The EDP has more about the Tory cuts HERE.
We know the County has to make cuts, but why not start with cutting perks to councillors, perhaps halving the entertainment budget for the
Showing posts with label jobs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label jobs. Show all posts
7/24/2010
The wrong time for Norfolk Tories to be cutting funding to the careers service
In good economic times I am sure there are many who just walk in to jobs straight from school or university who never have to seek advice from anyone before joining the working population. In hard times, many people, but especially school leavers need to know they are getting the right advice. That is why it is beyond comprehsnion that Norfolk County Council Tories are to half the Connexions career service in a mass cull of jobs.
The EDP has more about the Tory cuts HERE.
We know the County has to make cuts, but why not start with cutting perks to councillors, perhaps halving the entertainment budget for theleader Chairman of the council (which the Tories raised by tens of thousands a few years ago). It seems illogical to hamper the future of Norfolk school children finding the right courses and jobs in order to save money. This is short term in its savings as it will have a long term effect on the county. But its typical of the Tories to think about the short term, not the big picture.
The EDP has more about the Tory cuts HERE.
We know the County has to make cuts, but why not start with cutting perks to councillors, perhaps halving the entertainment budget for the
1/13/2009
Time for The News At Ten to bring back the jobs map ?
Anyone who remembers the years of job losses under Thatcher and the Tories during much of the 1980s will surely remember the News At Ten's regular roundup on every Friday evening bringing figures of all the redundancies announced during the previous seven days, and all those new jobs announced.
It used to be a rather bleak thing, with you being able to see a snapshot of the misery the country was suffering, but given all the news of job redundancies that we hear every day, you have to wonder if we are not in need of the job map in order to keep track of all the bad news, and hopefully to make us aware of any good news too.
It used to be a rather bleak thing, with you being able to see a snapshot of the misery the country was suffering, but given all the news of job redundancies that we hear every day, you have to wonder if we are not in need of the job map in order to keep track of all the bad news, and hopefully to make us aware of any good news too.
1/28/2008
Who told us that we are better than McDonalds workers ?
We've all heard the jokes about people who work in McDonald's. It is supposed to be harmless fun, but at the end of the day it is often a class thing, a smugness amongst the educated middle class against people who are lowly paid, often lacking qualifications and end up in what is seen as a dead end job.
So it saddens me to see people being so demeaning of the opportunity given to McDonald's staff to earn a proper accredited qualification.
Yes it is so easy for us to mock the "McJob", wearing their little badge emblazoned with stars showing what levels they have achieved, and it suits "some" of us to make sure that these lowly paid people in service industries know their place on the social ladder. Quite often they arrive at McDonalds, KFC or Burger King without qualifications, perhaps turned off learning by a bad school experience or simply a lack of will to learn. But who says these people have to remain at the bottom of the ladder all their lives ?
Many workers in a whole range of jobs soon become dependent on their salary. They cannot, even if they want to, go out and get an education which they may want. Perhaps they have a family to support ? May be the hours they have to work are not conducive to evening classes. ? There are 101 reasons or more why formal education is out of their reach which is further ammunition as to why the formal recognised qualification offered by McDonalds is such a good idea.
I went to University for four years, and could talk for hours about teaching or about political systems and the structures of political parties, and that has been recognised in my Degree in politics and my PGCE allowing me to teach. But should I be faced with a worker from McDonalds, I would not have a clue how to sterilise equipment, how food should be stored or even the issues of human resource management. Why shouldn't these practical skills be recognised formally ?
It is a sad indictment that a country that has a shortage of skilled workers, be they plumbers or plasterers that people can swoon over someone who has read classical poetry for their degree at University but mock someone who has the practical skills needed by the catering industry.
Perhaps the biggest indictment though is the fact that so many people have chosen to question the validity of the McDonald's qualification but have not said a word about FlyBe or Network Rail also being able to offer a professional qualification. What is that has made the middle classes be so smug about McDonald workers and why are they so worried that these people can better themselves.
I was watching a BBC drama called Lark Rise to Candleford last night and it centred around the argument between a poor "liberal" and the "Tory" classes telling him he should "know his place and not better himself". It seems some things actually never change.
So it saddens me to see people being so demeaning of the opportunity given to McDonald's staff to earn a proper accredited qualification.
Yes it is so easy for us to mock the "McJob", wearing their little badge emblazoned with stars showing what levels they have achieved, and it suits "some" of us to make sure that these lowly paid people in service industries know their place on the social ladder. Quite often they arrive at McDonalds, KFC or Burger King without qualifications, perhaps turned off learning by a bad school experience or simply a lack of will to learn. But who says these people have to remain at the bottom of the ladder all their lives ?
Many workers in a whole range of jobs soon become dependent on their salary. They cannot, even if they want to, go out and get an education which they may want. Perhaps they have a family to support ? May be the hours they have to work are not conducive to evening classes. ? There are 101 reasons or more why formal education is out of their reach which is further ammunition as to why the formal recognised qualification offered by McDonalds is such a good idea.
I went to University for four years, and could talk for hours about teaching or about political systems and the structures of political parties, and that has been recognised in my Degree in politics and my PGCE allowing me to teach. But should I be faced with a worker from McDonalds, I would not have a clue how to sterilise equipment, how food should be stored or even the issues of human resource management. Why shouldn't these practical skills be recognised formally ?
It is a sad indictment that a country that has a shortage of skilled workers, be they plumbers or plasterers that people can swoon over someone who has read classical poetry for their degree at University but mock someone who has the practical skills needed by the catering industry.
Perhaps the biggest indictment though is the fact that so many people have chosen to question the validity of the McDonald's qualification but have not said a word about FlyBe or Network Rail also being able to offer a professional qualification. What is that has made the middle classes be so smug about McDonald workers and why are they so worried that these people can better themselves.
I was watching a BBC drama called Lark Rise to Candleford last night and it centred around the argument between a poor "liberal" and the "Tory" classes telling him he should "know his place and not better himself". It seems some things actually never change.
10/28/2007
It's not migrant workers we should criticise
I know you don't have to go to London to understand the value this country gains from migrant workers, Indeed, here in Norfolk large elements of the economy are dependent on workers from the EU. Companies like Bernard Matthews, Kinnerton Chocolates and various others, most notably in food production and agriculture, are utterly dependent on workers from Poland and Portugal. However, I was astonished by the state of dependency on migrant workers in London.
Aside from when we went to the theatre (where all the staff appeared to be British), every bar, coffee shop, restaurant, indeed, even our hotel, was staffed almost exclusively by very well spoken, helpful and polite workers from the European mainland.
I know it must be easy for the "little England" brigades sat in rural Berkshire to moan about the influx of "foreigners", but we need to examine why it is that we now have hundreds of thousands of foreigners in this country doing jobs that British people could do, but why it is that 1.5 million British people would rather accept state benefits rather than go out to work.
The fact is that these migrant workers from the EU are not taking British workers jobs as people like to complain, in fact they do the jobs that too many British people feel are beneath them. What a terrible indictment of what our society has become that we pay people so very much to stay at home and do nothing. Then we seek to criticise those who come over here. uproot themselves from their families and friends, learn a new language and come to the UK to do jobs that British people are "too good for" .
I was reading my wife's magazine on the way home on the train yesterday and there was a story about a woman about 20 years of age. She has two children, gets £17,000 a year in benefits and was moaning that it was not enough.
It does make me wonder whether we need to be asking much more serious questions about how we have, in this country, allowed ourselves to believe that we have rights, but no responsibilities that go with them.
To my mind we should all be concerned about the fact that we can support and provide so much for so many people that care little for society, about their own self respect, and care not one jot about getting a job yet we have soldiers going out to fight for this country, who get wounded, and seem to get left with very little by the government.
Something has broken in this country, indeed in society as a whole, and it is difficult to see how it can be fixed.
Aside from when we went to the theatre (where all the staff appeared to be British), every bar, coffee shop, restaurant, indeed, even our hotel, was staffed almost exclusively by very well spoken, helpful and polite workers from the European mainland.
I know it must be easy for the "little England" brigades sat in rural Berkshire to moan about the influx of "foreigners", but we need to examine why it is that we now have hundreds of thousands of foreigners in this country doing jobs that British people could do, but why it is that 1.5 million British people would rather accept state benefits rather than go out to work.
The fact is that these migrant workers from the EU are not taking British workers jobs as people like to complain, in fact they do the jobs that too many British people feel are beneath them. What a terrible indictment of what our society has become that we pay people so very much to stay at home and do nothing. Then we seek to criticise those who come over here. uproot themselves from their families and friends, learn a new language and come to the UK to do jobs that British people are "too good for" .
I was reading my wife's magazine on the way home on the train yesterday and there was a story about a woman about 20 years of age. She has two children, gets £17,000 a year in benefits and was moaning that it was not enough.
It does make me wonder whether we need to be asking much more serious questions about how we have, in this country, allowed ourselves to believe that we have rights, but no responsibilities that go with them.
To my mind we should all be concerned about the fact that we can support and provide so much for so many people that care little for society, about their own self respect, and care not one jot about getting a job yet we have soldiers going out to fight for this country, who get wounded, and seem to get left with very little by the government.
Something has broken in this country, indeed in society as a whole, and it is difficult to see how it can be fixed.
8/27/2007
Job centre recruiting for prostitutes ?
Hat tip to Ordovicius for this rather stunning story about how a Job Centre is placing adverts for "Escorts - £100 an hour".
The Daily Post reports that
"An advert on the government-run Jobcentre Plus website seeks men and women to “provide clients with a personal escort service in an unsupervised environment.” But a website for the firm which placed the vacancy ad makes clear the services on offer are somewhat less innocent.
One girl, Samantha, charges £150 an hour or £950 for an overnight job, and offers “no-strings adult fun, men only”.The decision to place the adverts was last night defended by the Department for Work and Pensions, but criticised by a leading charity.
The advert on the Jobcentre Plus website claims it is seeking men and women to work between 10 and 30 hours, for at least £100 an hour.It reads: “No experience necessary. Vacancy not suitable for under 18s. Duties involve providing clients with a personal escort service in an unsupervised environment."
Ordovicius has more on his blog about this, which I recommend you to read. This includes details of the applicants being asked which sexual positions and acts they are not comfortable with !
You cannot believe that any official at the Job Centre could possibly believe this is the sort of profession that should be advertised and recruited for in a Job Centre, even if it is the oldest profession in the world.
The Daily Post reports that
"An advert on the government-run Jobcentre Plus website seeks men and women to “provide clients with a personal escort service in an unsupervised environment.” But a website for the firm which placed the vacancy ad makes clear the services on offer are somewhat less innocent.
One girl, Samantha, charges £150 an hour or £950 for an overnight job, and offers “no-strings adult fun, men only”.The decision to place the adverts was last night defended by the Department for Work and Pensions, but criticised by a leading charity.
The advert on the Jobcentre Plus website claims it is seeking men and women to work between 10 and 30 hours, for at least £100 an hour.It reads: “No experience necessary. Vacancy not suitable for under 18s. Duties involve providing clients with a personal escort service in an unsupervised environment."
Ordovicius has more on his blog about this, which I recommend you to read. This includes details of the applicants being asked which sexual positions and acts they are not comfortable with !
You cannot believe that any official at the Job Centre could possibly believe this is the sort of profession that should be advertised and recruited for in a Job Centre, even if it is the oldest profession in the world.
11/11/2006
Taking action over offshoring of UK jobs
Offshoring has for the last five years become the key buzzword for UK businesses, particularly for call centres. The transferring of several tens of thousands of jobs to the Indian sub-continent has been seen by many companies as a key strategy whilst customers of these companies are less than impressed.
Norwich Union has got rid of or announced the loss over 4,000 staff in recent weeks on top of the previous thousands who have lost their jobs in the UK in recnt years. So when I phoned up Norwich Union about my staff pension, I got put through to India and the man who answered the phone told me that there was no such thing as a staff pension and refused to put me through to a UK based person who could help me. Presumably he is employed because Norwich Union will not be providing him with a pension ? Norwich Union apologised to me in writing and on the phone when I wrote to the local paper in Norwich about my problems with their Indian call centre and informed me that they do have a unit who specially deal with problems from their Indian calls centres. However, get this, in order to make further savings, even this unit who deal with problems is going to be scrapped in a few months. How's that for customer service ?
Nat West have made much of their use of UK call centres only, and I have to admit that I switched my power supplier recently on the basis that they used UK call centres only, so there is certainly a market for UK call centres and a desire from British people to switch to them.
The other big problem is that Indian call centres are not subect to UK laws, meaning the financial services act does not apply there, and recent TV programs have shown some overseas call centre staff selling personal details for £12 a time.
So what can those of us do who want to use UK based firms who dont "offshore" their staff ? Well so far it's been difficult. However I was interested to read about a firm in Norfolk who have set up a website which links to companies that use staff based in UK callcentres. The website is http://www.job-savers.com/ . It appears that they link to companies (and presumably in return they receive a fee) who do not offshore their staff.
It's a nice idea for those of us who prefer to use UK callcentres although I am slightly confused as to why the RAC is on their list given that the RAC is owned by Norwich Union. However, I think it is a good idea and wish them luck.
One final thought. Many US firms who started the whole offshoring thing ten tears ago have started to repatriate jobs to the US because a loss in customer support for those firms whilst one study showed that UK call centres deal with 25% more calls and have a 30% higher satisfaction rating.
Food for thought perhaps.
Norwich Union has got rid of or announced the loss over 4,000 staff in recent weeks on top of the previous thousands who have lost their jobs in the UK in recnt years. So when I phoned up Norwich Union about my staff pension, I got put through to India and the man who answered the phone told me that there was no such thing as a staff pension and refused to put me through to a UK based person who could help me. Presumably he is employed because Norwich Union will not be providing him with a pension ? Norwich Union apologised to me in writing and on the phone when I wrote to the local paper in Norwich about my problems with their Indian call centre and informed me that they do have a unit who specially deal with problems from their Indian calls centres. However, get this, in order to make further savings, even this unit who deal with problems is going to be scrapped in a few months. How's that for customer service ?
Nat West have made much of their use of UK call centres only, and I have to admit that I switched my power supplier recently on the basis that they used UK call centres only, so there is certainly a market for UK call centres and a desire from British people to switch to them.
The other big problem is that Indian call centres are not subect to UK laws, meaning the financial services act does not apply there, and recent TV programs have shown some overseas call centre staff selling personal details for £12 a time.
So what can those of us do who want to use UK based firms who dont "offshore" their staff ? Well so far it's been difficult. However I was interested to read about a firm in Norfolk who have set up a website which links to companies that use staff based in UK callcentres. The website is http://www.job-savers.com/ . It appears that they link to companies (and presumably in return they receive a fee) who do not offshore their staff.
It's a nice idea for those of us who prefer to use UK callcentres although I am slightly confused as to why the RAC is on their list given that the RAC is owned by Norwich Union. However, I think it is a good idea and wish them luck.
One final thought. Many US firms who started the whole offshoring thing ten tears ago have started to repatriate jobs to the US because a loss in customer support for those firms whilst one study showed that UK call centres deal with 25% more calls and have a 30% higher satisfaction rating.
Food for thought perhaps.
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