Left, right, left, right!

MissAdventure

I wonder whose grandchildren they were?

One of mine is an eco-warrior so it wasn't her.

Chocolatelovinggran

I take your point, Callistemon, and, indeed, cannot be certain how such a scheme may have worked out for me. However, at eighteen, I was an undergraduate, acquiring most of those skills ( no travel, sadly).
The International Baccalaureate, offered locally as an alternative to A levels, includes an element of service to the community, so others are offering teenagers such opportunities.
And I think that those working in services suggested might not be enthusiastic about adding mentoring to their many responsibilities!

I remember my DB being able to defer his National Service until he was 21 and had completed his degree.

I wonder whose grandchildren they were?

Whitewavemark2

There is nothing wrong with our young. It is the adults that are the problem - making such a s…y mess of their country.

The people that would most hate the idea are the military.

It is a non-starter.

Wonder what the next daft idea will be?

Yes there is. Most are too lazy to walk a few steps to a rubbish bin, they just chuck all their wrappers, cans and bottles on the ground.

My friend and I had a walk this afternoon between showers and about 6 teenagers were sitting in a shelter eating and drinking. There was an empty bin there but they just threw their litter on the ground. My friend and I binned some of it in front of them but they couldn’t care less.

Nicenanny3

Whitewavemark2

Someone just wondered when rationing will be announced😄😄

After a few years if Starmer/Labour gets in and the country has gone to the dogs. Mass immigration, open borders, people living in tents and people think they have it bad now.

With all due respect Nicenanny, you have just described the very state of the country after 14 years of Tory rule. In fact I think you've rather played it down. It's a far worse picture than you've painted.

It’s worrying for parents of young boys if this were to happen, because in the event of another war, I suspect that the young men who have already undergone a year’s service will be the first to be conscripted. I sincerely hope that isn’t the ulterior motive.

Sago

The army will be expected to instill the discipline that their parents and teachers didn’t manage to.
A year is not long enough.

Sago
It’s not as simplistic as that. Many years ago some children realised that they had been given power.
What exactly do you do when your strapping 6ft son metaphorically gives you the finger.
What exactly can you do when little jimmy verbally abuses the teacher.
If the 6footer has a father, do you want him to take charge, whack him? Father done for assault.
If little jimmy doesn’t want to engage with the many programmes that will be on offer to him, what do you do?

The 6footer will find his own people. Little jimmy will eventually end up in a sin bin school and sadly end up like the 6footer.

The Tories over 14 years have run down the armed services, failed to do anything about care (despite Johnson's 'oven-ready' plan) and damaged the NHS. Their impact on society has been disastrous so now they want to 'repair' it. Tell me another joke.

Germanshepherdsmum

I agree, unless they are already at university or in a job such as an apprenticeship.

Ah, so only what some would refer to as the feckless directionless youth? Scoop them up off the street corners?

It's a shame the mps aren't made to work one weekend a month to help communities; and their offspring too, of course.

They don't particularly come across as the brightest and best.

The army is going to be allowed to be selective.

"The armed forces option would be selective – with some 30,000 placements for the brightest and best, the Conservatives suggested."

Meanwhile

"Defence minister Andrew Murrison suggested national service was unworkable three days ago "

uk.news.yahoo.com/minister-rejected-tory-plans-national-145925731.html

Sending apparently undisciplined sixteen year old ino hospitals.
What could possibly go wrong?
.

There are so many holes in this untested, uncosted idea it’s barely worth responding to.
Calistemon is correct, the DoE scheme is excellent. As MaizieD said at 09.28 today, the kind of skills most people see as needed was the kind of youth work the local authorities were doing before Cameron’s austerity programme began devastating those good schemes along with family support, drug/alcohol services and many more.
We are in a mess - thanks to 14 awful years where ‘experts’ were dismissed as useless and unnecessary

The army will be expected to instill the discipline that their parents and teachers didn’t manage to.
A year is not long enough.

I'm all in favour of small local schemes that will improve aspects of life in our communities, but they need to be realistic.

I just checked and read that it includes working in the NHS. have they really no idea how stretched NHS staff are? How hard it is to get help? How short we are of doctors and nurses? How on earth do they suppose they will now have to find volunteer organisers for 18 year olds?

Am I right in thinking that the cost is going to come from the money allocated to areas that had lost EU funding because of Brexit?

I don't agree with it either.
There are enough gaping chasms between people, without creating yet another.

It just smacks of more of the same.

The saving grace, hopefully, is that it's another nail in the tory coffin.

I don't think this has been thought through or costed. those opting for community type work need close supervision if it is to work with any group whatsoever unless its rubbish cleaning or the like.
People who run Volunteer Centres know the process of trying to place people with no relevant life experiences, which will be the case with most 18 yr olds..

Police checks for any work with people: close supervision with low ratio organisers to volunteers: organisers having the time to teach skills, and so on.

We are short of people working in the public sectors already providing caring and fire services* - we need more trained people to do paid jobs in all those sectors:

it stretches credulity to expect them to supervise even the keen youngsters, never mind the ones who don't want to be there and are potentially disruptive.

*we have a shortage of firefighters
www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c9x0x606pepo

I watched James Cleverly being interviewed this morning. He said 30% will go into the military although they will have to ask for this rather than be allocated it. The remaining 70% will do uniform jobs such as special constables, fire fighters etc or working to improve their communities and local areas.

Those most in need of an intervention such as this are the least likely to go to university. It would help many with few qualifications, disinterested parents and no particular aim in life

Possibly some of the most disadvantaged young people in society then. Stick them in an organisation where bullying, harassment and discrimination has led to several suicides. The armed forces are not known for care and compassion!

I don't agree about going into the army, but I do think they should do community work, it would give these young unemployed people work experience.

Those most in need of an intervention such as this are the least likely to go to university. It would help many with few qualifications, disinterested parents and no particular aim in life.

Germanshepherdsmum

I agree, unless they are already at university or in a job such as an apprenticeship.

Which is how many people managed to avoid National Service in the past because they went to uni. A bit like the Americans - those whose parents could afford it hopped over the border to Canada - draft dodging during Vietnam

Doodledog

It’s part of the ‘you will be safer under the Tories’ narrative. The threat of war has been being used for some time now- it smacks of desperation.

Totally agree with you.