Contributor Leaderboard

Forgive me if this post is a little long winded, for Tony has touched on a couple of points that I would like to comment on. First, I must say kudos for taking up the cudgel and joining the union for the reason you give, a very valid one indeed. More poignant for me is the bit about a good education for kids. I didn't go to university the requisite way - after leaving school - but later in life, about which more later. I was lucky enough, if you want to put it that way, to go to college, get an HND and get a job - a pretty mundane one, but it was a job. I then went on to qualify as an accountant, which gave me a fall back for later (although I subsequently left it off my cv because I hated it so much!) This brings me on to the first point. As a professional copywriter I often help people out; not everyone is a great writer, and that's to be expected, but a couple of years back I was given a broad shock. Within a few days two friends, both around 30 years, were telling me they applied for job after job, but never even got replies. I suggested their cv's may need a little work, and a decent cover letter might be a benefit, and offered to help them out. Both, they told me, had good cv's because they had been created at a Jobcentre (or whatever it's called now) approved day course (compulsory I believe) and 'approved' by the tutor (the same one, as it happens - I may have told this story before, so apologies for repeating myself). What I read when they presented the documents to me was frankly atrocious.revised.doc The attached is the better of the two, and has all personal info removed. Frankly, this cv would go straight in the bin; sad sign of the times it is, but with many applicants for each post the process has to start somewhere. Unfortunately I didn't keep the cover letter; it would have led to the cv itself being discarded before it had a chance. The lad in question is a personable, articulate, bright, hard working guy with a good attitude; yet read that first line - a government approved tutor gave that the OK! Did he actually read it? If this is the level of support jobseekers are getting, it's no wonder they find things difficult. Furthermore, if this is the standard of written English (my friend had a grade B GCSE English language) then there's something very wrong. I'm not advocating perfection, but a little more attention to grammar and no text speak! Now, onto the university bit; I went to Uni in my early thirties as I needed a break from working for various reasons; I chose an arts course, something of interest rather than of particular use career-wise, as I had fall back options. The standard of tuition (when there actually was any) was pathetic. It didn't matter for me - I was doing it for fun - but for the youngsters racking up nine grand a year (and I agree, Tony, they possibly never will pay it back) it was disgusting. I know of many youngsters with good grades in degrees, yet the subjects are pointless: Media Studies, Sociology, History of Art, Music Technology et al; forgive me if I'm inadvertently insulting anyone's university bound children here, but the point I'm trying to make is this: whatever anyone says, the worth of a degree HAS been devalued. Work experience, if one can get it, appeals to employers much more. An example: a friend of mine's daughter, at 16, a local lass, got a job answering the phone and making tea at a solicitors office, after school, for a couple of hours, with longer hours in the holiday period. A year and a bit on, she has a permanent job with them, and they are putting her through a range of courses to further her experience. Lucky? Yes, very, but any one of her friends could have gone out and looked for that job. She did, and she found it. The upshot of all this? Choose a degree that pertains to a valuable career option, or take a few years to work out what you really want to do. And let's please do something to upgrade the standard or the three r's in our schools.