Trainees no longer ready for workplace

Surely they have to do the expected work to an acceptable standard, with evidence of competency in multiple areas to pass their placement or is that not part of teacher training any more?

Do any of you have experience of international trainees of a similar age? We've recently had a couple of trainees join from India - they're about 22/23, and they have amazing work ethic. Punctual, hard working, polite, eager to learn. If this trend continues, the UK could be in serious trouble as the world is getting very competitive...

I’m not a teacher and have no experience but the impression I’ve got from friends is that the training is very intense and hard work and consumes most of your waking hours? Then apparently you have zero work-life balance in the first year or so qualified.

Or maybe it’s just become so unappealing that there’s not as many high quality candidates and they get away with more?

I am not joking, a young guy at my workplace did the exact same thing. I did a double take at your post 😂 Said his vision was too blurry to drive!

I'm saying this as a childless elder millennial so take it however you want. But I've noticed that parents do way too much for their kids. Everything is organised. Kids gain independence quite late and even that is quite controlled. There is safeguarding in place and all risks are minimised. This will affect critical thinking skills, problem solving skills, social interactions etc. Then we get to people being chronically online. Reading mumsnet I feel like I live in different world let alone taking work advice from here.

That being said. Every generation is looked down by previous and every generation has piss takers and very dedicated workers.

We have had record low unemployment in the UK for a long time now (and lots of people choosing not to work). I do wonder if this has had a demotivating effect on the younger workforce. They know there are plenty of jobs out there to choose from.

When there’s more pressure to keep your job, people tend to put in more effort and present themselves as keen and willing to work hard. This can help with engagement, greater enjoyment etc. You get out what you put in.

Blackbird can you remember which employers these were, or where you saw those videos? I'd be very interested to know.

Yanbu. I’ve seen this for myself as we’ve taken on quite a few young people (early-mid 20s) at work in the last year or so. I can’t believe their total lack of trying to impress in a new role, turning up on the dot of 9.30 or up to ten minutes late, not showing any keenness to take on new tasks and basically acting like they are the ones doing us a favour by being in the job. These were “high calibre” candidates with good degrees. This industry is a long way from teaching and they have good starting salaries (min 30k with potential to double that or more within a few years).
I’m mid-40s so not ancient in terms of how I remember things being at that age and I certainly never behaved this way at work, or witnessed it from anyone else. They seem incredibly entitled.

I actually think this is good point. You might start seeing companies willing to hire older workers who have very difference mindsets and value systems. I’ve already seen videos of employers saying they’ve stopped hiring Gen Z and prefer to look for older staff. Might be good for Millennials and Gen X who will (sadly) have to work many more years before retirement.

Alas, that would require existing workplaces to notice their own failings, rather than whinge about the failings of others. 🤣

Perhaps all these workplaces finding young recruits so lacking compared to previous generations could actively take on over 50s, who apparently cannot get a look in no matter how many jobs they apply for.
We will not get our pensions till 67 or 68, so we are still quite motivated.

Missing the point of the thread (or maybe not).

Thirty years ago as a 'senior' member of staff (21 years old), I was responsible for teaching school leavers in their first job how to speak on the telephone, write letters and perform basic calculations - things like percentages, fractions, that sort of thing. Not one of them had a GCSE over a grade E, but they learned quickly and would eventually use that knowledge in future jobs as well. I was paid roughly double their salary specifically because I was teaching core skills, not just 'press this button'.

I now have to deal with people with degrees and salaries nearer three times mine whom need to be taught exactly the same things that those school leavers picked up in three months. Except they don't want to do it and refuse because 'It's too hard, I can't possibly understand technical things, you're so much better at it than me so do my job as well as your own or I'll go crying to the boss that you're being mean to me'.

It's embarrassing, frankly.

Probably because they need new teachers desperately?

@Changingplace It takes a lot of courage for a manager to put juniors on a performance improvement plan… They will accuse the manager of bullying, some will take a lawyer who will then make spurious claims…

It's from primary to job entry that the problems happens. Kids aren't allowed out to play, too dangerous. Get forced through exams. Lack of participation in part time jobs. Lockdown.

At all stages, young people have had their independence stunted; it is annoying when they are ill equipped for the work place but there is so little chance to make mistakes and build resilience growing up today.

We need a society that is more child development needs centred - but not in the Molly coddling way, in a way that lets them gown and develop more fully than just via school.

They will complain about their mental health, then it is bullying.
we’ve had this in our workplace. And then everyone is scared about an enquiry and bullying allegation

@ChannelLightVessel I completely agree - I don't envy the young ones now because the pressure on them is huge

I was in NHS radiography. We had many good, committed students, but I cannot tell you how many would wander in mid morning, Monday, and then ask you to sign off their week's attendance. You refuse? The student coordinator would send out a group email reminding us of the Trust's anti-bullying policy. Imagine telling a student that they actually need to turn up in order for you to sign off their attendance!!

The obvious conflict of interest between a uni who needs to attract new students and pass them all with firsts, and the workplace that is expected to provide the 'clinical placements' for these students, and find many unsuitable- needs addressing.

A properly run apprenticeship scheme would do this.

I should have added this started pre Covid. 2015 maybe.
I have noticed my sample shares a common characteristic, being spoilt by their parents and having been told their whole life they’re a genius (most of them come from good if not top unis).

People will make all the excuses in the world OP. But I work in a law firm and we are seeing the exact same thing. I personally believe that one factor in this is that many parents don’t want their kids to work during school/uni any more.

i understand it’s because they don’t want them distracted from exams etc but in my view, these jobs in retail, call centres etc are absolutely the making of young people. Conflict resolution. Dealing with the public. Self confidence. Resilience. It’s so, so important.

YANBU
My team (a front office role in an investment bank) has been a revolving door of juniors. We had to let go most of them (and would have had to let go the others if they hadn’t left by themselves). Most of them are highly entitled yet needing to be spoon fed, missing deadlines, no resilience… I’ve been doing this job for 25 years and have seen the downward trend.

Completely agree. Most things aren’t “mental health” issues. They are just the slings and arrows of normal life. It’s normal to feel extremely anxious during exams or an interview, it’s normal to feel like shit when you’ve been dumped, it’s normal to feel unnerved that you are behind the class in understanding something or get poor grades because you’ve spent your years pissing about in lessons and playing video games into the early hours instead of getting a book out and revising or looking over work you didn’t get earlier and giving it another go.

Resilience and stoicism are very attractive qualities. I’m not even talking obscene levels of putting up with hardship but just the absolute bare minimum levels would be good for kids to learn these days. They also need to understand that something can still be their responsibility without it being their fault. It might not be your fault that the train that just gets you into work on time each day is always late, but it is your responsibility to sort that problem out and get to work on time. That might mean getting the train earlier as a buffer but things like this seem to perplex so many youngsters. It’s not your fault if your laptop packs up one hour before your assignment deadline but it was your responsibility to get it done on time or face the consequences.

I don’t think Covid caused this. This decline was happening rapidly anyway (ask any teachers). All Covid did was expedite it by about five years.

I’m not disputing PPs’ experience, but how does this fit with the higher academic expectations on young people nowadays? DD is in Year 11, and the curriculum is much harder than when I did GCSEs (1988!). They are also expected to revise for more or less the whole school year, as well as going to extra sessions at lunchtime. And I assume A levels are therefore also significantly harder, and there seems to be much more competition for certain university courses.
Is it that they don’t have the opportunity to develop ‘soft’ skills because education has become so academic? Or are they hoping to have a bit of breather now they’re finally out off the education treadmill?

I think social media has had a huge affect on the younger generation (and I say this as a 30yo millennial).

A lot of them lack worth ethic, critical thinking, motivation, initiative and just basic customer service skills. (This is from my experience of working alongside them and being served by them in different settings).

They’re totally against the traditional 9-5, aspire to be TikTok stars and influencers. Self diagnose mental illnesses, ADHD, ASD and more. Refuse to work somewhere if they cannot work from home and dictate their own hours.

Anyone who challenges them is a “Karen” and they have an excuse for everything. They take no accountability for themselves.

(Obviously this isn’t aimed at all young people. I’m sure there are a lot of Mumsnetters who have children in their late teens and early 20’s who are successful and hardworking.)

I don't understand why is everyone at the school holding their hands and mollycoddling them. Hasn't anyone had a stern word with them stating, start and end times, jobs that need to be done and on time. Real reports to the Uni, refuse to sign off on incompetent people. When you put your name to their paperwork and pass them, it makes it look like you think it's all OK.
We got a few youngsters start at my work as Nurse assistants. No one held their hands they got a short time shadowing a more senior assistant a load of online training and in person classes and were told how to get on with it.
First day late they were told by the nurse how it's not appropriate etc etc. Not getting stuff done the nurse in charge had a sit down, office door closed chat. Nine out of ten pulled it together and did well. The other would get upset, try and make excuses (non were accepted) Didn't last more than 2 weeks and left.
Life is bloody hard, they need to keep up.