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| Britain | |
| Britain threatened by 'an army of the unemployable' | |
| 2007-05-08 | |
| Britain is in danger of creating "an army of the unemployable" as disillusioned teenagers quit school with no qualifications, the leader of the biggest headteacher's union warned today. Mick Brookes, General Secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, said advances in technology are set to slash the number of jobs available for unskilled workers, with potentially disastrous consequences for society. He called for radical changes to primary education to allow young children to develop "fledgling" specialisms. Speaking at the union's annual conference in Bournemouth, Mr Brookes said: "These young people, who have been denied the taste of success in their school careers, vote with their feet at the earliest opportunity. "We cannot allow a whole army of the nation's youth to leave school with nothing to show for those 11 years except disaffections and resentment. "The current number of unskilled jobs in this country is estimated at about three million today. The effects of technology may well mean a huge shrinkage of this employment market. "When this happens, we will not simply have an army of the unemployed, we will have an army of the unemployable - a huge threat to social cohesion." Mr Brookes said the government's plan for a new range of diplomas for teenagers must combine work-related and academic study and they must be a success. If they are seen as qualifications for pupils who are not clever enough to do traditional academic GCSEs and A levels, secondary education would be split in to a system reminiscent of grammar schools and secondary moderns. He continued: "Our primary children should be freed up from the narrow curriculum forced on them and able to develop fledgling specialised skills. A problem even at that age, eh? "We have a huge job to do in order to change a centuries old culture that adulates academic success and sneers at skills of the artisan. Desperate, eh? "Young people who develop expertise in building, hospitality, catering or the travel trade deserve the same "applause" as those who go on from school to university," he said. Yayyy! You stand a chance of getting a job! Good for you! [Father sits back down and picks up beer in disgust]
If they get a job because of it, why not. OK, some folks are going to have a hard time getting jobs, and should be applauded for managing to fit into society if they find one. But to have to rejigger the whole system because of some kind of what I'll bet is an epidemic of entitlement and ignorance of how things work? It sounds to me like it's time to introduce a 90% estate tax or a hard limit on how much wealth can be handed down and how much social security you're allowed to receive in your lifetime unless you have a verifiable problem like being quadriplegic. And the kids ought to be made aware of it. AT AN EARLY AGE. Show them what's on the other side of the tracks if they don't. Teach them why civilizations rise and fall. Show them what happens to people in failed civilizations. You just know people are going to head straight for the mental problem excuse, which is like using human shields and will be a problem, but maybe that would go away if they were allowed no cash at all until they felt "better". Just a place to live and food to eat. And nothing overly stimulating to do. And lots of "interesting" roommates. | |
| Posted by:gorb |
| #17 Try to remember that Japan's over-emphasis upon final grades causes numerous teenage suicides. There is little we should find desirable in the Japanese schooling system, save the high salary that teachers receive. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2007-05-08 23:19 |
| #16 Years ago I saw a photograph of 2 Japanese students frantically doing their homework on the way to school. If they did not have the homework done by the beginning of school, they were sent back home. Perhaps we could begin to send those who refuse to do homework back home, or to a no-nonsense class with an old-style-mean-as-hell English teacher for the day. If the students did not do better, at least their English would be good enough to tell us why. |
| Posted by: whatadeal 2007-05-08 22:00 |
| #15 It's not the public school system's task to teach job skills. At this point in America's current economic downhill slide, I'm going to have to disagree. While I was fortunate enough to attend one of the top ten high schools in America, it still barely prepared me for the working world. A high school graduate should be at least marginally employable. Being qualified for entry level employment requires skills like the ones I suggested in post # 9. Yes, critical analysis, a sense of history, some creative writing ability, semi-fluency in a foreign language and some artistic exposure all go a long way towards molding a well-rounded student. Confronted with how the above liberal arts subjects are barely being taught in any sort of functional form, it would behoove our schools to adopt a more vocational approach so that graduating students could at least support themselves. When you push a barely literate and almost totally innumerate kid out of 12th grade who is also incapable of critical thought or historical perspective, their choices are incredibly bleak. "Drug dealer", "petty criminal" or "welfare parasite" are some of the most likely channels available. We need to change that. America's youth deserve better. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2007-05-08 21:43 |
| #14 #12: "Primary and secondary schools teach reading, writing, and arithmetic." Not so's you'd notice, bj. :-( |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2007-05-08 19:58 |
| #13 First of all, our secondary schools don't teach ANYTHING. There is no pressure to learn, no demand for the best a student can do, and no consequences for poor performance. The number of dropouts is staggering to me (my high school class [1964, 133 students] had one drop-out; my daughter's class [2004, 391] had 88). Three of my daughter's friends dropped out of school to have children. None of them were married. Again, no consequences for bad behavior - all three of them got by on minimum-wage jobs, Social Security, Medicare and WIC, or their parents, or both. Our problem and Britain's have a common factor - strong Teacher's Unions that kill all hope of reform. Until these unions are reformed or banned, there won't be any change. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2007-05-08 19:37 |
| #12 It's not the public school system's task to teach job skills. Go to a trade or vocational school if you want that. Primary and secondary schools teach reading, writing , and arithmetic. As an American you are expected to complete high school before pursuing much in the way of vocational training. Even if you intend to dig ditches, you still need to be able to read a bus schedule or balance your checkbook. |
| Posted by: bigjim-ky 2007-05-08 17:05 |
| #11 I've been saying the same thing for years. My in-laws always gave me a hugh load of crap about it until they finally figured out their son was NOT going to college and that high school had not prepared him for any kind of vocation. High school in America is a huge waste of time and money. By the time kids are in the ninth grade it should be apparent whether they are college material or not. If they are send them to college. If not teach them a vocation. I think this might be an area where the Europeans are actually ahead of us. But there should be no welfare for dropouts on either side of the Atlantic. |
| Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 2007-05-08 16:37 |
| #10 This is the same issue in the US. It is the sole focus of the education establishment that everyone should be on a white collar job track and, in lock-step, that everyone should go to college. Well, that is just crap. There are lots of different types of people out there who are going to be motivated by lots of different opportunities. Unfortunately our education system does not expose nor does it encourage our kids to these alternate paths. You can make a damn fine living as a carpenter, plumber, electrician, chef, etc. As Judge Smaels so artfully said it, "The world needs ditchdiggers too." |
| Posted by: remoteman 2007-05-08 15:49 |
| #9 Britain threatened by 'an army of the unemployable' We call them "Muslims". On topic: Schools barely prepare children for the working world. There should be required courses in basic vocational skills for entry level jobs. Even those who enter college would benefit from training if they must also hold a job while at university. Things like basic technical assembly, soldering, changing money, customer service, telephone answering etiquette, handling a 5-line phone or writing simple business corrspondence. All of these would give kids a huge leg up when applying for starter jobs. It would also benefit employers who could shorten training cycles and have new employees become productive more quickly. Another vital thing that is almost totally overlooked is job interviewing skills. I've had people show up for hiring interviews in shorts and sandals, flourishing gnarly tattoos with barely functional resumes and monosyllable answers to questions about in-depth experience. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2007-05-08 15:40 |
| #8 "We cannot allow a whole army of the nation's youth to leave school with nothing to show for those 11 years except disaffections and resentment." Well, you could, y'know, try actually teaching them instead of indoctrinating them with your socialist crap. But, you won't. >:-( |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2007-05-08 14:56 |
| #7 Nope, sorry, disagree. I tell my kid: if everyone was a doctor, we'd ... all starve to death. Whether it's the trades, or catering, or digging ditches, any paid job has merit. I agree. Didn't mean to leave that thought in your head! I was referring to those who were able behaving and even believing that they weren't. |
| Posted by: gorb 2007-05-08 14:51 |
| #6 Britain threatened by 'an army of the unemployable' Isn't that why you had colonies in the 18-19th century? Gee, too bad you don't have a virtually unguarded border with the US. You could dump 8 million or so on your neighbor like Mexico. Guess you're stuck like the Chinese to effect real reform or go down like the Ruskies. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2007-05-08 11:44 |
| #5 Show them what happens to people in failed civilizations. Leave arabia, move to Holland and collect welfare. |
| Posted by: Excalibur 2007-05-08 11:12 |
| #4 This is what socialism and parent coddling (aren't they the same thing) gets society. Bunch of spoiled brats that expect the world owes them a living. |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2007-05-08 11:11 |
| #3 Ahem, is this the same problem in Britain as in France, Belgium, etc. Muslims who refuse to follow the norms and just go on the dole so they can lounge around in tearooms and plot the native government overthrow ? |
| Posted by: Woozle Elmeter2970 2007-05-08 10:23 |
| #2 Ahem, we have the same problem over here in the U.S. Many have a High School Diploma but NO employable skills. There are TONS of (vacant)skilled labor jobs in the U.S. but we have no skilled workers to fill them. |
| Posted by: Cyber Sarge 2007-05-08 09:51 |
| #1 Graduating High School is something everyone has to do, like it or not. If you have no rules you will have a bunch of shiftless layabouts like the bunch they are catering to now. Just because the lazy little turnip-heads don't want to do the work doesn't mean you revamp the entire system, you kick them in the ass! We had a different system when I went to High School, they never let us start to screw up. We did what they said or our ass was grass. |
| Posted by: bigjim-ky 2007-05-08 07:59 |