Reply to: School Leavers not good enough for stacking shelves says head of Tesco

[threaded]

The big companies discovered Eastern European accession workers a few years ago. Now this supply is drying up (possibly because the weak pound makes the work less attractive, or maybe they've found better opportunities) they're looking around for new sources of cheap labour.

Oddly enough, in Denmark, the ones I know, all have degrees.

There again, one of the contractors on the farm is often called away to help translate. Yesterdays example was for a couple of scallies arrested for bank robbery. What with the recession, other machinery work has pretty much dried up, so now he's making more doing that than his proper job.

[darmstadt]

I'm pi55ed off at having what is viewed as a 2nd rate qualificiation to O-levels despite it being just as hard at the time.


Same here...

Personally I wouldn't worry about it. I've never been asked for my qualifications, apart from my first job when I was a YOP and they kept me on afterwards, and it would be embarrasing anyway as I only have 2 O'levels: English Language and English Literature. My first boss said they were the most important ones to have in computing anyway because at least then you would be able to read and understand the manuals

[centurian]

I did the first year of GCSEs; the exam questions were mostly recycled O level questions so the standards didn't fall immediately, but seem to have gone downhill since.

I'm pi55ed off at having what is viewed as a 2nd rate qualificiation to O-levels despite it being just as hard at the time.


Same here...

[TimberWolf]

He should be glad that the idiots that work for him cant work out they are being bent over by the big corp.

whole UK population

[Diestl]

He should be glad that the idiots that work for him cant work out they are being bent over by the big corp.

[TroubleAtMill]

This would be the same Tesco that has used all kinds of schemes to reduce it's tax bill by about £1.7bn over the last decade?

Now, before anyone has a go, I definitely applaud Tesco for doing everything legal to plan its tax affairs (as it is obliged to do to safeguard shareholder value) and the 'decline' of educational standard is probably due more to government ineptitude. But I've got to wonder how many teachers etc. could have been paid for by the money it gave to its accountants - never mind the tax?

[Spacecadet]

Apostrophes are A-level mate!

knot from nxt yr!

[JoJoGabor]

Including apostrophes?

Apostrophes are A-level mate!

[DiscoStu]

What does this mean? Does this mean I didnt get a proper education when I cant work out these acronyms? They should put these into GCSE English

Fixed That For You

[Mich the Tester]

What does this mean? Does this mean I didnt get a proper education when I cant work out these acronyms? They should put these into GCSE English

Including apostrophes?

[JoJoGabor]

FTFY!

What does this mean? Does this mean I didnt get a proper education when I cant work out these acronyms? They should put these into GCSE English

[Mich the Tester]

I did the last year of O-levels. In my second year of sixth form (i.e. when the first batch of GCSE students were starting A-levels), the teachers were all complaining that the new batch of students were so much further behind than we were. Especially in maths; the GCSE'ers hadn't even learned Calculus. I remember my maths teacher complaining that he was going to have to spend the first 6 months teaching them what they should have already known before he could even start on the A-level syllabus.

Of course then they made A-levels much easier to compensate.

Hmm, but then I did Common Entrance at 13 and felt that it was at least the same standard as GCSE.

[Churchill]

I worked in KFC for a while just before leaving uni and was shocked at how thick many of the people were in there. They were at the standard most people I know passed at primary 7.

The management knew that and students were given the more dangerous jobs in the kitchen, some of the people would have put their hands in liquid plaster given half a chance.

FTFY!

[minestrone]

I worked in KFC for a while just before leaving uni and was shocked at how thick many of the people were in there. They were at the standard most people I know passed at primary 7.

The management knew that and students were given the more dangerous jobs in the kitchen, some of the people would have poured a bucket of water into the deep fat cookers given half a chance.

[dang65]

"Sadly, despite all the money that has been spent, standards are still woefully low in too many schools. Employers like us are often left to pick up the pieces."

What is that supposed to mean anyway? Is he saying that they have to teach new staff reading and writing and arithmetic before they can even start training? I don't think so.

I mean, most of the jobs I did (before settling on one speciality, I mean) required training before I could do them properly, but what the employer got was someone who had the basic educational grounding and was able get started quickly. None of those employers expected ready-trained recruits. It was taken as read that training would be required and would be provided.

I think the difference now is that a lot of corporate employers have tried to make savings by removing training from their processes and are now suffering the consequences.