The youth of today.

A decision was taken recently at TBE to embark on a recruitment drive. During this process we met a very varied collection of applicants. Those that we invited into our ever-expanding building family have been very impressive. Seeing these ‘youths’ brought to mind some of the media stories of recent times. The press would have us believe that the only vocations of teens in this country are getting drunk, getting pregnant or getting killed. This has got me thinking as to how the building trade might have something to offer on a social level.

If the government has its way 50% of young people will be going to university. Not only does this devalue attainment of a degree for those of genuine intellectual calibre, it is a waste of three years for the lower sections of that 50%. They will still be unable to compete with the more able students at the better universities in the job market and will end up getting the same jobs they would have got without university, competing against the same peer group. The only difference being three years on the lash and the resultant debt. But the real worry for me is the 50% who don’t get a place at university.

Over the last decade I have detected a two tier society develop in the UK based entirely on money. There are more well paid jobs with excellent career prospects than ever before, but what if you can’t get one of those jobs? The ever-increasing bureaucracy of certificates and qualifications is making the working world impenetrable to those on the outside. For a 16 year old who does not want more education, which is a perfectly reasonable choice, a professional career is all but beyond him forever.

The construction industry now finds itself in a curious position. It employs over a million people in the UK , business is as strong as it has ever been, and it has traditionally been one of the most popular routes for non-academic young people. But it seems to be falling out of fashion. The golden rule for British working life now is equal opportunities to everyone. Unfortunately, the hard lesson of life is that not everyone has equal ability. Not everyone has the same maths ability to be an accountant, not everyone has the same people skills to be salesperson. We can’t all have the knowledge and confidence that our GP has. But what is most disturbing is the trend towards promoting ‘cool’ jobs to young people. There are very few jewellery designers in this country, and lots of nurses, but careers advice suggests that a person can have either job, with an equal chance of success. We certainly can’t all be DJ’s or television presenters, but an ‘educational’ careers program I saw on daytime television recently highlighted these media jobs as legitimate and sensible choices. We need tens of thousands of bricklayers in this country, but only a handful of talking heads. So the careers advice is misleading and betraying our youth. Britain is a fantastic place to live if you want to be successful. I firmly believe the class system is dead, but we can’t all end up on telly so lets get realistic. 17 yr old lads with a basic education need to be on building sites, not learning media studies 3hrs a week at Basingstoke Polytechnic. Everyone wants to wear a suit and have a £25k starting salary or failing that go on X Factor. There are not enough of these jobs around but the construction industry is crying out for labour. So let us be a little more honest. It is nothing to be ashamed of. Why make people feel they have ‘ended up’ in the trade after their career as a jewellery designer sadly didn’t work out?

A day on a building site is tiring on an easy day, and physically punishing on a hard one. There is no sitting down, other than for tea, and constant movement, lifting, carrying. The teenagers who are roaming the streets in the early hours of the morning shooting each other would find it a little more difficult if they had been mixing concrete all day. Uppermost in their thoughts would be home, shower, food and bed. Stabbing and drinking would seem like a lot of effort after all that exertion.

Perhaps the real point is to fully appreciate the value of work. With the focus on becoming pop stars and journalists we have forgotten that 99% of the working population only do so for money. Work to live, not the other way round. Why sell young people impossible dreams so they have a disdain for the everyday life that is the reality. What is wrong with being a plumber, electrician or bricklayer? It can be a good life with freedom, opportunity to earn good money, ample chance of self-improvement, and that spirit on site that cannot be bettered. There is no better feeling than getting stuck in on site, working up a sweat to get the job done and going home with a feeling of satisfaction. Work brings confidence and self-worth.

There should be no young men aged between 16 and 21 who are not in education or employment. With the current building boom we could put these youngsters to good use by introducing eighteen months national service, but on a building site rather than a war zone. They could be paid more than the dole, but not enough to stop them from trying to improve their situation. If they go on to hold down a steady job they can leave their service early but if they quit they have to come back and complete their term. Once introduced, we will have thousands of young men who are up and out to work early instead of lying in bed. We would be teaching a skill, and dispelling any idea that these boys are too good for manual labour. Finally, earning a modest but regular wage teaches financial responsibility. The result is a generation of young men who don’t need to be out on the streets at night looking for something to dispel their boredom because they have just had an exciting and tiring day on site.

It will never happen… but imagine if it did?