Do people understand that many of us have lived through high periods of unemployment?

[marymarkle]

There are major issues for young people today with zero hour contracts and high housing costs. But I do get a bit fed up with comments that state that life is much harder for young people now that ever before.

I left school during the Thatcher year. Unemployment was very high and outside London whole communities were decimated by this, I still remember a classmate just before we left coming into school excited because they had secured a job in a factory. Jobs were very hard to get, reaching a peak of 10.8% unemployed in the early 1980's, and that was with them fidding the unemployment figures. And there was no MW, wages were often very very low. Yes house prices were cheaper, but that only benefited those already doing well.

I remember it as a very grim time in our country. While the City was booming and people earned massive bonuses, street homelessness soared, use of illegal drugs soared, as did crime. And many adults in their 50s who lost jobs during this time, never worked again. It was a grim time economically to be young.

FaFoutis I had family that died in the famine in Ireland and in the Nazi concentration camps. Why do we need to "choose" one as "better"? Can't we condemn both atrocities? Because the Irish potato famine was a genocide. One million died, two million emigrated, one eighth of the population died.
If 1 in 8 of the population of Britain died in six years, even if that improved my economic situation, I would not think myself better off than previous generations.

A relative was telling me that another relative had a job for 10 years paying £5 a week. They had never had a pay rise in that time and they were not aware that such a thing existed. They wanted to buy something, but could not afford it, so they got another job, that paid slightly more.

hmm all those cheap council houses the got for peanuts whilst everyone else had 21% mortgages

You could only get the big discounts if you were older as it was based on how long you had lived there.

Someone older ended up buying there’s with a £2500 discount so £22500 instead of the valuation of £25000

I have relatives that tell about rationing after WW2. House work with mangles, twin tubs where wash day took a whole day, coal fires, no central heating, no foreign holidays, not many opportunities for women, not many people owned cars, not many people went to higher education, rarely ate out. Today there are much more opportunities and choices.

Twin tubs were very common in the 70s and up to the 80s. Most families used one. I used one for washing clothes. My DP was brought up in a farm and had to fetch water from the well. Which makes him sound like a Dickens character.

Another reason university take up rate was so low is because if you went to a secondary modern and not a grammar school then you did CSEs instead of O levels and without OLevels you couldn’t do A levels and without A levels you couldn’t go to university

Saying there was similar number of people in HE as now is quite frankly wrong unless you consider night school with a day time job.

Dp did a degree at night school, but he had to pay for that.

"Saying there was similar number of people in HE as now is quite frankly wrong unless you consider night school with a day time job."

It isn't. Because as many people were studying at Polytechs in the 1980s, which weren't counted as universities. In England in 1980 14% of students went to university at 18, this is to the 34 English "Unversities" about the same number went to polys.

Currently 28% of UK 18 year olds go to University - seems about the same.

Making stuff up isn't accurate.

*What you experienced is a very narrow perspective shaped by your preconcieved prejudices.

It isn't an accurate picture of the time.

The data provided is accurate and shows that it was far easier to get on the housing ladder, rents were cheaper and took up a smaller proportion of income. University was free and in 1980 14% of the 18-21 year olds went, today its 28%.

The statitstics on those in university however does not include those in Polytechnics in 1980, it only counts for those in 38 Universities. Of course it also doesn't cover those provided with on the job training then who would now be required degrees as entry requirements either*

So that’s me told.

The internet says I am wrong. I should have not had to work 6 jobs to get on the housing ladder, I purposely chose a shit hole to live in (shit hole cost £170 per month and I earned £160)

I should have just gone out and got an average salaried job.

We couldn’t even get a tv on HP let alone a mortgage.

I can’t get my mind round the data unless it is because the data is averages and that date only applied to 50% of the population and if you were in the bottom 50% then obviously we are either remembering things wrongly or should have worked harder.

Polytechnics did not just offer degrees. They offered things like diplomas that higher education colleges now do. You can not simply say x number of people studied at poly, so that is the same to x number of people now studying at universities.

Polys did BTECS as well.

Students 18 plus in full time education have doubled since 1992.

www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/livebirths/articles/howhasthestudentpopulationchanged/2016-09-20

Lots of people doing diplomas etc at polys were on day release. I did a diploma on day release. No way is it the same as doing a 3 year university or poly degree.

Olivers I remember my dad could not even get a bank card in the early 80s. And women usually had to have a guarantor, Very difficult to get a mortgage otherwise as a single woman or a loan of any kind.

Cut the poor me crap.

Your experience is not an accurate picture of the time. Where 66% of those born between 1945 and 1960 had bought their first house by the time they were 30. Very similar figures for those born in the 60s too. Its only when you get past those born in 1980 and after that these figures start to fall, and when at those born 1990 + go below 50%.

Polys did different qualifications, many of which would now be degrees. The Diplomas would be HNDs and yes some FE colleges do offer them, but they didn't then.

"You can not simply say x number of people studied at poly, so that is the same to x number of people now studying at universities."

You can say that proportionally the same % of people went on to study at higher education institutions post 18 . For free, which of course means that the whole " not as many people went to uni" crap is false.

"Lots of people doing diplomas etc at polys were on day release."

Yeah try getting a job that does that now.

A company paying for someone to do a HND?

No way.

Erm, I did a diploma paid for by work last year.
HTH

Boris The number of students 18 plus in full time education has risen dramatically.

And you are a bit of a charmer aren't you? Personal insults now.

When I was at school the big push was to try and get more students to stay on at school till 18, as most working class kids left at 16.

I can think of 2 jobs that require college courses now that were done at poly in the 70s. With one industry track I know of if you have years of experience and complete professional diplomas at a senior level then for purposes of surveys you are described as having degree level equivalence.

So in that small sample of people I know there are today equivalents at FE colleges who in the past were at poly. Quite what they are teaching in place of this at the ex polys now I don't know. But I have heard for years that student numbers at university have increased since the 80s . Is this wrong? It's surely just not that all the nursing students have moved onto campus?

Boris of course that still happens as part of industrial apprenticeships. We have far fewer of course but they do exist.

No it is not wrong. The numbers of young people in full time education has increased dramatically.
Lots of young people in the past did some part time education, but it was largely the middle class who did full time education after school.

Mary you are mad on class. What class are you from?

The area I grew up in no longer offers ALevels. So the entire borough has to travel in order to receive access to top universities. I grew up in the 80’s in a slum with no money for heat, electricity or hot water. My mum earned 50 p an hour at her bosses whim, but I had access to education, so I obtained 4 good ALevels went off to a RG university and bettered my life.

Kids in my situation now will have to somehow pay for bus fares or walk miles in order to get that chance, they’ve also closed both the local libraries, the sports centre and swimming pool and are trying to sell the parks. My life was awful, but at least I had a chance to use my brains to get out, Kids in my area today will have no chance and it’s only getting worse.

That's appalling fedupski.

That is shocking that they are not providing A levels.