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natalie dean
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Is the government listening?
We'd like to know if you think the government listens to what young people have to say, what do you think? Let us know your thoughts in the comments box below, thanks.
almost 2 years ago
Guest
Over the last few months I’ve watched with interest the growing participation in Big Society’s Big Mouth but more importantly, the emerging themes and concerns of participants. The contributions have been magnificent, thought provoking and challenging. I hope to comment on some of the dominant issues as the project comes to its natural end. The first topic I want to reflect on is the high level... Read more
almost 2 years ago
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Myriam Roberts
almost 2 years agoNatalie don't despair it happens to everyone! But you are right is a massive circle you have the correct paper certifcates but not the work experince to go with them becuase you were in college getting the paper!
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Hannah J Wright
almost 2 years agoYes it is hard when you get stuck in that loop - it happened to me. I wanted to do media but that is SO about who you know, even to get work experience, and I didn't know anyone. In the end I did some volunteering with a youth magazine and ended up getting a job. So maybe volunteering helps to iron out some of the unfairness that seems to go with work experience and placements?
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Kic Fm
almost 2 years agoHi
Would just like to update this, after asking the question to some young people, here are some answers I've received.
What I asked.
"Quick question for you. We hear employers are really concerned for those young people who appear not to be ready for or interested in work.
They say young people are rejecting work.
Is this true? Any of you looking for job and want/interested to work? "
Richard... Read more
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Kathy Marshall
over 1 year agoI'm reading back through some old topics. Is that a real question or one to cause debate? Most people don't exactly choose to have no job or education, it just gets forced onto them whether they like it or not.
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Myriam Roberts
over 1 year agoI agree with Kathy Marshall being a NEET or unemployed is not a choice, you are unemployed/NEET because you have no choice!
Helper
v knows that full-time volunteering can provide a great way for young people to gain the skills and practical work experience needed to gain employment. However, at the moment, if an unemployed young person wants to undertake a full-time volunteering programme, they have to come off Job Seekers Allowance, which causes major hassle for them, and impacts on other benefits they receive too (e.g. housing... Read more
almost 2 years ago
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Myriam Roberts
almost 2 years agobrillant idea!
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Aklima Vinspired
almost 2 years agoyes they should so that they can gain skills in order to move forward, making it easier to get jobs.
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Kai Lazarus
almost 2 years agoYep, going for yes on this one. The volunteering bit could make sure that skills and work ethics don't rust while looking for jobs. Although, I'm wondering if the times would impact the ability to search for a job.
I mean, if I person has to work/volunteer 9-5 then the'll probably be tired by the end to look for a job.
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natalie dean
almost 2 years agoThe thing is the goverment want to force people on JSA to do certain jobs e.g. pick up litter etc, (what people pay there taxes for) and if they refuse they stop there JSA. Which i do think is a cover for cuts.
I think people should Vol if they want to and not be forced into it, and it should not affect there JSA. As long as that person is still looking for a job then it should be ok.
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Matthew Procter
almost 2 years agoNo, it all sounds like a good idea to start with, but volunteering in the private sector to gain experience simply replaces the paid worker with a free worker. For example, my friend is on Job seekers allowance, he wanted to get a job in a pub/restauraunt, but the employers wanted him to have more experience, so he asked if he could volunteer for free, but he couldnt because he would lose his JSA... Read more
should cameron the prime minister take a leaf out of his own book with the big society, and commit his terms as prime minister and do it free of pay as did mz thatcher while she was. well being prime minister is and living in number 10 is a privilege!!!
almost 2 years ago
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Guest
Lusiné Manukyan
almost 2 years agoHaha, good idea! I'm sure he'd be able to survive with small donations from his poor friends, bankers. He encourages volunteering, so he might as well set the example!
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natalie dean
almost 2 years agoIf Cameron really cares about the big society and volunteering he should be there now setting an example but his not.
If I worked as his PA that would be the first thing I make him do.
What is the difference between Volunteering and being an Intern?
They both currently don't get paid?
But is there a difference in beliefs and attitudes between the interns and volunteers?
almost 2 years ago
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Aklima Vinspired
almost 2 years agothat's true
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natalie dean
almost 2 years agoThis comment has been removed by the user.
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Kathy Marshall
about 2 years agoI'd like to be able to vote online, although it would have to be a secure enough method for it to be used. But then, postal votes aren't very secure.
I'm not sure it would make a particularly big difference. Many people aren't actually registered to vote, so they'd still have to do that. and they'd have to register to have an email vote too. Also, it's often people from deprived communities... Read more
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natalie dean
about 2 years agoI think it would get more people to vote but how would it be safe. You could have hackers hack into it, look at sony at the moment, yes only a games console but something like that could happen to online voting very easy.
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Carly Vinspired
about 2 years agoi totally didn't think about that Natalie. As I really don't care about politics (it's not that I just don't care, it's that I don't want to - it's all egos and hot air and until the whole country is represented fairly.. anyway.. that's another thread!) I was all 'yeah, go on then, online voting, winning' but the hacking thing is a dark idea... really dark..
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Carly Vinspired
about 2 years agoimagine if the parties themselves or the government hacked it to reflect well on them! AAAAAAAAAHHHHH.
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natalie dean
about 2 years agoThey could also you would have to put in a lot of private details about you. for example NI number etc to prove its you. All you need is one person to hack into it and they would have alll your details they could use to pretend they are you.
The Government has announced a £60 million package aimed at boosting work prospects and "transforming" vocational education. The Government said it will provide funding for up to 250,000 more apprenticeships over the next four years, and fund 100,000 work placements over the next two years.
At the same time the head of McDonald's in Britain, Jane McDonald, has claimed that school leavers would be... Read more
about 2 years ago
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Charlotte Beckett
about 2 years agoWhat about if the job involved formal training? Could employers become educators too?
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Tasha Wharton
about 2 years agoYeah I think jobs with formal training would be a really good option. Especially in certain industries
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Mohammed Ahmed
almost 2 years agoLooks like degrees still aren't enough..."Graduates who have not bothered to secure work experience while studying stand "little or no" chance of getting a job at one of the UK's leading employers, a new report showed."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/jobs/hr-news/8265125/Graduates-without-work-experience-wont-find-job.html -
Tasha Wharton
almost 2 years agoIt's true that work placements have a huge impact on being able to secure a job. What companies want is people who can hit the ground running with little or no extra training. Internships are now the entry level jobs and yet remain largely unpaid.
If I could have afforded to do work placements whilst studying I would've done. However, my loan barely covered my rent. Talking to other people many... Read more
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Ruth Hennell
almost 2 years agoI think it depends if you are going to University to study a subject you love then there is a point! but if you want to get working then uni is not the only option.
As Tasha said, one of the biggest problems is unpaid internships, sometimes it is easiest for non-graduates to get experience through apprenticeships which aren't open to those with a degree) than graduates who have to somehow manage... Read more
So David Cameron said yesterday he is going to give Pakistan £650million of tax payers money in aid, to help with schooling over there.
What do you think about this?
Do you think this is a good thing, that we are helping there country or do you think David Cameron could have used that money better for example to help all the services that are getting cut at the moment?
Leave a comment.
about 2 years ago
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Kathy Marshall
about 2 years agoDepends. If it was only going to be spent on something relatively useless like opera anyway, then why not spend it on teaching little kids to read, even if they're foreign?
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Jennifer Stevens
about 2 years agoI think this is crazy, yes there are children in other countries who should have a right to an education, but there are also people in our own country who cant afford to live a decent standard of life and cant afford to pay their bills because of the amount of rightfully earned money that is taken off them every pay day. Also, as we are a country in recession isn't it just common sense not to give... Read more
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Amy Moseley
about 2 years agoThere's no reason why every child in this world shouldn't have the same level of education as what we do in the UK. Yes we are in a recession and I don't agree with a lot of the spending cuts, however Pakistan are a lot worse of than we are, so I can't fault the governmentfor their decision to do so.
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Kathy Marshall
about 2 years agoWe're not actually as poor as politicians like to claim we are. But however skint Britain was, we'd still give aid. It's a political decision, we don't just do it out of the goodness our our hearts. Politicians do it because they think it will benefit Britain too, usually.
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Demi Sharman
about 2 years agoi think it is a good idea for our government in wanting to help out children in Pakistan but, rather than just sending loads of money they should sent out organisation too. They need to make sure that the money we give does benefit the children and not just some politiction in Pakistan.
Helper
We’re very excited to announce that on Wednesday 8th June we’ll be having a meeting with Andrew Stunell who is a Minister at the Department for Communities and Local Government. And we want to take all of you with us (in a virtual way of course)!
Naturally, he’s very keen to take questions and comments on communities, neighbourhoods and volunteering from our discussion on Big Society’s Big... Read more
about 2 years ago
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Jamie Powis
about 2 years agoHey vbigmouth!
The government has cut funding to hundreds of youth organisations across the country forcing a majority of them to close down.
**How can the Big Society exist without young people?**
I work and volunteer for a youth organisation in Wolverhampton called Kids in Communication (www.kicfm.com) that has had its funding cut because of government reductions. We engaged over 5000 young... Read more
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Kic Fm
about 2 years agoHi Andrew
My names Kenny, and I'm involved with Kids In Communication, a young persons radio station and a support network for young people.
Funded by VInspired for the last 3 years, our project, along with hundreds up and down the country was cut on the 31st March. We were solely funded by V, and as of this date, we were forced to close our doors to young people.
Over 13 years, we have trained... Read more
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Guest
Peter Swallow
about 2 years agoHow can the government expect young people to work towards the big society when 1) they are cutting funding here and there to the voluntary sector and schemes which support it (like the Youth Opportunities Fund) and 2) are doing seemingly nothing to tackle young people's 20% unemployment rate? Young people can't volunteer if they can't afford to live.
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Paul Martin
about 2 years agoThe Big Society concept is based upon volunteering - everybody doing their bit. But does the government recognise that volunteering doesn't just happen by osmosis?
Volunteers dont just come forward or suddenly materialise as if by magic! Volunteering needs a funded infrastructure behind it to develop and support volunteer management.
What is this government doing to ensure that volunteer infrastructure... Read more
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Charlotte Beckett
about 2 years agoHi folks. We've unfortunately had to move dates on this: the meeting is now Wednesday 8th June. In the interim, Andrew Stunell has addressed your points in a blog which we're just about to post. We'll keep you updated on when the meeting is.
So today we had the screening of the KIC FM documentary, it went well. We had BBC MIdlands Today come along and they did a live link up.
The full documentary is now live on youtube for people to watch. So please do and get everyone you know to watch it.
If you wanna watch the live link up its here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IU89YWR-UQA&feature=channel_video_title
i recorded it off my phone... Read more
about 2 years ago
Onyere Kene
The government do listen to young people however like the above comments suggests, implementation is a different ball game all together. It seems the government go ahead with whatever decisions they have made up thier minds to implement. The tuition fees increase is a perfect example.
Myriam Roberts
I agree with Onyere Kene completely. The Government just talk to young people to tick a box and then act out the policy they wanted not the one young people ask for or the changes the young people wanted in the policy in the first place.
Dubfm Iradio Banton Man
For over 2000 years now the governors have not listened to the children. Lets not kid ourselves here, they don't care about any of us. They, like some of the FAKE people using this site, only care about money.
jonathan dorrian
I don't think it's about money. I think it is about that they treat young people like me and many others as people who's comment are wrong or too far fetched for something that could be implemented into a credible policy.
Ruth Hennell
I think it often depends on the department, I also think people are right about it being listening, but not necessarily following what we say, but I don't think that just applies to youth consultations, but to all age groups.
For example the people they take the most notice of have connections, money and power in industry and young people are less likely to have that...
A positive example of... Read more