Tag Archives: unemplyment

Are The Good Times Really Over For Good?

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For someone in their twenties it is hard to think of a time which has been harder economically than right now. But I do know that this is not true. There have been many booms and busts before, times much harder than this. Rationing, world wars, the great depression.

But what of the future? My generation seems to have gotten the muddy end of the stick. The OECD, a respected British think tank, said that Britain has slipped into a double dip recession and more pupils than ever are getting free school meals, the governments indicator of a child growing up in poverty. Tube drivers might be raking it in, getting paid £500 just to show up for work each day during the Olympics, but the rest of us are struggling.

Are the good times really over?We have become generation rent, unemployment is high, we not only have a harder time getting our dream job, but getting any job at all. I have friends that are moving out of West London where I live because they cannot afford it, struggling to find jobs and even if they have one, struggling to survive the squeeze.

Not getting to the nitty gritty. Tuition fees are up to a staggering amount, 9K a year for an education, transport costs go up above inflation every year; the Oyster caps at £10 per day in London. Then there is the fact that if you get an unpaid internship these days you are one of the lucky ones. It seems everyone is taking everything from the young. I am luckier than most. My education days are behind me and so are my internships: but if the children really are the future, then what of it? Are the good times really over for good? Everything from stamps and food is going up. Petrol is so expensive people cannot even get to work and the government is looking shifty after the cash-for-access scandal. Never mind the fact we don’t have any privacy anymore and they are trying to bring in web-monitoring.

Government debt is at a £988.7 billion. And who is going to have to pay that off? The decent, hard working people of Britain. Oh well. We can always print some more money.

What good will come from this? Lessons maybe. We lived in a society that saw the word ‘credit’ and did not take in the fact that actually means ‘debt’. Above all we will do what the British do: keep calm and carry on. You may want to cross your fingers too.

 

Ms Dynamite, Charlie Simpson joined young unemployed from across the UK in a ‘Walk for Work’

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Ms Dynamite and Charlie Simpson joined young unemployed from across the UK in a ‘Walk for Work’ to Westminster to raise awareness about the million UK young people out of work

Musicians Ms Dynamite and Charlie Simpson joined a congregation of young unemployed people from across the UK outside a Job Centre in central London, to take part in the ‘Walk for Work’ – a walk to Westminster to raise awareness about the million young people out of work in the UK, the highest number since records began.

At their head was Joseph Hayat, 18, from Lincoln and Hafsah Ali, 17, from Leicester who have been running a campaign as part of T4’s flagship youth campaigns show, Battlefront.

Joseph said: “The ‘Walk for Work’ is all about making a big noise and making sure the government continues to focus on youth unemployment and it’s another way to get employers to notice young people and all our amazing talents. We’re so thankful that Ms Dynamite came to join us today to help raise awareness!”

Dressed ‘ready for work’ in identical outfits of a bowler hat, smart suit and briefcase, the young unemployed, Ms Dynamite and Charlie Simpson walked side-by-side as a rigid cohort, starting from the Job Centre in Denmark Street to Parliament.

The walk culminated at Old Palace Yard, a historic site of protest opposite the Houses of Parliament, where the young people got into formation and held up huge numbers to reveal: 973,000 young people unemployed. The youngsters then took off their top halves of their outfits to reveal a ‘uniform of the unemployed’ – a ‘Ready for Work’ T-shirt that Joseph and Hafsah designed to help show young people are eager for employment.

The campaign message was simple: Young people are ready for work. They are not Neets (Not in Employment, Education or Training,) but Beets, (Brilliant, Enthusiastic, and Eager To Start!)

Joseph and Hafsah’s Ready for Work campaign for Battlefront will be broadcast on Channel 4 on 27th November 2011. For more information, please visit: http://www.battlefront.co.uk/