AIBU and PFB or is there a serious flaw in our job market?

[Fatstacks]

I may be over reacting and pfb about this so prepared to be told so.

DS 18 is at college, 13.5 hrs a week so needs a job as well.

After many many applications he got a job at a bakery, night shifts on £4 per hour which ended when he turned 18 and his nmw increased risk

Next he got an interview and two day training course to sell heating boilers.
No salary, all commission, no expenses, he needed a suit and it was doorstep selling..... exactly where people buy boilers

Then he started work at a nearby factory on the production line. A zero hour contract where he turns up at 6am to be either put to work or sent home. He hasn't had a shift for four weeks, he gets up at five and goes to wait at the gates and is also charged £3.50 per week admin, whether he works or not

Now on Wednesday he has an interview for a pot washing job, it's a care home staff bank and they told him he will need a DBS certification which he has to pay £65 for! To wash pots!

I'm older and luckily have had the same job forever so no clue but surely we are doing something wrong?

It's costing Him money to try and go to work.

I'm thoroughly pissed off.

AIBU?

[SomewhereIBelong]

I really meant the think bigger thing though - look at where he wants to work after his qualification and apply NOW:
1.they will sometimes pay for the training

1. they will pay you whilst you train
   
2. you have a head start on other entrants who train first then look around for work.
   
3. for stuff that will require a security clearance - cyber security sounds like it would at many places - services/security services/banks/software companies - the security checks - ESPecially government ones can take over 6 months anyway. Security services are recruiting for NEXT EASTER right now

[DeathMetalMum]

Do you have a reacecourse local? When I was in 6th form a few of my friends worked for the company who provided food/drinks on the local reacecourse. Work was ad hoc but regular, lots of corporate events etc. They also used to take staff to other racecourses to work events there.

[BreakingDad77]

Has he thought about the forces? there are lots of trades that can be picked up.

[dejarderoncar]

I am a baby boomer, and when I was 60 I was able to take my pension and retire. Since then, women especially, are obliged to work many years more before they are allowed to retire.

Older people are often unwillingly 'clogging up' the job market because a, they are not yet eligible for a pension despite having paid in all their lives, or b, they cannot live on their state pension alone.

Feel so sorry for all these young people. Here in Spain, I think youth unemployment is around 25%. We may want to blame the imigrants, but I think the bankers and international money speculators are the real ones to blame. At least in Spain recent elections showed that people are looking for change. In England you continue to vote for more of the same old shit. As a pp said, the poor get poorer and the rich get richer, but it wasn't exactly a secret that that's what you get with a Tory government.

[lushilaoshi]

Isn't the problem with DBS's that they're not transferable? i.e. you have to get a fresh one every time you change employer?

My brother and sister were both lifeguards. If he's a good swimmer then it's a great idea. You have to pay upfront for the course, but the pay is reasonably good and it looks fab on your CV. Not to mention all the first response/first aid skills you gain.

[ChilliAndMint]

YANBU there is a very serious flaw in the job market.
I think he would be better off working for himself. He can register as self employed and pay NI contributions.
A lot of people need someone to maintain their gardens. £10 per hour is very reasonable. Get some cards made up for a few ££'s from VistaPrint.
He sounds like an amazing young man.

[ChilliAndMint]

I would also like to say I agree that certain industries have become a closed shop. I do agency work and have been very surprised to find established business staffed almost entirely by Eastern Europeans.
I think when there is an overwhelming majority of one ethnic group in the workplace, there is a tendency for closing ranks.

[bruffin]

I said above my dcs have had numerous dbs and havent had to pay. However i think dd may have to pay for one for her college course and for campamerica

[Fatstacks]

Letting agents is going on the list! We have lots here in Sheffield, university town so short term lets are a big industry here Sparec

The fast food/ Costa/ pizza hut places all have female staff the males really are the exception, anecdotal but we were told by the Costa, cafe Nero and our kfc that the female staff are so much more reliable and don't have as many issues with customers.
Breaking the forces would be our first choice, we know how handy it can be to gather qualification but he has asthma which requires a prescription.

He got driving lessons for his 18th so hopefully will be able to do his test before too long.

I'm not being racist or xenophobic when I mention ethnicity I'm trying to highlight just how 'closed' some of these industries have become.

Depending on which agency it is you find almost exclusively one type of person.

I don't begrudge anyone a job, you work you earn, I hate the way the job market has been saturated with workers though and even more these agencies who now seem to be gatekeepers for even the most casual jobs.

He's c.v. dropping at tkmaxx, subway, Ladbrokes and Iceland today he applied online but we tell him a follow-up in person is best.
No idea if we are helping or pushing too much.

[OneFlewOverTheDodosNest]

If you want to think bigger picture then HP, CSC & IBM have big offices in Sheffield - they may have IT work he can do. There's also Cap Gemini but not sure whether that would be the right type of IT for him. Oh and HSBC's major IT centre is based in Sheffield too - that could definitely be the right thing for cyber security.

[lushilaoshi]

I just wanted to say how proud you should be of your son, OP. He is obviously making a huge effort and he sounds like a real credit to you. I really hope it works out for him in the end.

[serenmoon]

If he's interested in IT, it might be worth him contacting the council's HR department and ask if they're running any summer placement schemes. I know ours is running one for students. They get paid a small wage but get great experience working for a council service. The IT department are sometimes one of the participating services.

[Sazzle41]

Has he any computer skills? Are there any free library PC skills courses if not, that would help. Call centre work is often part time - would that be an option? There is a real shortage of care workers thru care agencies where i live, part time or night hours ?6 an hour no training needed but he would need transport. Often its put them to bed or just check they are ok, nothing heavy like bathing etc. My neighbours daughter does it 20hrs a week.

[titchy]

Try this link OP:

catering

[HelpMeGetOutOfHere]

The bigger stores wouldn't accept ds1's cv he had to apply online. I'm talking about the chains. It was only smaller stores that would accept cv's.
Ds was 18 on Saturday and had been working at mcdonalds for the last 4-5 months. It's not really a job he enjoys and he seems to get the rubbish shifts but it's pay and experience.

[BreakingDad77]

You may want to check with the recruiters about physical requirements.

There was soem article with a lady from mcdonalds saying about a lack of young people applying to work their way up - how much this is actually l possible I dont know. Doesn't ALDI have some sort of scheme?

[Athenaviolet]

Care work.

There are never enough people willing to change the incontinance pads of 90 year olds.

[OneFlewOverTheDodosNest]

Aldi has a grad scheme that is 60-70 hours a week in return for £40k - good if you fancy it but not applicable for the OP's son. It also tends to field from the top universities because it's highly competitive - even their cashier positions are highly applied for (I think they had over 100 candidates for 1 job in the store near me recently)

[OneFlewOverTheDodosNest]

Aldi has a grad scheme that is 60-70 hours a week in return for £40k - good if you fancy it but not applicable for the OP's son. It also tends to field from the top universities because it's highly competitive - even their cashier positions are highly applied for (I think they had over 100 candidates for 1 job in the store near me recently)

[Stickerrocks]

www.getmyfirstjob.co.uk/ I have no commercial links with this site, but it gives teenagers the opportunity to access apprenticeships. There may be something in IT for him. Good luck.

[TreadSoftlyOnMyDreams]

His ICT (IT) is in cyber security and systems networking so not the kind of thing that translates to casual work

Really? Most people haven't a clue how to set up their wifi securely, or put children's protection in place on their home networks, or set up their home IT systems to allow them to change the password easily [as a discipline measure for teens for example]. I'd have said that he has the makings of a small business very easily.

[TreadSoftlyOnMyDreams]

Oh - and we did take out public liability insurance to wash people's windows. People were pretty nervous about the ramifications of 3 girls up ladders and where they stood if we had an accident, so producing a cert cut off a lot of objections at the start.

Has he tried his own university for part time ICT work?

[senua]

I'm surprised at pubs saying females-only. DD's bf used to get shifts because he was a bloke - they need muscle in case anyone kicks off. (Actually, he's not very muscly but he is tall. And can talk people into calming down.)

[Fatstacks]

He's just got an interview with Witherspoon today Senua it's a town centre one so more a drinking pub than a food place.

It was only on the off chance he called in to ask, he has submitted c.v. before but didn't get a call back.
Fingers crossed, tomorrow's interview goes ok.

Treadsoftly he sells himself on gumtree and a fbook selling page to fix minor p.c. issues, free diagnosis but there doesn't seem to be a demand.
I've emailed our community centre to volunteer him for silver surfers get him to network a bit.

[Glitteryfrog]

Events work?
I did it through an agency when I was a student.
Hotel? Chambermaid (or the male equivalent)
Barista?
Labouring - there seems to be lots of house building going on in my neck of the woods.
Railway? There are loads of agencies who supply network rail.