year old has A levels, which were as waste of time, he works, is on his third new car. Money in the bank and never been without a job. 21 year old GCSE’s worked since leaving school, new car paid for and money in the bank. They have had the advantage of staying with use because housing is far too expensive but they are both saving for their deposit, they don’t spend money of drink and fags which also helps. I'm glad to hear they're doing well. Sadly I don't have the luxury of living at home so paying the rent eats a large portion of my income - I'm still saving for a deposit though. I don't smoke/drink/eat-out either - most people would be surprised at just how many of the current generation don't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
banjodeano Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 Well yes... but how do you advise young people these days who come looking to you for reassurance / help? tell them were all in it together.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.