What hope do you have as a child approaching the end of your schooling life in the next year or so? You study hard, gain decent exam results and then what? You can’t get a job because un-employment is through the roof. So you maybe go to college, in the hope that you can gain more qualifications to better aid the ultimate pursuit of a good job. So again, you study hard and you obtain that ‘A’ Level grade that you needed. Why? You still can’t get a job because of the unemployment rate, and any jobs that people your age would usually get are going to University graduates who are taking any type of work they can get.
So what are your options? Either sign on job seekers whilst you try to find work, which you probably won’t get due to the increasing difficulty in obtaining that much-needed help from the government, or go to University. You don’t fancy a life of destitute and despite the fact you don’t see much point, you aren’t ready to throw the towel in just yet. So you apply for University, and you manage to get a place on the course you want to study, but in doing so you submit yourself to a probable lifetime’s worth of debt because of the spiralling University fees and student loan fees. ‘It’ll be all worth it’ you tell yourself, as you consign yourself to another 3 or 4 years worth of studying. When all is said and done, you have graduated from University with your nice shiny degree, with all the trimmings, and skip off merrily to look for that job of your dreams.
Its only then that you realise that there is massive competition for the few graduate positions that become available, due to the years of high unemployment and the millions of people in the same boat as you. It’s then that you realise that you have put off looking for work for the last 6 years, trying your hardest to gain a qualification and set yourself up for a better standard of living. But instead what you have is a piece of paper stating that you are educated, but can’t do anything with it due to the fact that there is high unemployment, low economic growth and companies are now looking for ‘experience’ as well as the grades. You on the other hand are left with the job you could have got when you left school, barely paying enough for you to flat share with a friend whilst the person who got the job 6 years ago is now a regional manager.
I’m not trying to be a doom mongerer, neither am I trying to put people of gaining an education. The point I am trying to make is that believe it or not, this is what faces the youth of today. This is not what Blair’s Labour or Cameron’s Tories have promised us. Cameron continues to force feed us lies and broken promises, and out-right tripe about his ‘Big Society’. Is that going to help our children with the future? In the year and a half since the coalition took over, can you honestly think of one good thing that has emerged from Government, unless you count MP scandals and ‘Jobs-for-the-boys’.
I’d be extremely grateful for your comments and thoughts on what you think the future holds. Do you agree with me that the future looks bleak for British youths? or do you think it’s not as bad as I’m making out?
Great read, it’s ironic. My son has come out with college equivalent A levels in IT and has already taken a year out of study’s to review the situation. He’s on his 2nd year out and thankfully has a permenant part time job. That’s all he can get 9/hrs/wk plus overtime….. He would love the uni experience, but is really put off by the fees/debt incurred. He’ll probably not go…..
My elder daughter is starting her GCSEs she’s uni material and could fly very high….but she’s already considering alternatives to reach her goal. The biggest off put….Fees 🙁
It seems to follow education and/or your dreams is a costly affair. I fear they will lose out due to this concern re debt. They also don’t want to collect job seekers allowance either. They want to work. At least my son does. Others are happy collecting that fortnightly income…… Tis sad hard times indeed for our young people in my opinion Soapgirl
What a great article, Peter. As an example of the youth you’re speaking about, I really appreciate a different perspective on the situation that I find myself and my friends in.
I went to college, like I was taught to. I succeeded there. I also had a lot of fun. And now what?
Still have a part time job. Barely making my rent for my apartment with my roomate. Still looking to gain a steady, permanent option to make a life out of. I’m only 22, which is great. I’ve got a whole lot of life to live while I figure these things out. But I must say, even before I went to college, I was aware that because of the increasing rise of young peple attaining degrees, finding good jobs upon completion of a degree would be difficult. And that was before the economy went south. But for many, if not most young people, we still choose this path. College, in our generation, has become a right of passage. Maybe it’s pop culture and Hollywood’s fault. But the culture of college and of learning to grow on your own, away from home, in the pursuit of what your future holds is something we cherish. I’m not sure if that means there is no hope since we haven’t learned enough from mainstream media what need to go after once it’s over, but we’ll have to try regardless.