Trainees no longer ready for workplace

[Kukcoo]

I used to love having trainees allocated to us. They were so enthusiastic, hardworking and a breath of fresh air. It was great to see them develop.

The last few have acted like they're doing us a favour if they turn up by lunchtime because they could have called in sick for nothing. Seriously can't be bothered doing the basics and expect everything to be done for them. Little respect for anyone else and the huge support they're being given. Won't meet a deadline, because this would affect their mental health and basically impinges on their human rights.

They all still expect to qualify and will be passed by the provider unless they do something truly dangerous, but they won't have the real experience or skills to join the workplace and get on with a job.

I'm barely even a different generation, but wouldn't have dreamed of acting the way they do when I was learning and felt I had to prove myself. AIBU to expect standards to be the same?

I'm not surprised by all this, many of my friends say their trainees are now awful, Solicitor, HR etc.

I can also genuinely say that I'll be pretty sure my DD13 will have more initiative in her training in a new job than I ever did - but I think this is probably a result of her resilient nature, intelligence, and maturity, alongside her education at private school. I think that they foster a more entrepreneurship "can-do" attitude and one that is not so much a "just an employee" mindset.

Come at me.

This is the most entitled ignorant generation ever produced. aside from the odd outliers.

If I need CPR, I don't want the professional looking after me to break off and go home because I'm dying at the end of their shift! I don't want them refusing to attend my wounds if too much blood upsets them, or letting me get bedsores as turning patients makes their arms ache.

We all have to care more for others than about ourselves sometimes, and some professions absolutely require it.

This is truly scary.
Back in the 1980s when I was a trainee, these attitudes would have resulted in unemployment within a week.
I really don't know how today's younger people get through life.

A family member of mine is 20 still living at home and moved her 21 year old BF into parents house, sharing a tiny room in what is a tiny house with another teen & 2 parents.
Both dropped out of college and got a job at McDonald’s. Both refuse to work more than 16 hours a week and have to be on the same shifts. Recently both cried when looking at a small flat in the local area realised the average rent was £800-900… neither have bothered to look for a better job or even work FT at McDonalds.
Have given up the idea of moving out. How do they expect to get on in life only working 16 hours per week? I can’t believe the lack of work ethic or ambition. Both of them are more than capable and have parental support cars ect.

I’m not convinced a private education always builds resilience. I went to a very academic private school and it destroyed my confidence. It was also riddled with depression, anxiety, ED, suicide attempts, drugs, self-harm, etc — and this was in the 90s. IMO the most important factor in a child’s success is parental support and engagement.

Oh I absolutely agree with you too, and we do support DD hugely. She's very happy and I think thriving, and is more suited to her private school and its ways of helping her learn.

Equally though, I do see your point, and agree how private schools could perhaps have a detrimental effect on some people. But then, I feel maybe the local comprehensive might have been detrimental to my DD too. Each to their own 😎👍

Yes I wonder how the pp who said this would feel if her midwife, nurse or doctor decided to care more about themselves than others. My guess is she wouldn’t like it. All the caring professions require a degree of going above and beyond on a regular basis and so do jobs like teaching and law - it can be really hard work but everyone has to chip in. What these people’s attitude shows is extreme selfishness and lack of awareness. SOMEONE is still having to put the work in to ensure the job is done properly but it’s not little Alfie or Lily-Mae, who have prioritised their own self-care by coming into work two hours late or by calling Daddy because they (a police officer) are freaked out by a crime scene.

I don't think it helps that when I was young, all the kids dreamed of either being footballers, pop stars or actors. But by our teens we realised that only the exceptionally talented could make a career out of those, so we would have to knuckle down and actually work towards normal careers and jobs to live.
Today - ask a class of kids and they all want to be YouTubers or TikTok stars and can see you need absolutely zero talent to become big and make a very decent sum of money. Why would they want to work in a stuffy office being bossed around when they could make more money on their phones in their lunch breaks. There isn't the same motivation as there once was. It's very much the attitude of "you need me more than I need you" that I think is what comes across as entitlement.

If parents are allowing her to move her bf in, and I assume not charging them market rate for bed and board and/or subsidising cars, they won’t have a great deal of incentive to work more hours or get qualified!

What are the parents saying about this? First thing I would be doing is taking house keeping money from both of them. A realistic sum that shows them how much it costs for their upkeep. Show them just how much it costs to run a home. They have it easy because they have never been exposed to how much life costs. My Dd is 20 but is under no illusion as to how much things cost because we tell her. She knows how much our mortgage, gas and electric bills are per month, how much we spend on food, and all other household bills. She is lucky in many ways as we pay her university rent and she gets to keep the minimum maintenance loan to live on but she still got a job to pay for extras. A 1 bed flat in our area is £1200, 3 bed house opposite us rented for £2,200 last month. She knows that she needs to work hard to have any chance of getting a place of her own whether rented or mortgaged. Parents are to blame if their child thinks working 16 hours a week in McDonalds is going to get you a decent home and standard of living.

Don’t get me started on employing people and in particular trainees - and don’t mention how much we now have to pay for the pleasure of these snowflakes. Nobody has any work experience anymore, and they cost us more than ever and bring less than ever to the table. It’s so frustrating- and expensive.

I’ve heard stories like these from all my friends who manage, right across the workplace! Meanwhile as a woman in her 50’s I am struggling to get shortlisted for jobs which I wouldn’t have even considered applying for 25 years ago. I worked 6 day weeks in my last FT job, often working 50 hours plus a week so I am still very robust and resilient, it’s v frustrating, I wonder if many are hired on their Instagram feed!. I have met some amazing young people though, I have to say but am hearing this more and more.
I should add that my daughters worst teacher to date was the 50 year old ‘most experienced teacher in the school’ so it doesn’t always figure..

The system went down the plug a long time ago. There was a programme on tv where unemployed were sent to jobs and I think only one, older, stayed the fortnight and was offered full time permanent. Others didn’t turn up, turned up late, left early, or worked a day or two then wouldn’t go back.
Used to be that Uni was for the academically inclined. It’s now decades since Universities introduced a remedial first year, to teach students what they should have learned in primary and secondary to make them fit for Uni.

Standards haven’t just dropped, they are non existent. Even 30 years ago, my sons’ teachers were an embarrassment. The ignorant don’t realise how ignorant they are. I had to teach mine after school every day because they were learning nothing…except various religions, which was all they got for homework. I had to teach them the three Rs

Yup. I was allowed to research lessons otherwise which was pre-internet so it was all looking in library books. And I think Wednesday might have been Uni.

To the smug “not my child she’s at private school” brigade really don’t think think that fixes this issue. If anything they are even more spoon fed and protected - the teens I know that have never had a Saturday job or got on a bus are all at private school.

The thing is... I was expected to plan lessons outside of teaching time pre-internet and I don't think anyone really knew where anyone was in those days.

If I was supposed to be there all day -- perhaps someone should have said? I pretty much completed the course and both my placements before my DH got sick and I had to take care of him. Not a word.

I agree with you in part but unfortunately they are in the minority. In school they appear to be taught their rights but not their responsibilities and there doesn't seem to be any mention of (school) work ethics.

I have ADHD and have never ticked a disability box. I have learned coping mechanisms and try to get by using them. I could recognise it in a student and would help them develop their own coping techniques.

Absolutely! We are held responsible for their timekeeping, attendance and achievement.

I often had students on placement in the nursery I worked in. It’s different to in a school, but I would match their energy. If I had a good student that wanted to learn I would help them and work with them to achieve the goals. But the times I had someone who didn’t want to be there I didn’t put any effort in. If they didn’t plan ahead and let me know what they needed to do, it didn’t happen. I wouldn’t spend much time on reports or talking to their field assessor. It’s not worth the stress.

All four of my kids learnt very early that if they wanted money it had to be earned. They took up jobs like delivering home ads, pizza delivery and barrista work from 10 years old through to high school, weekends and holidays.
They all developed a strong work ethic that equipped them for success in the workplace and their careers.

I think there are a couple of things. I know there were several students on my PGCE who were there purely for the bursary. One said, "I'm not going to work for less than my bursary" and for some students that is the reality, their bursary is more than the pan of an NQT.

The other is some students (at school) have such an entitled attitude, not all, there are a lot of fantastic ones. The kind of thing I mean was when I told a student off for sticking chewing gum under a desk. I said the student was dirty and that she expected Jane to chisel it off. She asked who Jane was and when I said she was the cleaner I got a look of utter disdain and I was asked, "you know the cleaner's name?"

That may have led to a mini rant about how there was nothing wrong with being a cleaner.

The teacher one is a bit also that the sectors decided workload is an issue and the way to deal with that is to say don’t work beyond your designated hours and it’s more or less on you to manage it, alongside the thinking that having everyone teach exactly the same is the best (easiest) way to ensure a good education.
But it hasn’t addressed class sizes or planning time as issues because it’s too expensive and difficult to recruit. So tbf they’re being presented with plans and then told not to work beyond their hours and really prep isn’t enough to read the plans and assess properly never mind plan their own lessons and schemes

there are plenty who are quiet quitting before they start, don’t want leadership etc and consider their work life balance right now above all things. But when you ask them if they do want progression they say yes and are surprised that they’ll need to learn to plan and manage properly.

some are awesome. Proactive passionate thoughtful and willing to put in more work now that will pay off in a year or two. Marshmallow test!