Confused re attitude to benefits and work experience

Presumably the reason there are 463,000 jobs is because at any one time, vacancies have to be advertised and then filled. It would be totally bizarre if at any point in time, no job vacancies whatsoever were in existence. There will be people going on maternity leave etc and creating those vacancies. Many of the jobs will be taken be people who are not classed as unemployed (students, SAHM etc) so the existence of those vacancies doesn't mean those jobs will go to unemployed people.

".. if housing costs had not been allowed to get so insanely high ..."

What do you mean by allowed ?

How would you prevent this?

Would you advocate State intervention in the housing market? Are you advocating a large increase in the land available for building? Would you say that mortgages should be further restricted to force funds and thus prices down?

When I was made redundant 4 years ago I took the only job I could get which was part time. I thought it was preferable to signing on. I kept pushing for more hours and job hunting for another job too. I didn't claim TC I skipped meals to pay bills and feed dd. Yet that makes me lazy and greedy does it OP?

I met DH and fell pregnant, we decided I'd take a short break from job hunting and hope things would be better in the job market after dd was 6months old. However DH was made redundant when I was 37 weeks. He has had no job hunting success, I haven't even had a reply and they won't increase my hours. We applied for CTC in desperation to avoid homelessness and starvation tiding us over during the job hunting. You'll be pleased to know OP that they rejected our claim even on appeal. DH's entitlement to CBJSA will soon expire and we will get nothing but CB. We do our best to job hunt yet people like you OP feel the need to judge. Greedy and entitled? Well gloat away from your position of perfection while we starve with fuck all support from the state, gloat away when my dds are taken into care.

Post's like your OP really piss me off. Do you really believe you know the reasons every part time worker works part time, or why unemployed people are unemployed? Considering the number of people in the above situations I doubt very much you do know.

But it takes a long time to become registered as a CM, and it also takes money. You cant just set up overnight.

Why is it snobby to want to be paid? Lots of people couldn't get christmas jobs this year because there were no jobs because the jobs had become workfare. You should think yourself lucky you could get a job in the sixth form in a supermarket because lots of young people are now finding those jobs not available because of workfare.

I think people have become snobby about what sort of jobs they should do in GB. I used to stack shelves in Sainsburys when I was in the 6th form and work on a til. I also did a retail job for 2 years' after this. isn't it better to be having a purpose rather than just sitting around watching day time tv or mooching around the shopping centre? at least if you go on workfare, you have to get up and get organised.

I suppose it is difficult though if you have young children not at school.

I don't know if Tesco is the right place but small businesses etc would be ok.

I think it is a bit late to sort this out as now have so many people chasing jobs but I wonder how people became like this in the first place.

I agree that is really bad that our young people cannot get a job

It sounds a cliche and harsh but 'beggars can't be choosers'. what would people do if the country went bankrupt and there were no money to pay benefits. Look at Greece.

I think cat does raise some important points.

its a good question caton, this sense of entitlement that comes with being a brit. I hear you!

A lot of the resentment about these schemes seems to centre on large employers getting cheap labour. The 'stacking shelves at Tesco' job is ridiculed because, of course, any half-wit can walk in off the streets and be fully productive immediately.

Well, as someone who currently stacks shelves and works on a till - it ain't necessarily so! When I started (not with Tesco) I had two and a half days training before they even let me on the shop floor. There were two trainers for five new starters (plus the admin staff arranging my uniform, entry onto employee database, setting up what computer systems I needed access to on the shop floor etc.). Only then was I was allowed on a till for just an hour, with a trained member of staff standing by the till the whole time to supervise me and assist with any problems that arose (and there were a few!). Then back to review all the training so far.

It was a good two months before I stopped ringing the bell at least once an hour for assistance of one sort or another from trained staff. As for shelf-stacking - the physical act might be straightforward, but that's the last act in a chain of action regarding stock control, which I am as responsible for as everyone else in the chain. I've been there four months now and I'm still undergoing regular training and training reviews.

During the early weeks I required support from the trained staff, which affected their productivity as they explained things/showed me how/fixed my mistakes. So a trainee is not the same as free labour. The labour acquired is offset by the labour diverted into training and support. Trainees are not just pointed at the shelves and told 'go'.

I geninely dont know. good question happyherts

Its not simple, and I know that are gazillions of good people that cant find a job right now. But thats a seperate issue.

Its a big fat fucking mess TBH

Non English girl on the reception of local cinema / bowling alley does not even know what a CV is when an advert on the window asks potential employees to leave one at her desk. Did she ever submit a CV for her role?

How do you figure that, when qualified young people don't even get a response and non English staff with lesser skils can? Answers on a postcard please.

it would be racial discrimination to choose to hire british over e.g. spanish purely on the grounds of race.

There is a BIG problem here that only employers can address people looking for work can address themselves.

Porcamiseria - Your three statements as to why Pret is staffed by non English workers aren't quite correct. You need to ask their management exactly what the answers are, and I would imagine you wouldn't get the truth.

I know many many English youngsters with good GCSE's who apply for jobs, don't get an answer from a potential employer, let alone an interview. They're are perfectly willing to put in a good week's work and would welcome the opportunity to do so, but heartbreakingly do not even get a response. Fast forward a few weeks, enter Pret or similar and find non English staff with not such a good command of language and cultural skills. Please don't generalise and demean all of our unemployed. There is a BIG problem here that only employers can address.

P, that is a London issue though, isn't it? The same does not happen in the North or Scotland, where most workers in Pret and similar places are British. There have to be particular issues with London, including the number of people living in London who are foreign, which is only to be expected in a multicultural city.

whats your line of business dreaming?

But Reality, that doesn't make sense. If there's a skills shortage in that sector, you have to offer more money, that's simple economics, supply and demand.

Or you lower your standards and train someone up.

Do you really think there are people out there that could fill those roles but would rather stay on benefits? Clearly there is some mismatch between the role, the salary and the labour market.

then why oh why do we have the "Pret a Manger" syndrome, that every time a Pret opens its staffed by non English people? bacuase we have a generation of brits who (a) think its beneath them, would rather stay home on benefits ta or (b) are simply not good enough

I hate the way that if we try to discuss this fact, you get accused of not having any compassion. Or wanting see DLA cut (which I dont)

Of course I have compassion, I just think we have a fucked up issue with a certain social strata but noone dare mention it. It needs adressing, and FAST

'If our fit population all worked then we'd increase GDP and have money to help people in other countries where there is real poverty.'

I choose to care for DC instead (SAHM). I don't want to do 'paid work' so that I then have to pay someone to look after DC. I tried it and it isn't for me (at this time-that may change). What is wrong with that? My family come before the economy.