Question Time

DB forgets that times have changed.

However, I must add, when my son (graduate, 10 years work experience) was out of work, he literally had a pile of rejection letters, he would keep them and show them to me on the days when I went to his house to open curtains and pull the duvet off him (depressed): one of the things he did during this time, was make flyers and put them up all around the area he lived in, with his telephone number, inviting other out of work people to join him in the local coffee shop so that they could job hunt together on their laptops. Eventually they were a motley assortment of artisans, graduates and people straight out of college. It never became a big group but it contributed immensely to his well-being at that time. The coffee shop supported them and gave them 'bottomless coffee'. I admired him greatly for doing that.

Then there was this 22 year old that I actually saw at Waterloo one day: metro.co.uk/2014/08/19/graduate-lands-job-interviews-after-doing-this-at-waterloo-station-4838334/

I've heard of others doing similar.

So I suppose I am saying that is the contemporary equivalent of 'knocking on doors' and people have to be innovative. Not easy. It took my son 3 years to find a job, he did labouring work in between on construction sites.

We do get people knocking on doors here and I really do admire them for it. Almost on a weekly basis we have someone just popping in to ask if we have any vacancies and leaving their CV. Being that I am usually the one sitting in the front office I always make a point of having a chat and I always give them a compliment slip and wish them the best of luck.

Of course, any different type of approach is helpful but if every single young person knocks at doors, puts out flyers, stands with sandwich boards at roundabouts, etc., there would presumably still only be so many jobs to go around - especially in areas of high unemployment.

Well done to those that have had the confidence and courage to use these methods but not everybody is so outgoing, and I think it's most unfair to constantly imply that young people are lazy and to blame for being out of work.

I think it's great gillybob that you take the time to speak to people who are looking for a job and offer them encouragement.

I feel so sorry for young people who have worked hard and may even have incurred a great deal of student debt and then find themselves with no job. I remember how, when I graduated, I could pick and choose a job and could have left one I didn't like and been secure that another would be there for me.

We still get the occasional youngster phoning or writing seeking a carpenter/joiner apprenticeship. As DH has been retired for 9 years now, I do wonder who is giving these young people old, out of date business directories and sending them on fruitless searches.

I was agreeing with you eloethan that not all out of work young people are lazy...and whoever was on that panel should have done everything to challenge that if that is the message that was coming (from DB or anyone else in the room).