To think we need to start talking about the lack of jobs?

[Newmeagain]

This is prompted by quite a few threads I have read recently, from parents of young people looking for jobs or posters themselves struggling with finding a job.

I feel like a lot of responses are completely out of touch and people are not aware how hard it is right now. There are no “supermarket jobs” etc that you can just pick up.

I think this is having a particularly significant impact on school leavers and graduates looking for their first full time job, students wanting part time work and also anyone over 50 who suddenly finds themselves unemployed.

Cycling?

At 11 o’clock at night through country lanes do you have an actual deathwish?
Is that what you’d want for your child?
I doubt it

Same here. My old nhs organisation is closing down and I didn't have much continuous service, so started looking for another job straight away. Had offer for my current role within a month and two other interviews out of three applications. I was 50.

Most NHS clinicians are British, although the NHS leans heavily on overseas recruitment to fill vacancies. With eye-wateringly high tuition fees and bursaries for nursing/midwifery students being cut, it’s increasingly difficult for British young people to train for healthcare careers. Similarly lots of talented young Brits are blocked from medical careers by a Government imposed cap on training places.

Why are the Government importing foreign doctors and nurses instead of training our own young people up? As well as damaging the prospects of British people it also contributes to skills shortages in low income countries, which can have devastating consequences for the health outcomes of their populations. For example, Uganda has only 1 doctor per 5000 people whereas the UK per 300 people. It’s really not just or ethical to poach doctors from counties such as this.

Regarding crop picking, those jobs are never advertised to British people. Gang masters bring migrants in en masse to do the job. Farmers prefer it this way because the migrants don’t know their rights, don’t join unions, don’t demand sick pay or holidays. It’s a highly exploitative system in which workers have extras such agency fees, accommodation, etc deducted from their pay packets, and they end up earning a pittance - certainly not minimum wage. I’m not going to shit on British youngsters because they don’t want to work in such exploitative conditions.

The economy is down the drain and it’s only going to get worse. Employing people or indeed running any kind of business at all has become too expensive. Employer NI, business rates, corporation tax, insurance, red tape… It’s all risk and no reward. Most business owners are a scaling back, battening down the hatches to survive or simply winging the business up. Most high skilled professionals with children are going part time to avoid the £100K trap of losing both the tax free allowance and subsidised childcare. When tax is too high to make work worthwhile people value their free time more.

It's no real surprise is that people who generally have never been outside the education system in their lives aren't able to give wide ranging careers advice. There needs to be a better way to broader children's horizons.

I think its combination of factors, almost mix and match though
AI
Over qualified but under experienced
Low wages
Too many chasing fewer jobs, but we are told we need immigration, so which is it?
Higher costs to employ, so employers aren't employing more staff, expecting existing staff to do more.
Fewer full time permanent positions, more offering 16-24 hours with 'opportunity' to flex up, so do the hours without the holiday entitlement etc
Younger people living at home/ not 'adulting' as early as previous generations, no urgency to get financially secure.

Quite frankly a lower level of work ethic among some.
If you cant get a job that pays local rents without being destitute why try.
The need to claim top up benefits, the application etc can be intrusive and stressful, particularly if you have variable wages.

I don't think you are up to scratch with current bike lights, hi visibility gear and electric bikes maybe? A sensible cyclist is actually more visible at night than in the daytime. Heavy rain and strong wind are really the only problems unless people think it's beneath them to cycle lit up like a Christmas tree, as so many do.

Same, every young person I know (admittedly only 5) over the last 4 years have all had a job from 16, and then have gone into career type jobs on turning 18. One got their first job at the local cricket club at 14. No parental help or links to get any of the jobs.

I was in the shops today (Boots, m and s).

Manned tills a thing of the past.
Boots one frazzled assistant for about 10 self service tills.

I had to wait ages as needed paracetamol which is age restricted.

M and S similar all self service tills. Even the petrol station has self service tills now. I dont mean pay at pump, I mean inside.

This is just the start of it.

I'm doing a job which is 3 people's worth of work and my assistant is doing 2 people's worth. I have accepted I'll never complete half of what's in my plate. Lucky to be in a job at all. I am constantly saying if I do x I can't do y which is more important to my superiors. Boss is sympathetic but their hands are tied as simply no money to get more staff in.

I waa out of work and couple of years ago so I'll do anything to remain in employment and put up and shut up. Half the time rather than complete a task thoroughly we just make do.

My husband works for a large, international company. They are doing away with most PA’s and team assistants/juniors and hiring virtual assistants or interns from other countries to support - his assistant is from a different country in a different time zone (not his choice, he’d much prefer to have someone in person).

And what 5 years ago would have been, for example, one assistant per 5 person team, is now 1 assistant per 20 person team (just an example).

anything they can to get the most for the least. And means that the graduates who’d have traditionally walked into junior/intern roles are no longer needed at this company. He said they’ve barely hired any graduates (in his division) in the last few years

If you’re a fast food franchise owner it’s a no brainer.

If you hire locals you will need to hire enough for schedule plus cover, and they will be well aware of employment laws and illegal working practices. If you try to screw over a British worker, expect a call from ACAS.

Or you could hire a sponsored migrant. You can make them work unreasonable hours because they are completely at your mercy. If they refuse any request, you can threaten to fire them, and if they can’t get another job (in a terrible job market) they could be deported. They can’t risk it.

My local KFC has a crew of 6 Indians that work all opening hours. 10AM - 1AM. They are always there. There are no other employees. Imagine the savings of only needing one crew as opposed to a full roster. They can’t quit, they can’t call in sick, and they can’t ask for fair conditions or wages because they are entirely at your mercy.

Unless the government legislates it, there is ZERO reason to hire a Brit over a vulnerable migrant if your a fast food franchisee.

Again, all adds to the cost and reduces the ROI and increases the barrier to entry for a young person.
And again its only poor people’s children expected to light up like a Christmas tree and hope for the best vs an articulate lorry in the pissing rain. Anyone in their right mind would want their kids in bed at 11pm

Running a business with as few staff as possible is how capitalism works. It is not a new thing. It is how you get increased productivity and economic growth, which makes society richer.

Thank you. This may be feasible for my DS too as they are a swimmer

Unfortunately the right wing nuts wanting to get in to power lame them for being lazy there are jobs but nothing long term plus they will take on people with experience nothing going to happen all thats talked about in politics now is taking away rights from us and blaming immigration for everything whils everything else goes missed

Traditionally Capitalism has employed more staff but paid absolute pennies, my first job in the 1990s before min wage was £2.50, worth around £5 now.

That was before the bots/ self service everything.

I had a shop job at a similar time for a similar wage. I was happy to have the job, and the shop was happy for me to do it, but the government has decided that we were both wrong so they have made jobs like that far less feasible.

And how am I supposed to know it would be down country lanes? And once they are 17 they can drive or get moped

11pm? As a 17 year old? Realky

@Friendlygingercat
Nice try at distraction. The rise in NI is obviously not more significant than Brexit!

I don’t think it helps that it is often the mothers who are asking around instead of the job seekers. When I was on Facebook the jobs pages were always filled with mothers looking for work on behalf of their 16-18 year olds.

When there was an exodus of European casual workers after Brexit, the farmers couldn’t get anyone to pick the crops etc.

I think it’s less the lack of jobs, more that younger people sometimes expect to start their working life at a higher level than they are worth. They aren’t prepared to do the crappy jobs that people have done to get their foot in the door.

Disclaimer - not everyone obviously.

I am educated to PhD and work in research. I made a decision not to discuss AI with people in real life anymore. I just get on and use it. It’s smart. You also need to use it smartly. If you don’t get on board with this, your loss.

Exactly this. I work in tech and use it. The Industrial Revolution, the advent of computers and now AI have caused people to panic and try to stem the technological tide but it’s impossible, so better to be clued up