I reproduce the below article with the kind permission of Lianne Poole, a young lady BNP member in Stoke-on-Trent.
Martin Luther King Jr, once said that 'Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored.', This being said, every person has the right to ignore something, but that doesn’t mean it’s not true! Just because you don’t see it, doesn’t mean it isn’t there!
It is also said that it is “Better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.”, so that is what I am here to do. To spread light on what I believe is a key issue stopping the development of a friendly and sustainable community.
How many people out there can’t get a job?
Sure you can say there are those out there not looking for a job and happy to live off Job Seekers Allowance (JSA), but if you really look, you will see them. The ones who are full of despair and depression because they are putting themselves out there, looking for any job and un-able to find one. It is estimated that for every vacancy these are 22 applicants trying to get it, this includes university graduates and they are fighting for jobs as cleaners. I personally know people who think that having to consider applying for JSA while searching for a job is the biggest embarrassment going; it’s not something anyone can ever be proud of.
The biggest ploy is that an education and a good CV make you more employable. The reality of the situation is that young people are pushed towards this opportunity in aid of keeping them off the un-employment records. The hope is that getting an education will help in the job search after they leave college or university. The reality is that they rake up debts with student loans, accommodation, bus fares and all the other essentials of student life. They then leave education with their degree and fight for their right to get, at best, a minimum wage job they could have gotten without their degree. If they are unlucky enough not to get a job stacking shelves and mopping floors they fall further into debt and are forced to sign on. You can spend weeks and months searching newspapers and the internet for jobs and send out more CV’s and letters of application than you care to think about and still not get a reply, not even one that says, "Sorry you have been unsuccessful". The constant searching causes stress and disturbs sleep, creates depression and health problems. You then need medication you are struggling to pay for, and have the sinking feeling of what is the point in sending them out, because no one is responding.
I myself have a First Diploma, National Certificate and Foundation Degree in animal management, welfare and behaviour, and my first job took 7 months to find and involved standing for 9 hours a day in a freezing (-2’) warehouse making cardboard dividers for 3 pence apiece. My second job is working in care at minimum wage. Both of these jobs have no use for my Foundation Degree; this therefore renders my 5 years of study and frightening student debt utterly useless.
The problem is the financial crisis this country is in, mainly due to constantly bailing out other countries within the EU and not helping our own, and of sending countless billions to third world countries to improve their lot whilst still accepting their economic migrants. There are people in this country who are struggling with gas and electric payments, while our money is being exported to other countries, end result - higher taxation and more problems. There are very few jobs available as companies are struggling to keep themselves afloat, this is causing more issues with people desperately trying to make a living and pay their way. One of the major factors to consider is Experience! You can’t get a job without it, but you can’t get it without a job. One option that is pushed is volunteer work, but that doesn’t pay the bills, a lot of people quite simply cannot afford to take an unpaid position however noble the cause. Most work places shy away from people seeking experience. I myself was unable to obtain a work based learning position at Pets at Home, because of the costs of insurance and potential damages. This position was essential to my completing my education, I was then forced to take a position at my college almost 30 miles from my home costing me £10 a day, and the required time of placement was 5 weeks. I had to perform this placement twice due to technical difficulties and, as it was an unpaid post, cost me a great deal in travel expenses, estimating up to £500 in fuel, that I could not claim back. There are also other companies and business who will exploit work experience, some even promising a job at the end of 6-12 months only to take on another work experience person, this way gaining an endless procession of free workers.
In conclusion those people who don’t go to college, live at home and manage to get a minimum wage job selling fries are probably better off in the long run, because they don’t have a massive student debt.
Lianne Poole.
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