WORKING TOGETHER
What I've discovered is that nobody knows all the answers to all the problems and there is no such thing as one solution fits all, but just like a man who has just fallen off the boat, I'm looking to get out of the water in any which way I can, rather than pick that moment to learn how to become a stylish swimmer!
In the current economic climate it is pretty obvious that we have to do something quite radical to escape the situation. Over the course of the last few weeks I have had the pleasure of listening to some very eminent speakers on the subjects of training, apprenticeships and jobs and although on some points their words have been intuitive, on others I have been left with a feeling of both disbelief and disappointment that these hugely influential people should have such a lack of understanding because without understanding the problem, how can you hope to come up with a solution and if you've read one of my earlier blogs, you'll know that I've talked about this in past.
Disturbingly, what we see from the Barnardo's Report is that they now believe that there is a generation of failed children who will leave school with no expectation of a job and absolutely no prospects. I left school with no prospects but I found an employer, British Rail, who was willing to take my enthusiasm and turn it into a skill. Mine is not the only company in Britain that could take on more employees at the moment but the last thing any company, including mine, would want to do now is to take risks with banks. It's just literally impossible. I applaud, and totally understand, the desperate need for government to support banks in the way that they are now doing, but let me give a word of warning to politicians - half of the problems that we've got are because banks are short-termists. In the United Kingdom in particular, banks do not and have never, risked their money in manufacturing. History tells us this and if you don't believe me just look at who owns all the famous British brands that we once knew! There will have to be government money to kick-start the economy in manufacturing. Confidence has gone from banking and the service industry and you only have to look at that sector to see the 3 areas hardest hit through this debacle were The Midlands, The North West and The North East. In other words, the industrial heartlands of England. Ask Scotland and Wales about their coal industries and their steel industries and then try talking about Scottish banks.
The recent Railtex Exhibition at Earls Court, highlighted 30 years of neglect and misunderstanding and at a meeting at the House of Lords last Monday the question posed to me was "Yes, but is it too late" and my answer was an unequivocal "No, it's not it's never too late! We might be in the autumn of our lives but that's no excuse for us to throw away our children's future - it's just not acceptable. Unemployment stands at its highest level since 1971 and this isn't the time to lay blame at the government's door. We are way passed that point and we now have to play with the hand we've been dealt. We are now absolutely at the point when we must pull together and find a solution - coming together is a beginning, keeping together is progress and working together is success!
Beginning with the basics - training! I'd venture that there are no companies in this country (and if there are, they are very few and far between) who could possibly offer new jobs to youngsters, which would incorporate a fully recognised and funded training programme. A major re-think is therefore required on how training is financed. In the current economic climate, my heart goes out to all our young people who are seeking employment since it is quite obvious that all companies, large and small alike, have made drastic cutbacks and it is my view that this is a false economy and it is short-sighted. Employers need to be encouraged to engage new employees now and set up formal training programmes so that when the upturn happens - and believe me it will happen - we are in a position to move forward. Funnily enough, this probably applies more to small companies than it does to large ones and I'd go further and say that it is more than possible that it will be the small companies, rather than the larger ones, that will allow the economy to be kick started. What! I hear you gasp - but it is quite often the small company that can act quickly to make a difference almost overnight and because they are small, they have the luxury of flexibility with a lack of red tape which allows them spontaneity.
Drastic thinking for drastic times! Moving on from training, another area that needs to be addressed is the relationship between employer and worker and here we need to follow the example set in other countries. History has shown us, all too often, that a lack of respect for the employee leads to a clash of ideologies between the unions and the bosses which has served to widen the gap between them and we should learn from our past not repeat our mistakes.
Referring back to the question "is it too late", 2 years ago when I started my campaign, people were unconvinced that apprenticeships were a viable form of employment. In fact, I can tell you that most people never believed that we could get apprenticeships back on the agenda - but we did! Today, it's a 'buzz' word with adverts on network TV, items in news bulletins and politicians of every persuasion advocating it. Unfortunately, there is still a misconception between the reality of apprenticeships and the way that people currently view them. We must stop talking about apprenticeships being for those people who are academically proficient and who are gaining experience in their chosen profession. The apprenticeship that we are talking about is true to the dictionary definition of 'inexperienced person, somebody being trained by a skilled professional in an art, craft or trade' i.e. training for a novice to become a skilled professional. There is a serious difference. I have heard the German model quoted as being extremely successful but before we venture down this route, it should be noted that in Germany the apprentices' parents are expected to pay for it. I do not see that as a viable solution for the UK. Last year on the railway there were 32 railway apprentices outside of Network Rail. That's 32! Yet there are over 700 training providers! It doesn't take a genius to see that these figures don't add up.
From a presentation I attended last Monday night given by Gil Howarth to the House of Lords on the Rail Academy, inadequacy was a worrying factor. For example, on the electrical training courses for people working on 25,000v electric locos, the only training was basically how to put a 3 pin plug on a kettle! Criticising? Me? No! I'm merely pointing out how far there is to go.
It's time now to forget politics. Forget dogma. Let's face the challenge head on. Let's fight the negativity of those with the power to change things - try telling the people of this island that it can't be done and you'll hear echoes of the new American President - Oh yes we can!
A few harmless flakes working together can unleash an avalanche so let's do it. Let's make sure that the government, this one or the next one, knows that it's a well trained workforce that will get us out of this recession and it will only happen if we all pull together.
What I've discovered is that nobody knows all the answers to all the problems and there is no such thing as one solution fits all, but just like a man who has just fallen off the boat, I'm looking to get out of the water in any which way I can, rather than pick that moment to learn how to become a stylish swimmer!
In the current economic climate it is pretty obvious that we have to do something quite radical to escape the situation. Over the course of the last few weeks I have had the pleasure of listening to some very eminent speakers on the subjects of training, apprenticeships and jobs and although on some points their words have been intuitive, on others I have been left with a feeling of both disbelief and disappointment that these hugely influential people should have such a lack of understanding because without understanding the problem, how can you hope to come up with a solution and if you've read one of my earlier blogs, you'll know that I've talked about this in past.
Disturbingly, what we see from the Barnardo's Report is that they now believe that there is a generation of failed children who will leave school with no expectation of a job and absolutely no prospects. I left school with no prospects but I found an employer, British Rail, who was willing to take my enthusiasm and turn it into a skill. Mine is not the only company in Britain that could take on more employees at the moment but the last thing any company, including mine, would want to do now is to take risks with banks. It's just literally impossible. I applaud, and totally understand, the desperate need for government to support banks in the way that they are now doing, but let me give a word of warning to politicians - half of the problems that we've got are because banks are short-termists. In the United Kingdom in particular, banks do not and have never, risked their money in manufacturing. History tells us this and if you don't believe me just look at who owns all the famous British brands that we once knew! There will have to be government money to kick-start the economy in manufacturing. Confidence has gone from banking and the service industry and you only have to look at that sector to see the 3 areas hardest hit through this debacle were The Midlands, The North West and The North East. In other words, the industrial heartlands of England. Ask Scotland and Wales about their coal industries and their steel industries and then try talking about Scottish banks.
The recent Railtex Exhibition at Earls Court, highlighted 30 years of neglect and misunderstanding and at a meeting at the House of Lords last Monday the question posed to me was "Yes, but is it too late" and my answer was an unequivocal "No, it's not it's never too late! We might be in the autumn of our lives but that's no excuse for us to throw away our children's future - it's just not acceptable. Unemployment stands at its highest level since 1971 and this isn't the time to lay blame at the government's door. We are way passed that point and we now have to play with the hand we've been dealt. We are now absolutely at the point when we must pull together and find a solution - coming together is a beginning, keeping together is progress and working together is success!
Beginning with the basics - training! I'd venture that there are no companies in this country (and if there are, they are very few and far between) who could possibly offer new jobs to youngsters, which would incorporate a fully recognised and funded training programme. A major re-think is therefore required on how training is financed. In the current economic climate, my heart goes out to all our young people who are seeking employment since it is quite obvious that all companies, large and small alike, have made drastic cutbacks and it is my view that this is a false economy and it is short-sighted. Employers need to be encouraged to engage new employees now and set up formal training programmes so that when the upturn happens - and believe me it will happen - we are in a position to move forward. Funnily enough, this probably applies more to small companies than it does to large ones and I'd go further and say that it is more than possible that it will be the small companies, rather than the larger ones, that will allow the economy to be kick started. What! I hear you gasp - but it is quite often the small company that can act quickly to make a difference almost overnight and because they are small, they have the luxury of flexibility with a lack of red tape which allows them spontaneity.
Drastic thinking for drastic times! Moving on from training, another area that needs to be addressed is the relationship between employer and worker and here we need to follow the example set in other countries. History has shown us, all too often, that a lack of respect for the employee leads to a clash of ideologies between the unions and the bosses which has served to widen the gap between them and we should learn from our past not repeat our mistakes.
Referring back to the question "is it too late", 2 years ago when I started my campaign, people were unconvinced that apprenticeships were a viable form of employment. In fact, I can tell you that most people never believed that we could get apprenticeships back on the agenda - but we did! Today, it's a 'buzz' word with adverts on network TV, items in news bulletins and politicians of every persuasion advocating it. Unfortunately, there is still a misconception between the reality of apprenticeships and the way that people currently view them. We must stop talking about apprenticeships being for those people who are academically proficient and who are gaining experience in their chosen profession. The apprenticeship that we are talking about is true to the dictionary definition of 'inexperienced person, somebody being trained by a skilled professional in an art, craft or trade' i.e. training for a novice to become a skilled professional. There is a serious difference. I have heard the German model quoted as being extremely successful but before we venture down this route, it should be noted that in Germany the apprentices' parents are expected to pay for it. I do not see that as a viable solution for the UK. Last year on the railway there were 32 railway apprentices outside of Network Rail. That's 32! Yet there are over 700 training providers! It doesn't take a genius to see that these figures don't add up.
From a presentation I attended last Monday night given by Gil Howarth to the House of Lords on the Rail Academy, inadequacy was a worrying factor. For example, on the electrical training courses for people working on 25,000v electric locos, the only training was basically how to put a 3 pin plug on a kettle! Criticising? Me? No! I'm merely pointing out how far there is to go.
It's time now to forget politics. Forget dogma. Let's face the challenge head on. Let's fight the negativity of those with the power to change things - try telling the people of this island that it can't be done and you'll hear echoes of the new American President - Oh yes we can!
A few harmless flakes working together can unleash an avalanche so let's do it. Let's make sure that the government, this one or the next one, knows that it's a well trained workforce that will get us out of this recession and it will only happen if we all pull together.