Day 326: Where Did My Work Ethic Go?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2294249/Graduates-lack-basic-skills-interested-job-offer-employer.html

Most new graduates lack even the basic skills needed for the workplace, complain major employers.

More than two-thirds of bosses said they cannot handle customers while half said they cannot operate independently.

Half of companies said university leavers struggle with basic English and nearly two-fifths claim they  cannot do simple maths.

Many firms said jobseekers expected to ‘get rich quick’ after being ‘damaged’ by the instant fame culture created by reality TV and  talent shows.

Employers also complained that graduates were more interested in ‘what a job can do for them, not what they have to offer an employer’.

Deloitte, HSBC, BT and Tesco, as well as the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, were among 127 employers surveyed.

More than half were having difficulty filling vacancies and most will spend more on training to bring recruits up to standard.

But the research commissioned by BPP, which trains professionals, added that 91 per cent of firms were happy with applicants’ IT skills.

John Cridland, director-general of the Confederation of British Industry, said schools had become ‘conveyor belts’ with too little emphasis on wider skills and attitudes.

He said: ‘Rigorous standards are vital but there’s been too little emphasis on the wider skills and attitudes that employers demand.

‘Instead of trying to push students over the grade C line at GCSE, we need a system which prizes rounded and grounded young people.’

And Dr Adam Marshall, director of policy at the British Chambers of Commerce, said broadening the workforce’s skills was a ‘priority’.

‘Businesses tell us they lack confidence in our education system’s ability to deliver basic literacy and numeracy skills,’ he added.

‘But employers also want to see young people with a strong worth ethic, and “softer” skills like timekeeping, and communication, which are fundamental in the work environment.

‘It’s essential that when young people leave the education system they have at least the basic skills that employers need.’

BPP chief executive Carl Lygo said the poll showed employers were looking for reliable staff who could immediately make a contribution to their business.

‘It seems that graduates and apprentices are keen and IT literate but that’s not enough. They need to be ready for the real world of work,’ he said. - Mail Online

What will become of the quality of work (and therefore products and services) if the new people entering the job market have a poor work ethic? Young people who manage to get a job are often too busy on their smartphones to actually do their jobs. The young generation is integrating into the working sector with a warped understanding of how work works - mostly because of how work is portrayed in the media. The rich and famous are shown in all their self indulgent and lazy glory and movies show work as just another social setting where people run off and do whatever they want, whenever they want (and get paid for the privilege).

Obviously something's gotta give. We cannot rely on our broken education systems and oblivious parents to shape the young into productive members of society as it stands now.

A big issue in most middle and upper income earners is that people who don't work shouldn't get any kind of welfare or benefits as they are lazy and must work for what they get. This ideology is in complete contradiction with the reality that is developing now of lazy and entitled young adults expecting good fortune to fall into their laps. So how is it that the older generation of "hard workers" has created this new generation of privileged pansies? Quite odd...

Equal Money suggests that work ethic and responsibility be instilled in children from the beginning of their cognitive and social development. Parents should teach their children to live with discipline and responsibility by example. School should teach children how to further develop their skills with responsibility through giving them tasks and responsibilities. Internships should then further teach the now young adult to carry through their responsibility in contributing to society. (See more at equalmoney.org/wiki/Labour)

The biggest resistance to the suggestion that Equal Money puts forward is the question of the different values of different jobs (ie street sweeper vs doctor). This is addressed in the Wiki section of the Equal Money site. Every job is our society needs to be done by someone - some may be delegated to specially designed machines, but many will still need to be done by human hands. The best thing about an Equal Money System is that we will be free from money driving and influencing our career choices - we will be able to choose the jobs we actually enjoy.

The second biggest resistance is the question of why would people work when they are able to live a comfortable life without having to work. This is also addressed in the Wiki section. We simply cannot look at this issue from the same perspective as we would in current economic issues. We all know that our society cannot function without our active participation - in an EMS our motivation will not be monetary reward, but will be a basic requirement to manifest the live and world we want.