What Jobs Have We Done?


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Dunno if this has been done before.... I seem to have been spectacularly bad at choosing for a long time. Then when I finally got it right, Govt. decided I as wrong. When I left school with 6 'O' l

I feel as though I have been here before with this topic - excuses if I have. As I was about to leave school, dad asked me what I wanted to do. 'Don't go in the paint trade' (like him), he told me, g

Left FFGS after six fruitless years with no qualifications other than my 11 plus, my cycling proficiency certificate, and a card saying I swam a length at Noel St Baths. Waiter, caravan site operativ

So....

Careers Guidance. Part whatever...

(If you find discussion of Govt. policy.. attempts to help young people find their way and actually capitalise on whatever education they've had, etc.. either boring, incomprehensible, or offensive.. you're in the wrong thread.)

So. Around Year 2000 after being retired hurt for a few years, I decided I'd like to get back into 'Careers'. Quick chat with my former boss and I was offered a temporary position in what was then still 'St Helens Career Services'. The role was to finish off a survey of the outcomes of university study undertaken by young people from St Helens. What and where they'd studied.. what they were doing now and where. etc. All of this to inform future students and advisers of what was happening in HE and the world of Graduate recruitment.

A project left unfinished by a chap who'd left.

So. I did that little job, threw in a few analytical stats and conclusions etc., when I was offered more work, working with Adult Clients in the St Helens Careers Service Adult Guidance Unit. Went for it. I enjoyed it and found it an interesting new dimension to the work. Lots of people were forced, by redundancy or whatever, to reconsider their position. They needed some help.

But the real point of this post is to highlight the horrors of Connexions....

At this time the Labour Govt... largely under the auspices of the Idiot Blunkett. decided that 'Careers Services', were crap. No evidence.. no nothing.. just Blunkett and his personal obsessions. He'd come to St Helens College on a visit a couple of yeasrs earlier when in opposition and I went along all wide eyed as a Labour supporter to hear what he had to say. I came away worried. The man clearly had a very distorted grasp of the UK education system and was hell bent on imposing his own ideas.

So. Govt.(aka Blunkett) came up with 'Connexions' (Or as Tony Watts.. a nationally respected commentator on all things 'careers' called it. 'The National Spelling Mistake')

The idea was that instead of Careers Services, we would have a national system under the 'Connexions' brand, which would be an all singing, all dancing , multi purppose advice, guidance and support system for young people. It would deal with everything.. employment and education advice, health, drugs, education, social services issues, housing.. offending.. You name it. Careers Advisers were going to sort it. Quite what existing social, health, probation, youth etc., workers were going to do in the meantime was not discussed.

It was a disaster waiting to happen. And it did.

I'll be back.

Col

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FLY........It's me going round circles, I'm just confused about all that's been written on the above posts, thought I had ended up on the jokes forum. bowdown

Just read it. Or don't. Your choice. If there's anything you don't understand.. feel free to ask questions. :) If you have anything positive to contribute.. feel free. If not.......

Col

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Steady on me old cocker, ........ I do " just read it " and it is my choice, I do understand it. I do feel free to ask questions, and I'm sure you will know all the answers, but thanks anyway for letting me know. I just thought that nostalgia, or as we like to call it nottstalgia is a site for both positive and negative personal memories of days gone by, and not a site for political lectures.

Anyway, just read what I have written, it's your choice, if there is anything you don't understand.. feel free to ask, and if YOU have anything POSITIVE to contribute.... feel free. If not.....

Come on lighten up and relax. Have a lovely Christmas and all the best 2016

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Quote from diatribe #96 DJ360

"As far as I'm concerned, Amateurs think they know it all and Professionals are painfully aware that they don't, and can't, know everything."

According to your missives and by your own definition surely that puts you in the amateur category.

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Messenger boy/tea maker. Apprentice engineer. Skilled machine shop engineer. Cost estimator - cranes. Cost office supervisor. Technical rep - special steels. Sales manager - toolmakers and industrial products. Partner/owner - electronic control equipment. Education - Honours Degree from University of Life, Retired at 66.

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With respect Tompa, it seemed to me that you said you were confused. You also said you thought you'd landed in a jokes forum. That struck me as a bit of an unfair dig. And I do try to approach the forum with humour, as I think many of my posts indicate. But I don't regard the way my profession, and the people we tried to help, have been treated by successive Govts, as a joke.

Mainly though, irrespective of how it might seem to you, it is not my intention to lecture anyone on politics. I'm simply relating the history of Careers Guidance in the UK as I see it and from the point of view of someone with 30 years experience, who has researched the topic, experienced it and suffered from bad Govt. policy.

Some people have expressed interest in what I am relating.

I have bones to pick with parties and politicians of all colours over thie issue, as they all think they know better than the professionals who are trained to do the job. It's an issue which also afflicts many other professionals such as health and education workers.

Nevertheless, important as it is to me, I'm quite aware that the whole thing boring to some. Hence my comments. I try, (usually successfully) to keep my own counsel over topics which bore me.

But whatever, I wish you too, and all Nottstalgians, a very happy Christmas and new year.

Col

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Quote from diatribe #96 DJ360

"As far as I'm concerned, Amateurs think they know it all and Professionals are painfully aware that they don't, and can't, know everything."

According to your missives and by your own definition surely that puts you in the amateur category.

I don't see how Dave,

This is the para you quoted from:

'A word on 'Careers Interviews'.

I think I've already said somewhere that people naturally tend to attribute their successes to themselves and their failures to others. This, plus chronic confusion about exactly who it was that told little Johnny he 'couldn't be an Astronaut', or 'would never make anything of himself'., leads to the stream of celebs etc., trotting out the same old 'The Careers bloke told me....' stories.

You can add to this that everybody is a Careers Adviser, except that amateurs don't advise.. they instruct... 'You don't wanna do thaaaaat.. you wanna do...' As far as I'm concerned, Amateurs think they know it all and Professionals are painfully aware that they don't, and can't, know everything.'

Clearly I'm discussing amateurs in the context of Careers Guidance. There are plenty of them about, which is why I quipped that 'everybody's a Careers Adviser'. I could relate dozens of examples of people who have challenged advice I've given only to back down when I have demonstrated that my advice was sound and theirs was simply not so. Further, I can assure you that if I was ever in doubt over any issue, I would always say so, and undertake to find out. Like I say. Professionals are aware of their limitations.

It wasn't my job to know everything, it was my job to establish the needs of my client and try to address them. That said, I'm damned sure that I knew far more than the average punter, and what I didn't know, I found out. I would also re-inforce the point that my advice was just that...advice. There was no compulsion to act on it. Again.. the amateur tends to miss out all the stages except. 'Do this because I say so'. Not my style.

Col

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For anybody who is interested, I will continue the story of the the Connexions Service when I can get a decent run at the PC. ( Mrs Col is in the middle of a big translation.. which earns money.. so I can't get near the PC.)

I had thought, since many members have kids, or grandkids who may be currently, or at least at some point, seeking advice on issues around educational progression, employment, etc.,there might be some interest in how we got to where we are now.

Frankly, the state of Careers Guidance in the UK is at a 100 year low point.

More when I can.

Col

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Cheers Col,as a man in my mid-fifties.. and should have done better,I encourage my kids to fully converse with a qualified person on education progression and careers. Dad chats are simply not enough!

My sons now speak to tutors at Uni if they are struggling or don't understand a point.If they want that Ferrari on the drive..then get as much proper help as possible. Ian.

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Cheers Col,as a man in my mid-fifties.. and should have done better, Ian.

Not sure what that means Ian. I think success is about having a happy and fulfilling life and that means different things to different people. Some are driven by money and posessions, others by family, others by what other people think of them, etc.I don't think there's a standard measure. I'm not well off but I'm happy enough with my lot. I know plenty who have more wealth than me but who are never satisfied, always envious of others or feeling cheated etc.

Col

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I think what I meant to say..the heavy and well paid work..you can only do it for a short time.Personally I feel I missed the boat,flitted from job to job.Not regretting but realising... NOW..I could have done a fulfilling job that I liked as apposed to chasing bucks.

Still confused?..I am I'll shurrup!

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I always pursued jobs that paid well, but spent it frivolously. However, as I've said previously, nearly all my jobs gave me a great amount of satisfaction, and I loved that. I nearly always forfeited supervisory or management roles as I enjoyed being hands on.

As well as not being adept at taking orders, I found difficulty in giving them. I'd much rather do things myself.

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Hindsight is a marvellous thing isn't it............ Bloody irritating though !

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I enjoyed being a chargehand, (supervisor) although the daily paperwork was a pita, time book, shift reports, odd time an accident report, next shift's work orders. I had a good working relationship with the elecs that worked under me, in fact they were a good set of lads.

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  • 4 months later...

I'm getting closer and closer to describing how the 'Connexions' approach was delivered and the damage it caused.

I was extremely proud to be a Careers Adviser and I really cared about the clients I helped.

'Connexions' spelled the death of my profession.

I'll see if I can address it soon.

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  • 2 years later...
  • 1 month later...

Day off today so I've just witnessed my youngest Son leave for work, Shocked to find he wore a shirt & tie for work!  My lot only ever wore overalls & steal toe capped boots & started at 6 not 9 o'clock, very proud. 

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RR ... for many years, one of our sons had a high powered job travelling all over the world (and wore very smart clothes) but he was made redundant last year and now delivers groceries for Mr Sainsbury.   (Steel toe capped boots not necessary though!)  I was proud of him then and I'm proud of him now as he always gives of his best in everything he does which, in my opinion,  is the important thing.  

The type of work that a person does shouldn't define them.... but I can understand how proud you feel of your youngest son - is this the one whose graduation you went to?

 

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Yes my youngest Joe, must admit I'd forgotten he still lives at home? Gladly I've also now dumped my steal toe capped boots, I buy my own Merrel walking trainers for work, bliss, but still feel the relief & joy of putting a new pair of socks & my Doc Martins or my Clarks Originals at the weekends when stepping out. 

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Some politicians here have proposed that the age for retirement, and therefore for a pension entitlement, be raised to 70 years of age.

That might be acceptable for shiny ar$es in government or office jobs but for people that do heavy manual work it is obscene as bodies are worn out long before 65 let alone 70. In a decent society we should be looking at lowering the retirement age for those involved in hard yacca.

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Yes, your point about the effects of manual work is very valid, Oz. Don't under-estimate the effects on some of those involved in cerebral work though. I spent a lot of my working life behind a desk in 'shiney arse' mode, I suppose. Long demanding days in a very fast- moving business, I decided at the age of 56 I'd done enough and made enough and packed in work before the stress did it's worst. No way could I have worked to 65.

 

Some folk thrive on it though, mental and physical, horses for courses I'd say. 

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