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?

It’s not about needing an incentive, many children can’t learn in a standard way. There are thousands of children who cannot access education in mainstream schools, but who have a huge range of valuable skills. Much more needs to be done to support them through school and enable them to gain employment, otherwise they end up stuck on benefits which everyone moans about.

OP, you are writing here in an articulate way. Why do you think you can't absorb information? Have you ever been assessed for any disability?

What have you lived on for the last 20 years?

But if you have no ability to learn or retain information how would you learn processes and procedures for a job? E.g. you'd need to learn criminal law to be a policeman. To work even in a shop you'd need to be able to learn what the shop's policies were and some consumer law and how that impacts what that shop does (i.e. distance selling regulations vs general consumer protection act).

Presumably you are able to learn some things because you appear to be living independently as an adult. Could you look at doing functional skills instead?

The police will probably hire you, to be fair.

So pick a random job and give it a go.

Food prep in a restaurant (you would need to pass some health and hygiene tests but they are mostly common sense).

Or shelf stack in a supermarket.

Or get a factory job.

Or in a garden centre?

Just apply for anything and give it a go.

I don’t have a diagnosis for anything but reading about it I definitely fit dyscalculia.
I think my frustration is that nobody wants to work with me and even the few pub/ restaurant jobs I’ve had don’t last because I can’t remember where things are or what I’ve gone to get.
I don’t have a good short term memory so I can’t remember names and I can’t remember faces so I have no idea who I was serving, so employers get frustrated and let me go then I face the stigma of unemployment.

Can you drive OP? Lots of delivery driving vacancies don't require GCSE's and there will be plenty of positions once the festive season starts.

Yes, but OP will still need to be able to manage the book keeping, liaising with clients etc so needs to understand how much they will be using maths and English skills in this part of running a business. See also, submitting annual self employment tax reports to HMRC.

What sort of jobs have you applied for and been rejected from?

Have you tried retail/supermarket work? My local supermarket seems to mostly employ people with cognitive disabilities these days - many of whom, I’m sure, don’t have Maths and English GCSE. Have you ever been diagnosed with a learning disability?

I’m curious though, because your posts are reasonably well written, make clear sense and have no major grammatical errors. Plus, you seem to know how to use paragraphs. I’m very surprised you couldn’t even scrape a pass in English language GCSE. I’ve seen plenty of posts on here from people who clearly have a much poorer grasp of written English.

"I can’t remember where things are or what I’ve gone to get."
"I can’t remember names and I can’t remember faces"

Yet you think you could work for the police....

How would you identify the criminal you arrested...?

Then the problem is not GCSE.
Is there any job you tried where you don't have to "think on feet" more like follow routine/script?

I think you would struggle with police or child care if you don't have a good short term memory and can't pass GCSE English as both require report writing.

We have to have some standards, and quite frankly a few GCSEs at a C/4/5 grade incl. English and Maths are probably the minimum we should expect from those without SEN.

English was my best result I got an F for English and the rest were G

Well, construction/trade salaries are now higher on average than graduate salaries. I certainly work with a lot of individuals whose spelling and grammar is terrible.

Are you good at cleaning or ironing?

Sounds a bit like ADHD. I used to be quite dubious about the rise in adults obtaining that diagnosis, but I now know a couple of people who have been diagnosed, gone onto medication, and have seen dramatic improvements in their ability to focus on and complete tasks as well as their short-term memory.

Waiting lists on the NHS are interminable, but might you be able to afford a private assessment?

If you are crafty and good with your hands. I would go for something like restoring furniture, making wooden crafts and selling them or gardening etc. Enroll in a nigh school carpentry,pottery, furniture restoration, gardening and then start setting up by yourself.
Anything working jn a company or large organisation like the police requires a lot of paperwork.
Charity shops are a good way into retail but for the bigver stores you are competing against hundreds of applicants.
You need to think what you are actually good at and enjoy. And what you can build by yourself, trying to get a job nowdays is really hard and competative. Gcses and qualifications are just a way to sort through the 100s of applicants.

Could you not go back to college and sit a few GCSEs?

There are thousands of people chasing many positions; it has to be that there is an entry threshold otherwise recruiters would have to sift through thousands of job applications.

Also having a requirement for GCSEs, A Levels or a degree is about ensuring they get applicants with sufficient intellectual ability and initiative.

I appreciate how hard it must seem if you’ve not got qualifications, but the answer is to look in to training and doing access courses at college.

As in, a lot of them don't know the difference between 'your' and 'you're' and we've got a few that spell 'does' as 'dose'. These are guys that are earning £1500 a week.

If you can’t learn, then you definitely aren’t capable of doing the job of a police officer.

You could start at entry level/ level 1 in Functional skills. Local colleges do them and adult learning provision from your local authority which may be community based. These courses are free to those yet to achieve level 2 (gcse or equivalent) .

I don't wish to be unkind but if you struggle to remember people / faces / names then childcare and police work would not be suitable.
I would suggest something manual but not in a role of high responsibility like childcare or the police.

I've got ADHD. Diagnosed in primary school. However, I decided to go back on the mefs having not had them since a teen. I had to be reassessed as I'm now an adult and I used the 'right to choose' pathway. Wait was about 3-4 months and I didn't have to wait for titration - prescription written on the day.

GP has denied share care but that's no issue as ADHD 360 just continue to prescribe at NHS prices.