Every one of us has a dream, or at least aspirations and life goals; a certain something that you wake up thinking about every day. You try to reach your goal via different routes, and so far you have been beaten or tripped at the very last hurdle.
Whether you believe in a higher being or not, you pray, or think optimistically that something is bound to come along; or that something good will happen to you. After all, you work hard, apply yourself non-stop; and fill out application after application. You have the required qualifications, even if you have no experience.
No Experience Required
Applying for a graduate job/scheme? Perfect! You have your degree, and at the most sought grade: 2.1. So doorways should automatically be opened to you? Right? Wrong! The economy of Great Britain has declined, and your chances of acquiring a grad job as swiftly as possible aren’t great.
So you go to university for three years, trying to better yourself; to become a contributor of this country. The government have already robbed you of tens of thousands of pounds, and what do they have to offer you now?
“Sorry, you have no experience.”
“Sorry, you’re too qualified.”
“You have too many aspirations; we think that if you had the chance, you’d go onto do better things.”
I have heard all of the above countless times, when applying for apprenticeships and retail jobs. My understanding was that if you have a degree, you are not eligible to apply for apprenticeships. Having only completed one year at university, I am the perfect candidate. Saying that, I have been told by a few companies that I have a level 4 qualification, 10 GCSE’s and 3 A Levels. In a nut shell, my qualifications have hindered my chances for an apprenticeship.
Understandably most companies do not want to fund you for a Level 3 apprenticeship, if you already have a level 4 qualification; (a level 4 qualification that does nothing for you).
My frustration is that as teenagers, we were told how important GCSE’s and A Levels were! If we didn’t have them we would not be employed. I’ve excelled myself, studied hard, constantly relying on this promise of greatness.
Besides qualifications, I have retail experience in 4 separate establishments; but it seems that experience counts for nothing, even though it is what is asked of you. This country is setting young people up for failure; there aren’t enough jobs, and my dream seem like a fairy tale away!
Recently having attended many apprenticeship assessment days, full of tests, interviews and group activities; it has made me question the methods of assessment. Prior to attending the most recent one, I was sent practice papers on literacy, numeracy and syntax checking.
I know that English is my strong point, and that I definitely excel on that test; surprisingly, on the actual day, I found the English comprehension test to be the most challenging; and the maths (usually my weakest), was the easiest, just as easy as the syntax paper.
We then progressed onto a group activity where moderators watched you assemble an object from craft material.
I feel that this way of assessment is not accurate; you as a person may have an off day, or the test may contain things that you are weak on, where as another day the test content would be different.
Other than trying your best, what else are you supposed to do? It’s all down to luck; some people have a lot more than others. I personally have exhausted everything, and have recently decided to give up on what I really want to do, and pursue a different career path. It’s a matter of who you know, not what you know.
You’re not supposed to give up, bla bla bla, etc. I just feel that this country has nothing for me in terms of what my goals and aspirations are. Is it down to experience? Race? Culture? My physical appearance? Who knows…?