Son desperately looking for employment

[YourPoisedWriter]

Why aren't employers giving younger generations a chance. My son is 20, he studied I.T and media studies at college, he is desperately seeking any employment, but every interview he has, always ends in knock backs, he either has no experience or isn't successful this time.

He always dresses smartly with a shirt, tie and trousers and always arrives early to interviews, he's polite and helpful, and is keen to learn new skills, it's just so frustrating, it's making him feel really low. I feel terribly sad for the younger generation, why aren't the job centres helping them?

Hope your ds gets something soon. He has done well at GCSE

apprenticeship would be good

GCSE/9FC Religious Studies A Option BA = Grade 6

Too much detail, which could be confusing employers: 9FC (which I had never seen before) turns out to be "Full Course 9-1", i.e. just a normal standard GCSE.

'A Option BA' just denotes the specific syllabus studied at his school, so is completely irrelevant.

So his full set of eight GCSEs should be simplified (and ranked by highest grade to lowest grade):

GCSE Religious Studies (6)
GSCE (Double Award) Combined Science (5/4)
GCSE English Language (4)
GCSE Mathematics (4)
GCSE History (4)
GCSE English Literature (3)
GCSE Computer Science (3)

I'm afraid I don't know anything about post-16 qualifications, but it would be worth getting these reviewed by someone who does understand to make sure he isn't confusing employers by the way he is presenting these too.

Good luck - it is tough out there, but it sounds like he has the work ethic and determination to succeed, just needs someone to give him his first break!

I completely sympathise. My son has similar-ish GCSE grades, then studied engineering level 3 at college. He’s applied for dozens upon dozens of apprenticeships. Most don’t reply at all, many reject straight away. He’s had a couple of interviews but doesn’t get the job.

One apprenticeship he got to the last 10 for, they’d had 700 applicants!

We tailor his CV and cover letter every time.
Fortunately, he has a part time (15 hours) retail job that he’s had since college, so he’s still doing that, plus it’s great for transferable skills.

Most of what he applies for are engineering or vehicle based. He’s also tried a few ‘trade’ jobs. One was workshop as ‘lackey’ and he didn’t even get that. He’s been rejected from full time sales assistant roles and office based roles too. Not all are apprenticeships, some are entry level jobs. Even applied for a level 2 apprenticeship but was told they had to reject him as he’s already studied level 3!

Some of his friends are in the same boat. Most of his friends who do have jobs or apprenticeships, got them because they knew someone there who got them the job.

I don’t know how he is in interviews as I’m not there. He can be a little awkward which I put down to his recently diagnosed ADHD (plus he won’t tell employers he has it as he thinks it’ll go against him).

He’s learning to drive. He has been rejected for a few jobs for not having a licence.

All we can do is keep going, there’ll be something eventually but it’s so disheartening.

He needs routine and wants to work! It’s just so much harder now!

Good luck. It’ll be worth all the effort in the end.

Did he do any job through uni?
If not, could he try volunteering to gain work experience?
A degree is nit enough now, they are 2 a penny

Sorry just saw he is volunteering

OP if he’s getting interviews it’s likely his interview technique. I would suggest he use ChatGPT to run a mock interview - feed it questions that he’s had in the past, with his answers and see what ChatGPT says.

interviewing is a technique but the fact that he’s getting through to interviews is a huge achievement - please tell him not to be disheartened!!

It is very difficult to get into IT jobs now as so many people have degrees in IT. Can your son not go back to education and get better qualifications @YourPoisedWriter ? At minimum he needs to get CompTIA and A+ cert even for entry level IT jobs. It will show he has basic skills without job experience.

ETA he did an 8 weeks course to be first line support - he should know he needs CompTIA for help desk.

If you can afford it, I would recommend paying for him to learn to drive. It opens up a lot of opportunities as well as being able to get to workplaces/shift times without relying on public transport. My son passed his driving test and also has a 125 motorbike so he could get places independently.

I wouldn't bother looking for IT jobs, the market is saturated due to off shoring. With his grades & lack of experience he is unlikely to get a role. I see many 16-18 year olds being put on IT courses and it feels like a holding position rather than a reflection of growth in the industry.
What else is he interested in? Construction, warehouses, retail, hospital porter, care work?

Admittedly the volunteer work could lead to something but again there are now many suppliers in that market place and not as many customers.

Driving would help him and he needs to consider other industries, does he have any practical skills? Also consider the industry you and his Dad is in and if there could be openings for him.

I think he should retake the Maths and English GCSEs whilst he’s searching for work to try to get them both higher than a grade 4.

There’s a lot of competition out there and a lot of people looking for work in IT and media will have degrees. So I’d suggest he works on the English and Maths results to give him a better chance

What industry is he applying for jobs in? You say he's studied IT but that appears to be his lowest grade? Has he had any employment at all? At this point he would probably be best getting any work he can even if it's not in an area he is interested in. Tesco, restaurants, pubs ect any employment looks better on his cv than none and he can start to earn some money. He can still volunteer in the area he would ideally like to work in with the hope of getting his foot in the door and gaining experience. At 20 he really needs to learn to drive and get a car, it will open up more opportunities for him. Him just wearing a suit isn't going to get him a job unfortunately and unfortunately his grades aren't going to stand out. It sounds like he needs to be much more proactive.

Whilst he’s looking for the IT job he wants he should get a job doing anything (MacDs, supermarket etc) because all these will have transferable skills such as team work, customer service and dealing with unexpected issues. It can feel like this is settling for 2nd best but it really isn’t. He’ll have money and purpose and he may find a job he actually loves and wants to stay in that he’s never considered before. He should also use AI for mock interview practice. Put the job description in and ask AI to run a mock interview. It’s surprisingly useful.

I’m a bit confused why your son has gone for an IT role with a GCSE level 3 in computer science which is a fail at that level. He didn’t pass English Lit either.

The rest are low passes (4 ) and solid passes (5)

As you have probably heard, national insurance has risen in the last budget for employers so hiring inexperienced entry level employees coupled with AI starting to replace more manual low skilled work and automation being on every CEO strategic objective - it’s certainly not a good a good time for any young person.

Degree apprenticeships are also cut back.

I would definitely try to apply for level 2/3 apprenticeship but what does he really enjoy?

I think given that AI is replacing quite a few low level jobs I think the trades like plumbing, electrician etc are probably worth looking at as they will survive and have great prospects. We undervalue these types of careers.

His highest solid grade is the science. He could try and get a higher level qualification but does he want to continue study?

Your son sounds like he has a good attitude which is an actually a hugely positive thing. Tell him to keep going and not give up but to think more broadly. He needs to develop skills. He could try online MOOCs. These are free courses he can get certificates in that will give him a taster of different skills he could pursue. Lots of coding courses if he really wants IT. Look really good on CV.

Thank you for your response and advice, I really appreciate your help, I have passed on your advice, many thanks 😊

Thank you for your response, that's really helpful advice, I have passed your advice on to my son, he's really appreciative.

There is a generational thing whereby posters always suggest getting a job in a supermarket as an interim backup because when we were younger “stacking shelves” was shorthand for easily accessible unskilled labour.
These jobs today are like hens teeth, all the more so if you don’t have any experience. So the advice to just get a job in Tesco because it’s better than doing nothing is so out of step with the times. Kids who can get retail roles are lucky.
absolutely no point him redoing English and maths as a pp suggested - he has his passes and that’s all employers care about.
does he like working outdoors? Getting a cscs qualification would mean he could work on building sites, and completely agree he should learn to drive.
It’s very tough out there and for those that don’t go to uni they face these challenges when they are still very young.

They're not really that poor, they are pretty bang on average. So unless you are writing off 50% or so of the population that's a bit dismissive. However I agree he'd be best taking any job at this point for experience.

Thank you for your kind response, yes I really appreciate all the suggestions from everyone on hear, I like yourself and many others, have never had any problems getting employment, it is certainly a different story now.

Or factory/warehouse work
Or bar work

Amazon and Wetherspoons advertise that they offer opportunities for training and progression and are likely to be hiring now, if only seasonal staff.

Round here, Amazon run a bus service from the town centre bus station to their warehouse(s), so not being able to drive shouldn't be an issue.

I have no idea, he originally had a proper laid out c.v, but on a visit to the job centre, they made him an appointment to see somebody there who worked with him to re write it.

There is always a shortage if staff in hospitality,especially in remote areas. A lot of hotel staff live in for part of the year, would be a great way to gain work experience and gain confidence.

Thank you for your kind response and help, it is much appreciated, kindest regards 😊

Thank you for your kind message, I wish your son good luck for the future and good luck with his driving test.

https://workabout.uk.com/job/410877/live-in-general-assistant/
Loads of similar jobs,Scotland,Isles of Scilly etc

Thank you to everyone who has responded, sorry I haven't had the time to reply individually. I really appreciate your help and suggestions, they have been very helpful. I wish everyone else in the same situation, "Good Luck" and keep smiling through these tough times.

kindest regards