Why do most jobs require GCSE or equivalent?

[nickinickers]

I find this quite soul destroying as someone with no education or ability to learn.
I would be so good at so many jobs but because I’m academically challenged I can’t even apply.
AIBU to think this is so unnecessary and cruel?

This!!!!

Have you ever had any assessments for neurodiversity of even an IQ test OP? It's unusual to be so low functioning academically without any underlying cause.

The whole system is a mess.

It annoys me that say, having a Maths and English GCSE means you can get onto a Level 2 qualification. Which is the equivalent of GCSEs. But there is no way of doing more GCSEs at this stage in the state system, other than repeating Maths and English. If GCSEs are so important then you should get more than one chance to get them, as for various reasons kids may fail between the aged of 14-16 but be able to do them at 16-18. If they aren't important then get rid of them.

It is unfair that the world has become more rigid and less open to giving people a chance to work their way up when it comes to employment. It is soul destroying. But, it's not going to go back to the way things used to be.

I think if I were in your shoes, I would pursue a diagnosis, as there may be some support available to help you move forward. It also sounds as if you are a physical learner, and you say you're good with your hands. Could you see if there are some traditional makers (e.g. woodworker, upholsterer, soft furnishings maker etc) who may be willing to take you on as a helper/apprentice?

In the interim, try and find some coping mechanisms that work for you.

If you’re in the U.K. then driving theory test came in in 1996. I passed my test a month before it came in, aged 17, and I’m now nearly 47. How are you less than 42 but passed your driving test pre theory?!

If she's 41 she was born in 1984. You're saying the theory test didn't come in till 1996 at which point she'd be 12, so she'd have to have taken a theory test.

I can drive and managed to pass a driving test before there was theory tests

If you're around 41/42 you can't have.
Being 41/42 means you were born in 1984-ish.

The theory test came in 1996.
You'd be 12 then, so you couldn't have taken your driving test with no theory test.

You're either lying about your age or your whole thread is made up.

Did the OP actually say she's in the UK? It didn't start in Ireland until 2001, for example.

Do they do GCSEs there?

Yes I know that’s why I asked the question? She said she passed pre-theory test.

This is the same point I made that you replied to?

I don’t understand how did you pass your driving test before theory tests were a thing, if you are only 42? Theory tests came in in 1996 which means by the time you can take a test at 17 it would have been 4 years since theory tests were introduced

Now I know you’re having us on.

If any of that were true you wouldn’t have been able to remember what happened on those occasions and articulate it so extremely well in this post.

I’m done.

I was wondering the same thing about your birth, @nickinickers. I think you were failed at school and left to flounder. You obviously needed more specialist teaching; it sounds as if you might have flourished in a special school. However, the past cannot be undone. I agree with others that a formal diagnosis of a your learning difficulties would be helpful, especially if it included ideas for how you could be helped in the future. You can write very well but, with your further updates, I would imagine it takes you a very long time to write each post, especially as you have to read and reread over and over again to understand what you are reading . You have done well to get through life so far with all obstacles you have obviously had to face.

Autobiographical memory is very different from a working memory. She can absolutely remember what happens to her and times she has struggled and why she struggles. Doesn’t mean she can then remember a passage she read and recall the information from it.
Memory in the brain isn’t just one part does all.

And very uneducated people can still learn to be articulate. It still doesn’t mean they can recall technical information, nor does it mean they could read a passage, think critically and answer questions on it or see deeper meaning behind phrases or fully comprehend what an author is saying.

Well I didn’t have to do the computer test and the hazard awareness that they do now.
I don’t know if there was a paper test or not I thought they just asked a few questions, I remember them having the bonnet up and asking me to point to things. I am 42 now it was 2000 so 25 years ago.

25 years ago you would have had to sit the computer driving theory test.

Did you take your test at 17? That's what you're saying. That's quite some pace because you'd have had to learn to drive AND take your test very quickly (before you were 18.)

You're only slightly older than my eldest child and they had to do the theory test.

Have you done the quick assessment for dyslexia that I left a link for @nickinickers ? It's from a proper professional source- not some 'social media' influencer.

It should only take you 10 minutes.

Anyway thank you to the nice people who replied with advice.
I have taken what I need from this thread.
I think possibly inattentive ADHD and dyscalculia.
From what I’ve read I’m not likely to get the latter diagnosed on the nhs so I’ll have to speak to my husband and see what we can do.
I will try and get assessed for adhd on the nhs but it seems like it might take a while.

If you can look at the links I left you, there is a test for the low cost of under £40. They are a starting point. As well as the FREE test for initial dyslexia screening.

They had the full theory test in 2000.

Do you actually have a full driver’s license? The pink photo card?

I’m not going to argue with you I did not sit a computer theory test. They may have come out soon after but that’s irrelevant to me so please don’t factually tell me that I would have. When I was the one that didn’t.

There are several posters pointing this out to you, not just me.
The theory test was introduced in July 1996 when you were 13.

It might be 'irrelevant' to you but it does raise some questions why you didn't do it.

Considering you say you find driving hard, it's also surprising you took your test when you were still 17.

Anyway, if you're genuine, I've left links to support for you.

Ok just looked at my licence it was 1999 and my son was born in 2000 so I thought it was the same year but he was early 2000. The tests came out in 2000 so a short time after if it’s really relevant to the thread.

No, they didn't. They came out in 1996. I can leave a link if you don't believe this. You were born in 1983 if you are 42 now. So in 1999 you'd be too young to drive.

In 2000 you'd be just 17 and the theory test was done.

Yes thank you @HollyBerriesComingI read the link and there does seem some similarities. Only one question didn’t apply to me but I also did dyscalculia and I ticked all the boxes too. And ADHD but I’m sure I don’t have everything so there must be some overlap