General Chat

Anyone in the Staffordshire area, pref, Stafford ,Stone, Newcastle, know of any jobs going. My 20 year old son is getting very demoralised, he has over 200 applications in and is willing to take anything. He was a care assistant but it was out of area and didn't cover the cost of his car insurance never mind anything else. He has done cashier , fast food, and forecourt work. Please help him he is getting depressed he has applied for Drivers attendant, porter, cleaner, call centre, bank cashier, you name it he's applied but never seems to get any comeback.

Can't give your son a job Amanda but i'd like to wish him good luck and hope he gets something very soon.A worker should get rewards!

Mau xxx

good luck to your sonxx

Cheers that's good of you. It rattled me today hearing Emma Crosby on GMTV telling people instead of sitting in on a computer "get aJob" she doesn't know how lucky she is.

Thanks keeping our fingers crossed

If that's the Emma Crosby i am thinking of she needs a good hard slap!

When even the job centre is saying "you can't apply for jobs that don't exist" it is a really hard struggle.

Best of luck to your son Amanda, I hope he will be lucky, he is obviously willing to try anything and everything, tell him to stay as positive as he can .

Rose xx

Thanks Rose I tend to agree with the slap bit. At least you are cheering me up. x

he's jolly lucky that there are 200 appropriate jobs he can apply for in his area.!

Does he really have 200 applications in at the same time?

Yes he fills in applications all day. He goes to shops with cards in windows and rings up news ads, the trouble is lots of these are rolling ads we have found out which means the jobs aren't there. He even rang a chip shop that wanted help, they paid him in chips but then had'nt enough customers inso they said they will ring him in Sept. In fact Minnie there aren't the jobs when you look into it. But go on the agency sites and put alerts in for any new jobs that come up if you are looking.

There's 100 jobs on the jobcentre site for my town... many of those are part time, and were there last week and the week before, 1 or 2 days a week cleaning etc

The jobcentre has a book of 'back to work' placements, basically you work 6 months for your dole on the chance the company will take you on...but of course they don't, they 'take on' another lot of 6 monthers. Yes it gives you experience, but if there are no jobs at the end of it?

Amanda, can your son come up with any innovative ideas or does he have a particular skill ? I was reading that there is a huge rise in the number of young 'entrepreneurs', setting up their own business because they can't find jobs ( even...or maybe especially, graduates).

Hi Rose, his particular skills are English Lang and Lit in fact he is trying to work to being an English teacher but he cannot pass the Maths GCSE he needs a C to get on a teaching course, he has taken it 3 times and gets a D, his excuse for that, and its backed up in a medical Journ, is that he had meningitis on his first birthday and its proven that a huge percentage of children contracting the desease at that age will not be able to get above a D, so hes applyied for teaching assistant jobs as well. He is excellent on the computer and did tutor a young asperges boy on using the flash film making program.(don't ask me what it is)

Hi Kg thanks we have 2 in street both full.

Sorry you think its rubbish Amy but there you go just, because you maybe know someone who has or you did yourself does'nt mean its true , as Isaid the report says that a large percentage will not gain above a c in Maths. As he has had tutors and retakes I thinks its posibly true considering he got all his other GCSE and ASA levels.

Thank you Rose you are obviously not only a tactful but clever person.

Amanda, know where your coming from on the Meningitis front. I too had that, as I say, before it was invented, as it is over sixty years ago
I think Amy rather suffers from ' foot in the mouth' syndrome. Never been
know to think before she speaks. Put it down to ignorance.
Good Luck with your son. We are at the same stage with a grandaughter on the job front.
Julia in Derbyshire

I would never claim to have a great deal of tact Amanda :)

This is quite interesting and puts it clearly

"Linear reasoning[6] and language functions such as grammar and vocabulary[7] often are lateralized to the left hemisphere of the brain. Dyscalculia is a neurological syndrome associated with damage to the left temporo-parietal junction.[8] This syndrome is associated with poor numeric manipulation, poor mental arithmetic skill, and the inability to either understand or apply mathematical concepts.[9]"

It's a subject of ongoing research I believe.

Hi Rose ,bit complicated all that but you are right it is ongoing, he took part in a DNA research a few years ago to see why he survied or should I say how he survived while so many are not so fortunate. In fact it reminds me I should be more than happy to find he is still here and not worry too much about the job situation.

Thank you Julie, I am afraid I have often been accused of the foot in the mouth syndrome but I learnt to control it over time when I realised how much hurt it can cause, I now try and think first. Hope your G daughter gets on better than my son, its a hard world out there to get started in. Glad you recovered from your bout of Meningitis it is the most scary thing for a parent to see on a baby hope you didn't suffer after effects. he was given an hour to live each day for four days.