As many members know, I have been job hunting since being made redundant in 2012, I have had a couple of short lived jobs since then, but I feel that March 2012 was when I last had a "proper" job.
I agree with a lot of your points, these tend to apply to the dreaded application forms in the main. Applying with a CV & covering letter means that you can keep it short!
My own CV only covers my last 2 permanent employments, but these account for a 17 year work history. I was recently faced with one of the forms you mention, I phoned the company and explained to the head of HR that whilst I was quite happy to fill it ALL in, my most recent jobs covered 17 years, would that do or did she really want the CV equivalent of War & Peace?
The Apprenticeships are a different matter, if you look through the jobs listed on DirectGov, yes, there are some apprenticeships listed, but these are often "proper" Govt. backed & funded apprenticeships. "Trainee" however, can be a different matter!
I am 55, and some potential employers (esp. the younger ones) seem to think that I am just looking for something to get me out of the house, er no. When they ask "what motivates you?" I always reply that the size of my mortgage keeps me pretty focussed. They also seem to think that I will be retiring soon. Wrong, I don't get a pension until I'm 66, so that gives me 11 years of productive work life.
I try to give them the positives, and sometimes I'm quite blunt (perhaps that's why no-one has taken me on
1) I am extremely unlikely (to put it mildly) to need to take maternity leave
2) I have worked before and actually know that you have to turn up and contribute
3) At my age (yes, I used the "A" word) I'm not going to treat this job as a stepping stone in order to boost my CV before I climb up the corporate ladder, been there, done that, got the T shirt AND shrunk it in the wash!
I do take offence at those adds that say "come and join our young and vibrant team" and I do actually take the time to report them! Bastards!
Sorry to rant, yes, you are right on some scores!