To think Alan Sugar is right

[Grag]

Reading this article I think Lord Sugar has it pretty much spot on regards kids being brought up with their heads in the clouds expecting to get jobs earning millions of pounds and not being prepared to work in order to become successful. I have worked with young people that have reached the age of 21-22 without ever working, due to their parents funding them through university, and while they might have their book smarts, their common sense, not to mention work ethic, is seriously lacking. I worked pretty much from secondary school onwards and I think earning my own money made me appreciate the value of it a lot more.

YANBU, I work in HR and it never fails to surprise me how many speculative applications we get from people who have great degrees but no work experience whatsoever claiming that they have the skills to lead a high performing team and inform strategy!! Does keep us amused!! They seem to think they are above 'paying their dues' nowadays!

I live in a holiday place and worked from 14, and no many young people that have done that from 13/14. I also know of no one in RL who seriously thought of becoming a singer/famous.

TBH I don't know that many young people of this age but all those I know are grafting far harder than me and my cohort ever did.

Sorry, haven't read the link (DM boycott) is he influenced by meeting all the complete idiots who go on the Apprentice? (haven't watched that for a while either)

Things have changed over the last 10 years. My 23 year old had his 1st little job at 11 [in an amusement arcade], he then did paper rounds [2], worked in a wimpy, then the coop at 16, also casual labouring.
Nowadays even paper rounds are few and far between [who has newspapers delivered nowadays?] and often done by adults, most shops/hairdressers etc don't employ under 16 [or even 18] year olds for Saturday or part time work.
Really Alan Sugar is totally out of touch. The idea that a 13 year can get work today stacking shelves in a supermarket is totally laughable. More's the pity IMO.

I don't think it does children any harm at all to have a sat job or do stuff around the house to earn pocket money. There should be a link made between money and working. After all, they'll need to do it eventually and they should get some practice!

I think it is becoming increasingly hard for your people, especially those who are studying to find suitable and appropriate work, so it doesn't surprise me that many reach graduation having not had a job and it's something I find difficult to criticise.

Additionally I do loathe this attitude that anyone who is "book smart" must lack common sense.

young people

I think that while voluntary work is morally good, it doesn't foster the money-making ethic. People need to receive a pay packet as positive reinforcement.

The glow of receiving a pay packet promotes sense of possibility and confidence.

Not necessarily water, my dd 14 volunteers every week at a SN playscheme and also a sn swim club. This can lead to paid work when she is 18, but her friend who has also helped there for a few years had just got a job helping a girl with DS on a Saturday.
Dd loves the work she does and gets huge satisfaction from being witj the children. She wants to be a SN teacher and this will help in her uni application as well

I meant to say the work requires commitment and a professional attitude, she a has a booklet of rules and regs on how to behave at the scheme. All contribute to a good work ethic.

stillorsparkling has taken the words right out of my mouth.

Doesn't Sugar have a TV programme out this week? Some reality show where loads of talentless idiots try to get famous so we can all laugh at them.

Why are we picking on young people? Life is bloody hard for them ATM. Lots face prospects of graft and more graft and never getting anywhere plus ridiculous debts.

And why can't a straight out of Uni kid lead a team? It's only impossible due to the lack of imagination and predjudices of some employers. In fact, why can't a non-Uni applicant lead a team. Not everyone has the luxury of affording a Uni 'education' anyway?

I worked from 13.

I have an appalling work ethic. Unless it's something I want to do.

I don't think people should be allowed to go to Uni at 18. They should have to do something until they're 21 and have half a brain. (I have just thought of this idea, so don't question me too deeply.)

And why can't a straight out of Uni kid lead a team?

Because they lack on the job experience, and experience is essential to actually knowing what to do in X,Y &Z situation, which is essential to successful leadership (at least in my line of work)

But I absolutely agree that a non-graduate can lead a team given the right skill set

I would take him more seriously if he wasn't most well known for fronting a TV programme offering young people the chance to win a job with a "six figure salary" TBH!

I waved that article at my 13 year old DS who looked askance!

But why didn't Lord Sugar mention all the laws that prevent young teens from working? DS's friend knows exactly what he wants to do, follow his father into his trade (outdoors with heavy machinery) so is in effect just sat at school for the next 3 years wasting time.

I believe in many cases the bad behaviour in schools that makes it hard for many students to learn comes from these kids who have something better to do (family firm etc) but can't leave to do it and so create havoc because they are bored.

If regulated apprenticeships could start at 14 it would be much better. Why didn't Lord Sugar bring this up?

Yanbu. Many of my peers back home finished uni in the past two years, then went back home to their parents and have done nothing since. When you ask if they are looking for work they refuse to answer the question and blame the polish for taking all the jobs the jobs the polish are taking in my area are all manual labour jobs and farm work, jobs they say are below them because if their uni background! Idiots.

Mandy: definitely agree re apprenticeships. Though there seem to be more varied ones available from ten years ago, there still aren't many! And a lot of them are not available to under sixteens or eighteens!

Interestingly I wanted to do a paper round as a teenager (I didn't have any money of my own and was fed up) and my parents refused to let me as they felt it would detract from my studies. I'm torn now as to whether this was a valid attitude. Should we be encouraging children to do paid work when they should be focusing on school work?

I'm not sure it makes a lot of difference. I have friends who never worked until they graduated and still managed to walk in to 30k+ jobs. I know others who worked in supermarkets as teenagers and 10 years later they're still there.

As a teenager I used to babysit a couple of times a week for a family who lived across the road, I used to get £8 an hour and she used to give me all of her old designer clothes, shoes and bags. It was a massive shock when I went in to full time employment at 17 and didn't earn much more in a week than I had babysitting for a couple of nights.

Actually, the majority of the welfare budget is spent on the retired.

And is not means tested.

How old is Alan Sugar?

Sugar dropped out of school at 16, and worked as a Statistician in the Education Ministry. He then had the money to start his own business.

Can you imagine that happening today?!

I am getting a little irritated by successful and rich business people lecturing to young people. Yes some young people who have no qualifications have got their head in the clouds and think they will win X factor. However a lot of young people have got qualifications and still can't get a job.

Look carefully into the CV of many so called 'self made' entrepreuners and you will find a well off mummy and daddy that bankrolled them while they were getting started. The fact they dropped out from uni or never went suggests they really didnt need to go and were probably pretty feckless themselves.

As for work experience. Yes I cleaned chicken sheds, worked hard on my Dads farm and a local tax office before uni but frankly I walked into a totally unrelated job after uni and previous 'work experience' had nothing to do with it.

I had no experience and knew nothing but they paid me all the same. My first day at work I was directing barges full of diesel out of Rotterdam down the Rhine. I had not got a clue what I was doing. Someone still gave me a chance though.

I think the boomer generation need to get off the backs of the young actually.

LeQueen: where did you hear this lecture by Bill Gates? Because I've seen that quote before and it's fairly well-known that it's not by Bill Gates. Unless you know differently.