Protest in the Park

I agree with many of the reasons for today's protest. As a local government worker, since the bankers took all the taxpayers money, to pay for their reckless and very poor management whilst still being paid a fortune, the media have instead focussed on attacking public sector workers. We have been demonised as the incompetent,non job, overpaid, overpensioned pariahs of a world where everyone in the private sector earns two bob a day working tirelessly to provide for the lazy public sector.

So I can identify with today's protest. In the quarter of a century that I have worked in social housing, I have been spat at, sworn at, threatened, stalked and have had my car windscreen smashed in. Then there's the fleas, filth and turds (only last week - about 200 in someones vacated lounge!). And that's before you get to the routine of the job itself, battling against the competing priorities of legislation, finance and volume.

So I can easily identify with todays protesters. What I cannot fathom though, is why they attended the geeks performance? Ed served in the same government that has caused the problem, shafted Bro by crawling to the unions, and showed no remorse for his part in Britains (and the public sectors) downfall.

Can the protesters really not see his hypocrisy or is the lack of cheering for his geeklike performance a sign of British politeness towards an idiot? I do hope so.

Same Old, Same Old

If ever there was a reason to doubt that there has been a change of government, then just look at this piece.

As a manager for many years, it has been my (dis?) pleasure to spend hours at the tedious pastime of the interview (preceded by the even more tedious chore of shortlisting). There are certain things that stand out clearly during this process:

• Many candidates are illiterate or illegible or both
• A lot of the illiterates and illegibles have a fine array of GCSEs with A*
• Quite a few of the illiterates and illegables have degrees
• There are usually a fair smattering of applications that give no information in the box reserved for 'general information in support of your application'.
• At interview stage, we are lucky if half of the shortlisted applicants turn up

So what does this tell me? Well, it seems clear that;

• Our current education system does not teach students to read , write, or think
• That qualifications cannot be trusted as a reflection of abilities
• That it is entirely possible to be thick and have a degree
• That there are a fair number of people who apply for jobs because they will have their dole money cut if they don't - hence not fully completing the application form to ensure they are not invited to interview
• That even in a recession, about half the shortlisted candidates find better options than working with a local authority, even in a massive global recession.

And what are the government planning to do?

They will - set targets and incentives, fund training schemes and mentoring programmes, give the private sector a national insurance holiday, create technical academies and push vocational qualificatins.

What about just teaching them, properly, as they used to be taught, so they can actually be of use to an employer?

But no. There's no money in teaching kids what they need to know. Better to throw money at new acadamies, mentoring, training schemes, the private sector, whatever........... but don't teach the kids anything of use.

Looks like the consultants, million pound usleless academies, government sponsered mentors and training schemes are here to stay.

Same Old, Same Old.