I haven't had an arguement with anyone for years, but I found myself shouting at the radio this morning. I even phoned the programme in the hope of being asked to join in, but my offer was not taken up. What was I getting so worked up about? BBC Radio Humberside did a feature about life after redundancy, they tied it in with a two day exhibition on in Hull at the moment, aimed at helping people back to work.
One of the recorded interviews was a woman in her fifties who lost her job a year ago, and has applied for hundreds of jobs in that time. She sounded really sad, and at a loss as to what to do next.
They then broadcast live from the exhibition, which seemed mainly about companies offering training courses. There was a lot of chat about having to look for new skills if you want to rejoin the job market. This is when I had a little rant to myself, retrain if you want to, but retrain for what exactly? You tell me which industries are looking for new staff, where are the jobs for all these retrained people because I can't see any on web sites, in the job centre, and in newspapers.
These exhibitions are nothing but a wallpapering excercise, let's stand behind a facade, get people signed up on courses, that will keep the government happy. It's all about numbers. Sorry if this sounds negative, but it makes my blood boil frankly. They are not dealing with the despair, hardship, and anger that people are facing.
Going back to the woman in her fifties. I would like to tell her to stop applying for jobs that she won't get, stop building herself up only to be knocked down again, and stop beating herself up about not having a job. She will end up in a mental home if she doesn't take control of her life now. The best thing she can do is to take a close look at her finances, look at her incomings and outgoings, and if she has a family get them involved too. When she has done that she should work out a new plan for her life which keeps her within the parameters of her budget. There will be some changes but at least she can get on with living the rest of her life.
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5 hours ago
Oh my you are so right! After my husband died in 1999 aged 41, I found myself on benefits. Too yung for Widows pension (you had to be 40 then) even though I had been married for 20 years. I was also registered partially sighted at the end of that year and unable to work in mainstream job culture. I've ended up trying to work for myself and now on tax credits. I wouldn't have a clue as to what else to do. Employers don't want me and even if they did I would be unable to do any job to any satisfaction. Thank god my self esteem is still intact (although I do have my down days, when I wonder whats the point).
ReplyDeleteThank you. Thank you first for making me realise that I'm not the only one who thinks like this. Thank you for being brave enough to voice your opinions on your blog. And Thank you for letting me find a soul sister who isn't materialistic AND REALLY MEANS IT!
Your a gem!
Love and brightest blessings,
Sue xxx
Thank you Sue, for your lovely comments. Sometimes it's not easy to keep up your self esteem when others knock you back. I have my down days sometimes, but the only person who is going to pull me out of it is me. You have to decide if you are going to sink or swim. It's a wonder I haven't drowned, because I hate water :-) Keep your chin up, Sue, look after yourself. Ilona
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