Trainees no longer ready for workplace

I have co-morbid disabilities (all diagnosed) which aren't visible, and I never tick the box. Partly out of a concern that it won't be 'visible' enough (appreciate you're not saying that, but I worry) and partly out of a concern that because it isn't 'visible', I'll be lumped in with people who use mental health terminology to describe themselves where it's not appropriate.

I don't sit on interview panels but I've heard from colleagues who do that being unable to interview anyone who hadn't ticked the box, due to time constraints, is something that's increasingly common over the past couple of years.

I have co-morbid disabilities (all diagnosed) which aren't visible, and I never tick the box. Partly out of a concern that it won't be 'visible' enough (appreciate you're not saying that, but I worry) and partly out of a concern that because it isn't 'visible', I'll be lumped in with people who use mental health terminology to describe themselves where it's not appropriate.

I don't sit on interview panels but I've heard from colleagues who do that being unable to interview anyone who hadn't ticked the box, due to time constraints, is something that's increasingly common over the past couple of years.

I agree there's also a laziness in employers. There is apparently a skills shortage - there might be, but instead of all chasing the same employees with the skillset there's no will (or desire to spend money on) training people.

Entry level roles demand 2-5 years experience. Not exactly entry level.

I agree there's also a laziness in employers. There is apparently a skills shortage - there might be, but instead of all chasing the same employees with the skillset there's no will (or desire to spend money on) training people.

Entry level roles demand 2-5 years experience. Not exactly entry level.

On recruitment, my friend works for a public sector body and there is a guaranteed interview scheme for people with disabilities. Which is definitely as a policy a positive thing.

However, in their last round of graduate recruitment so many applicants had ticked the disability box that they only had the time to interview all of them. Almost all of the ones who didn’t, did not get an interview.

When the candidates arrived for interview, there was in the vast majority of cases no visible disability - which obviously does not mean that it doesn’t exist - but you can’t help but wonder how many of them are self-diagnosing as disabled? My friend said they weren’t allowed to ask about it or anything.

if this is the case, that really is damaging to people with actual and serious disabilities.

So is lip filler.

Also surely trainees are by their nature in training?

Employers seem to want to have their cake and eat it these days.

They want the education system to churn out perfectly formed automaton workers at 21 and don't seem to want to bother to train them up or pay for it in the sort of taxation required to have a very good state education system.

When in the past they'd have already been training them from the age of 14.

This is unnecessary.

Ah dear. Needless nastiness is only popular here.

I’m not sure it is 😁

This is unnecessary.

I'd sack anyone who was stupid enough to get lip filler!

I graduated from school in 1999 and uni in 2006. All I was ever told by careers advisors was get a good degree and it's a stepping stone to middle management.

That definitely was NOT the case!

Gosh I wish they taught like this at my daughter's (very academic) school. She's not as academic and struggles with the university type learning style of it all!!
I think she'd get really good GCSEs if she knew exactly what to write and simply had to learn it

Has it ever occurred to some adults that authoritarian working styles, commonly associated with boomers, may be ineffective? Instead of harsh discipline, we should focus on collaboration and cooperation. Just because we stood in a corner as children and it didn’t seem to harm us doesn’t mean it’s the best approach..🙄

Boomerness is being rejected by the younger cohorts. Get over it.

It's book 4 in the Bobiverse universe - Heaven's River, best on Audible. But also, only worth a read if you love a mix of comedic and hard SF. Book 1 is about someone whose mind gets uploaded to a replicating spaceship and makes clones of himself. Book 4 is a long way to go for the idea!

(the dilemma in the book is whether to interfere or not with a species that is sliding backwards because no one has to think anymore to have a nice life)

I've noticed this too in my area of work too. Not all but some act like they're doing you a favour turning up and have an immediate list of things they don't want to do or be expected to do.

We recently had a newly qualified too who seemed at first to be great, really enthusiastic and personable then very quickly lots of last-minute requests to WFH or take leave. At the end of the first month they complained they hadn't been paid correctly and it transpired they didn't know what pro-rata meant and hadn't bothered to ask or look it up so thought they were going to get paid full-time for working part-time. Then seemed to think they were being magnanimous by saying they weren't blaming anyone but going forward, they recommended it should be made clearer on the job spec that you wouldn't get FT pay for PT work.

They 'worked' but didn't actually do much for 2 months then put their notice in, then withdrew it. Then put it in again and were arguing that they wanted to take A/L for all of their notice period because they had x amounts of hours entitlement when the x amount of hours was their entitlement for the year and they were only working a few months and had already taken a lot of leave.

We let them go early in the end, we just wanted rid.

Gosh I wish they taught like this at my daughter's (very academic) school. She's not as academic and struggles with the university type learning style of it all!!
I think she'd get really good GCSEs if she knew exactly what to write and simply had to learn it

Okay, all of that may be true.
But it doesn't explain the issues found in female-dominant, low-paid work.

Such as a supermarket employee who is lazy, often late, often sick, eye-rolls at her supervisor, and has no work ethic.
Or a young teacher or nurse whose Mum phones up when they are "too ill to work today".

As many others have said, I think there is something fundamentally wrong with a lot of parenting in recent years.
Plus I think it makes a huge difference that youngsters don't routinely get part-time jobs from the age of 14.

I used to love having trainees allocated to us. They were so enthusiastic, hardworking and a breath of fresh air. It was great to see them develop.

The last few have acted like they're doing us a favour if they turn up by lunchtime because they could have called in sick for nothing. Seriously can't be bothered doing the basics and expect everything to be done for them. Little respect for anyone else and the huge support they're being given. Won't meet a deadline, because this would affect their mental health and basically impinges on their human rights.

They all still expect to qualify and will be passed by the provider unless they do something truly dangerous, but they won't have the real experience or skills to join the workplace and get on with a job.

I'm barely even a different generation, but wouldn't have dreamed of acting the way they do when I was learning and felt I had to prove myself. AIBU to expect standards to be the same?

I think a large part of it is a culture shift that's still in progress.
Once upon a time, not that long ago, if you were going to have a responsible job, you were a white man probably of a particular background. Expectations and norms were very clear - you wore a suit, you shook hands, you turned up on time - these were more than likely instilled in you by your private school. You very quickly picked up the culture and the boundaries and you stuck to them, to get ahead.
Now the working world is far more open, but the norms aren't as clear. I research medical training and older doctors keep complaining about a 'lack of professionalism' in younger trainees, but when you delve deeper it's clear that the older doctors had very rigid expectations explicitly taught to them and enforced at all costs, whereas newer doctors don't have that. The trainees are trying to learn a very difficult job while also navigating and very unclear and confusing culture that is often contradictory - for example they are told their workplaces are inclusive and welcoming and yet they see certain people being treated differently (usually by older doctors who had racism and sexism built into their training). They are assured that their work life balance is important while also being told they can't take time off for a sibling's wedding.
If there's a very dominant culture (white men) then it's pretty easy to pass that culture on, and to exclude people who don't fit it. Things should open up but if there isn't clarity around what's expected, or there are no real role models, then of course younger people get lost. Mixed messages (women are 'valued', but no women get promoted) also don't help.

The university provider sends them for placements as trainee primary teachers. They want their fees so let them get away with the bare minimum. We can try to coach, write reports and flag up concerns with performance, but nothing changes because they know they can get away without trying, letting everyone down in the meantime.