AIBU to think redundancy crisis is not getting enough media coverage?

Lots of the ppl over retirement age in my local supermarket have worked there for years and still have rent to pay, so full retirement isn't necessarily affordable for them. That might be why you're seeing them as state pensiong doesn't always cover all the bills.

I believe a lot of the problem with young people is that they have been indoctrinated to ‘live their passion as their job’ so you get people going to uni and wondering why they can’t get a job when they graduate. Much more sensible to encourage them to only consider degrees for areas with severe shortages, doing something they can ‘live with’ as a job accepting it’s in no way their passion, and to live their passion in the form of hobbies. It’s not a mentality these new generations have though and indeed was a completely foreign concept I had to hammer through to mine.

@Badbadbunny A better option would be for Unis to actually do specific courses for, say, Chartered Accountancy where their courses/modules are specific to professional exams to gain exemptions, etc. That way, the period of further studying/exams after leaving Uni would be reduced, costs of training courses would be reduced, and the graduates would be better places (in terms of training) to hit the ground running. A degree in accountancy does make someone an accountant, not even close, and such graduates usually do exactly the same "on the job" training as school leavers

uhmmm, that’s exactly what one of mine did do. Did the degree which covered the learning content of the professional quals, it was recognised so on completion you simply applied to have that all ticked as done (no qual exams required), and it was then just a case of working under supervision for a certain number of hours (from memory maybe 6 mths, not sure but was not onerous) to have that last aspect ticked off to be able to put CA next to your name. The degree teamed up with industry as well as they had to do a minimum number of placement hours as part of the degree, but the expectation was that the uni had done the training and this was just supervision of putting it into practice. This was non paid so that was not a barrier, there was no shortage of places wanting spare hands that were fairly useful and just required oversight rather than training. They all had jobs lined up before graduating.

Another of mine did something similar as an actuary. Did the degree, which then automatically ticked off two thirds of the professional quals, the uni partnered with industry for non paid placements during the degree but handed off people who were fairly useful requiring minimal work, and again every one of them had a job lined up prior to leaving. Was a bit different to CA though as to gain professional quals the remaining third to get ticked off was working under supervision for either 12 or 24 months (can’t recall now) and there were remaining exams at that point. Again though, no workplace training, after uni it was just a case of working under supervision but being handed off fully able. Noting we are not in UK, but I can’t understand why your uni’s would be different?

“Construction” isn’t people getting extensions, it’s a huge industry and that’s a small part of it. However I agree it’s not safe- It’s being rapidly automated, and it’s like in the age of AI people forget about automation taking jobs.

@Shatenoeuf similar experiences here. Three job vacancies this year in an area with loads of redundancies in other companies, so got a ton of applications.
We were hoping to hire women, preferably with y citicenship.
Hired two guys and one woman, none of them british citizens. The quality just wasn’t there! We offer flexible hybrid working, great maternity benefits etc, but only for people who have the capability

Theres a mismatch between the people who are being made redundant and the jobs available.

Im hiring at the moment and its really hard!! Young candidates are awful. They dump keywords out of the job description into a cv even where they dont have that experience. They dont actually listen to the interview questions they just recite their prepared answers (which are boring). I deliberately dont ask "standard" questions as I want someond who can actually think not deliver an answer they got off chatgpt in advance. Ive done interviews on teams where it looks like they are typing my questions into copilot/chatgot to get answers.

I think a lot of people are blissfully ignorant. It's easy to say industries like construction are ok, but it wholly depends on people have disposable income. More redundancies, less jobs, and masses of belt tightening. Beauty, hairdressing, retail, and physical therapies will all be affected too.

Also, what happened to the salaries of jobs that are out there? They look pretty low, even for skilled staff.

It also doesn't help having the india trade deal, with no NI being paid for 3 years. All the fast food franchises, who'd typically employ British teens, are finding it cheaper to hire Indian workers. Add in the offshore shipment of jobs to manilla, India, etc for the cheap wage - it paints a very bleak and worrying time to come.

Well if you asked most of the ladies in the supermarket over sixty if they are happy that they are still working I think the answer would be NO , I’m 65 and not getting my state pension until I’m 67, I would love not to work so a younger person could have my job. At 65 I have really had enough i started at work at age 16 a week often my birthday , the Goal Post have moved three times for me 60 to 65 then 66 then 67. I don’t want to go to work I have to untill I’m 67.

I agree there is a hidden recession. So many companies making small regular cuts of 300-400 vs widespread massive cuts of 3000 with mines/factories etc - i've never known so much simultaneous restructure - not specifically AI related but future focused.
Scary amounts of uncertainty

You want a software engineer to work as a nurse or in a vape shop?

Entry level jobs such as retail are almost non existent these days. Try finding a person to ask a question of or a check out that isn’t self service. Admin applicants are now being subjected to multiple interviews and all manner of testing. ChatGPT is the new graphic designer. Project/care/legal planner …I’m so glad I’m not starting out and I fear for my teen daughters! I’m buying them both a house and teaching them how to live off the land…

That's a fair point, but a lot of us older people are either working beyond pension access age, or planning to work beyond pension access age to support teenagers and grown children, as their financial prospects and opportunities for home ownership are even more dismal than our own.

Start businesses. Get new skills. Move industry. Move internationally. Network.

You can complain but sometimes the job market shifts and your complaints won't change that.

I often wonder how much the trend of home working has impacted this. Whether it made companies realise that 'the human touch' was actually overrated and people are increasingly happy dealing with AI chat assistants and automated emails now that face to face discussions are increasingly uncommon and not an expectation.

Like, nobody walks into the bank and sits down with an advisor to open a new account nowadays.

Totally agree with this.
There is also a problem with people who have to claim benefits (mainly UC), that they are not allowed to undertake training (as in - they have to 'look for jobs / any job' for up to 35hpw) - ie if in 'training', (even unpaid) they wouldn't be eligible for benefits as they are not 'available' for work - and before I get jumped on, I used to work within jobcentre/DWP environment for almost 20 years (when some such schemes were often available).
Why not bring back schemes where people can train / re-train for relevant jobs and also be allowed to still claim necessary benefits to get by?
Just a thought....

I work in engineering in the water industry (civil engineering) and there are huge programmes of investment ongoing and a skills shortage. Maybe it doesn’t sound glamorous to some, but I’ve had a very rewarding career, every day is different and have worked on so many types of project.

What type of engineering? Where? Process engineer here but a tonne of us have just been put at risk. Clues very gratefully received 🙏🙏🙏

In my 30s and almost all the couples I know one of them is being made redundant. Never known Anything like this. Across public and private sectors and so many industries

They’re entitled to a performance management programme and then the legal process of managing out if they’re underperforming.

They have to be a registered employer to sponsor a visa

I know of a lot OP, YANBU. Perhaps however it is area dependent?

Probably something to do with the mass redundancies in the news industry

How long do they have to pay the £41k for. I suspect they have family/friends overseas wanting to come here and the money for the 'salary' is contributed from other sources. Once they are here they disappear

This is one of the bigger issues with employers in general.

They want to put the cost and risk of training into the candidate and institutions like universities. But, they are finding that universities are beholden to those paying the fees and aren't giving the right skills nor ensuring quality.

Their answer is to claim there are no candidates and hire abroad, with the added bonus of lower salaries.

The answer is to put the responsibility for training on business, and make damn sure they can dump workers who aren't cutting it. They can fagm it out if they want to universities or other institutions but since they will be paying they will want to ensure value for money.

What someone views as calling out bullying or unfairness

is actually just a manager not putting up with an employee taking the piss or doing a poor job. The employee thinks they are being bullied. In fact they are being managed because they are not pulling their weight