Minister Heckled Over '64-Year-Old Apprentices' Suggestion

[mikey4444]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-politics-40510535/minister-heckled-over-64-year-old-apprentices-suggestion

This Tory Wonk seems to suggest that women born in the 1950's, who have unexpectedly been denied a pension at the age they were promised one, can ease their difficulties by becoming apprentices !

[Cloverjo]

I wasn't born in the 50s - I'm 'only' 40 something, but I'd like an apprenticeship if it offered a decent salary. All the good jobs seem to be aimed at young'uns. I'd like companies to target women 'of a certain age'. I don't think they will though.

This reminds me of the plan to recruit pensioners to do our fruit-picking after Brexit leaves us without the young Eastern Europeans.

[EDDIE51]

My wife is affected by this, was expecting to qualify for her pension at 60 but now has to wait until she is 65.

[Islay]

Sounds like a good idea

[mikey4444]

So, a 62 year old woman should start a new apprenticeship, and that is a good idea ?

[EDDIE51]

Daft solution, the entire idea of an apprenticeship is to train for a career,a traditional apprenticeship takes 5 years! What's the point in starting at 60? You will be due to retire just as you finish the training.

[ummmm]

Yes, it's a good idea.

[Islay]

But not everyone wants to return then, we have several in our office that are well over the age of retirement - people are younger than their age these days!

[mikey4444]

Islay may have been ironic here ....I hope !

[ummmm]

Eddie - it depend what the job is. 5 years for plumber and sparkies, maybe, but not other jobs.

[Islay]

No I'm not being ironic!

[naomi24]

I'm not sure if that's Tory wonk or BBC/Labour wonk. I’ve listened to that twice. One of his hecklers spoke of people age 64, acknowledging that he may not have heard what was said, but I didn’t hear the speaker say what he’s accused of saying. As far as I can ascertain he’s talking about a government initiative to help people age 45 and over back into work, and to encourage businesses to accept them into the workforce. Why is that bad?

[mikey4444]

Ah well.....why am I not surprised !

[EDDIE51]

Apprenticeship is a good idea. When I left school in 1968 it was the normal way to train for your chosen career . I did 7 years of working with day release to college and ended up with a degree level qualification (LRIC) in chemistry. Then I left the UK and worked in Zambia as a chemist on the Copper mines labs.
A degree where I was earning and qualifying at the same time, rather that the current situation where you leave school,go to Uni for 3 to 5 years and end up with no money and a £30,000 debt!

[cassa333]

Cloverjo, can I have some of what your having please?

I was born in the 60s and I am over 50 so being only 40 something looks like a bonus lol

It is a bit of a twonk thing from him.

The sentiment behind the initiative is actually good.

Retraining for anyone who wants to go onto a new career and close the skills gap. But as someone one another thread said, how will that investment get paid back?

Someone nearing retirement surely wouldn't actually benefit a huge amount by this. ??

[EDDIE51]

ummmm When I left school in 1968 there was a choice of apprenticeships in my home town. Printing and bookbinding, Engineering, carpentry, building and bricklaying as well as electrician and plumbing. I went to another town 15 miles away to train as a laboratory technician , then went on to qualify in chemistry. All the apprenticeships were 5 years with a starting age of 16 . Now you can't leave school until after your 18th birthday so a modern apprenticeship may be shorter.

[Peter Pedant]

// I'm 'only' 40 something, but I'd like an apprenticeship if it offered a decent salary.//
erm Clove - apprenticeships were used in the C19 to exploit adolescent and teenage labour
Oliver Twist is apprenticed to the coffin maker ( dont the trustees pay the undertaker to take him?).

what you mean is that you wouldnt mind beng retrained and having a second or third career with a decent wage.

Completely different

[Islay]

Yes Peter why don't you tell her what she means as that is not condesending at all!!

[Peter Pedant]

// I'm 'only' 40 something, but I'd like an apprenticeship if it offered a decent salary.//
erm Clove - apprenticeships were used in the C19 to exploit adolescent and teenage labour
Oliver Twist is apprenticed to the coffin maker ( dont the trustees pay the undertaker to take him?).

what you mean is that you wouldnt mind beng retrained and having a second or third career with a decent wage.

Completely different

[Peter Pedant]

// I went to another town 15 miles away to train as a laboratory technician , then went on to qualify in chemistry.//

hey so did I ! Porton Down Salisbury- and then changed from Chemistry to something else

paid £32 a month - with lodgings ( hey what happened to THEM ?) at £7 a week.... which meant that a five week month I couldnt even pay my board and lodging ! [I had to owe ]

and so you can see islay in the sixties - apprenticeship and adolescent labout DIDN'T lead to a decent wage. And yes Islay it DID look as tho clo needed to be er reminded

[ yeah I'm like dat judge - you need to be burnt down in a tower block in order to inquire into it - I DID do the techie thing in the sixties and so can talk about it exploitation of teenage labout fifty years ago]

[EDDIE51]

When I got made redundant at the age of 58 even the job center clerk told me that it was nearly impossible to find work for people over 50.
I made 120 applications with not even a reply.
So I went to a Job agency and told them I'd do anything. They said that as long as I didn't mind working as a washer up they could offer as much work as I wanted. That started a new 'career' as a kitchen porter. But once the employers realised I was able to do more than wash pots they started to get me assisting with the actual cooking.
In one job at the University of Cambridge kitchens they used to get me to make and cook the daily batch of 150 scones.