Young people march in protest over fees and lack of jobs (From Swindon Advertiser)
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Young people march in protest over fees and lack of jobs
7:50pm Sunday 17th June 2012 in News By Emma Dunn
Idris Samusi, front, was among 30 young people at the protest
YOUNG people waving signs and banners took to the streets to protest about the difficulties they are facing while trying to get on the career ladder.
About 30 teenagers and young adults marched through the town centre on Saturday to demonstrate against high university fees, education maintenance allowance (EMA) being taken away, and the difficulties young people face finding a job.
David Gretton, president of the Swindon branch of the Youth Socialists, said a lot of young people feel the same way.
“Living in Britain as a youth is starting to become unfair. There are no jobs for youths because everyone is looking for experience and if you are fresh out of college you don’t have that. Youths shouldn’t have to work for free to gain experience,” said the 21-year-old, of Park South.
“We also find it unfair students have to pay so much for uni now. We feel youths in Britain should have a better chance of life. Without education there is not much you can do. They are charging so much for uni it is just wrong.
“We are also protesting because EMAs have been taken away. A lot of people I know need EMA to help them get to college and for lunch. That has been taken away from them.”
People came from across the country to join the march, which travelled from Spring Gardens to Princes Street, Regent Street, Fleet Street, Commercial Road and finished in Edgware Road.
Police were also present to ensure the protest did not get out of hand.
“I am hoping this will bring to everyone’s attention that youths are not going to be treated like slaves and we deserve the same rights as everyone else,” he said.
“At the moment I am a door to door salesman. That is all I could find and I have been lucky to find that. I wanted to go to uni but I couldn’t afford it.
“It is unfair that people who want to go to uni have to take out a student loan and start life in debt.”
Youth Socialists are a national group, who have also been protesting in Canada and Spain.
“A lot of the people at this march are from London and they have come down to support us. We have also been stopping people in town and asking what they think about uni charges and the fact EMA has been stopped. They were all up for it and ready to go for it.”
Comments(31)
The Patrician
says...
8:31am Mon 18 Jun 12
Meldrews Dad
says...
9:01am Mon 18 Jun 12
Those who won't or "can't" find work after six months should be drafted into a national workforce available to local councils. No joining the national workforce, no money from the state.
Getting the UK out of europe and only allowing imigrants we need in would solve 90% of the unemployment problems. France has a bigger unemployment problem than UK but strictly enforces a policy of French first, immigrants second for employment.
Morsey
says...
9:22am Mon 18 Jun 12
It appears that major funding is found by this ruling shambles for projects which have little or no benefit to the nation, perhaps there is not a member of parliament with the nous, experience or concern to pursue this massive gap that leaves a generation in limbo. I fancy 'the devil will be using idle hands' in future years?
Meldrews Dad
says...
9:58am Mon 18 Jun 12
Unfortunately Eton, Oxford and Cambridge dominate this country and we need a revolution to kick the MP's and hierachy of the civil service out to make way for a new generation.
There is no point in changing MP's until we change the powerbase who control them.
Meldrews Dad
says...
9:58am Mon 18 Jun 12
Unfortunately Eton, Oxford and Cambridge dominate this country and we need a revolution to kick the MP's and hierachy of the civil service out to make way for a new generation.
There is no point in changing MP's until we change the powerbase who control them.
Chowmai
says...
10:15am Mon 18 Jun 12
"...Youths shouldn’t have to work for free to gain experience,”
and
“We also find it unfair students have to pay so much for uni now. We feel youths in Britain should have a better chance of life. Without education there is not much you can do. They are charging so much for uni it is just wrong. ..."
For generations 'youths' have worked for free as volunteers to gain experience in their chosen field, so to have adults.
And, if you think Uni costs as a youth are hard, then wait until you are 40 years old and then fund yourself in uni and in halls.
There is a plethora of grants and charitable funds available for the U-21's in Uni. Sadly they are not so available to over 40 women.
Then, when you cannot find work here then travel to other areas/countries to find work. Again for the over 40's you will be doing this without the benefit of the student cards that give you automatic discounts around the world.
Life is hard, but 'the youth' today have a plethora of opportunities at their fingertips if they choose to make the effort to reach for and grasp them.
And finally, the placard that says "We Wont Work For Free!"... I wonder if the author of said placard ever benefited from the support of an educational volunteer who DID work for free to give "the youth" a chance to reach out and be the best they could be.
PS: I'd just like to say a big well done to all the young adults in Swindon, Wilts and beyond who are grown up enough to give their free time volunteering to gain valuable experience that benefits their future careers and the comunities in which they live.
LordAshOfTheBrake
says...
10:16am Mon 18 Jun 12
Whats your solution then? What ideas do you have?
Are you an employer, an employee or unemployed?
If your an employer what are the demographics of your employees?
If your not an employer, why not start your own business and employee a few of these youngsters.
Besides they'll be lots of new construction jobs in Swindon soon with the planning applications that have been approved; as the developers are bound to employee local people as they claimed they will create jobs in the area.
A.Baron-Cohen
says...
11:47am Mon 18 Jun 12
The best suggestion would be for them to leave the UK and look for opportunities abroad.
caravanman
says...
11:52am Mon 18 Jun 12
1. nearly 1.7 million people in this country now work beyond retirement age. This government have created that problem and in the past those people would have retired freeing up new opportunities for younger people.
2. Schools do not prepare young people for the work place, its time that teaching employability skills was part of the curiculum from year 9, something the institute of directors has long called for.
3. Parents are not helping their kids these days. Rather than wrap them in cotton wool, let them go and earn cash cleaning cars and delivering news papers like i had to do when I was a child if I wanted something. Stop handing them everything on a plate.
4. Why should someone who earns less than the national average pay tax towards a young persons university education? If they are going to earn a high salary then maybe this is a good investment for them to make. I own my business and had to invest in it before I seen the rewards. Paying for uni is an investment in your own ability to create a good income for yourself.
5. EMA has been replaced by the pupil premium and money is avaliable for meals and travel for those who need it. I never had EMA when i was at sixth form, i had a job stacking shelves in Iceland, I also had a bike like most of todays students, so maybe they should use it.
All in all when it comes to young people we need to have a reality check in this country. It is hard out there but as they say you make your own luck.
I 2 Could B
says...
12:02pm Mon 18 Jun 12
A.Baron-Cohen wrote:
The best suggestion would be for them to leave the UK and look for opportunities abroad
Very sound advice. The irony, of course, being that c.80% of all new job opportunities created in the UK over the last 10 years have been taken by foreigners who entered the UK looking for opportunities abroad.
RichardR1
says...
12:03pm Mon 18 Jun 12
The reality is that the recession has a disproportionate effect on SME's, despite them employing 85/90% of the work force.
Justin Tomlinson may well have a SME view but he still supports Government 'spin' initiatives that help no one in SME's
SME's need direct funding to employ and grow their businesses not rhetoric.
The jobless total will continue to rise until we do what France and other EU Countries do. British jobs for British workers.
PaisleyRed
says...
12:07pm Mon 18 Jun 12
1: Wash
2: Get a hair cut
3: Remove bits of metal from eyebrows, noses etc.
4: get out of bed in the morning
5: There's plenty of work for those who want it.
caravanman
says...
12:37pm Mon 18 Jun 12
I 2 Could B wrote:and this statistic comes from where? I think you will find it is well short of the mark. I have no idea what the figure really is but would be really interested to see your source document for this comment.
A.Baron-Cohen wrote: The best suggestion would be for them to leave the UK and look for opportunities abroadVery sound advice. The irony, of course, being that c.80% of all new job opportunities created in the UK over the last 10 years have been taken by foreigners who entered the UK looking for opportunities abroad.
The Artist formally known as Grumpy Old Man
says...
12:42pm Mon 18 Jun 12
"The preferred measure for the numbers employed is all those aged 16 and over. As these estimates are not seasonally adjusted, the most accurate measure of change over time is to compare the same quarter in each year. The latest data shows a net increase of 2.474 million people in employment between the second quarter of 1997 and the second quarter of 2010. For those not born in Britain, there was a net increase of 1.885 million people in employment - or 76 per cent of the increase for the population as a whole."
The Artist formally known as Grumpy Old Man
says...
12:47pm Mon 18 Jun 12
PaisleyRed wrote:This.
What they should do is:
1: Wash
2: Get a hair cut
3: Remove bits of metal from eyebrows, noses etc.
4: get out of bed in the morning
5: There's plenty of work for those who want it.
And I'll add, get/wear some clothes that are likely to make a decent first impression.
Track suits, heavy metal t-shirts etc do not.
PaulD
says...
1:11pm Mon 18 Jun 12
caravanman wrote:well said
as someone who works with the long term unemployed it is not a problem that is there just for young people it is a problem across the generations. I would not support what these young people are saying for a number of reasons and I will try to set them out.
1. nearly 1.7 million people in this country now work beyond retirement age. This government have created that problem and in the past those people would have retired freeing up new opportunities for younger people.
2. Schools do not prepare young people for the work place, its time that teaching employability skills was part of the curiculum from year 9, something the institute of directors has long called for.
3. Parents are not helping their kids these days. Rather than wrap them in cotton wool, let them go and earn cash cleaning cars and delivering news papers like i had to do when I was a child if I wanted something. Stop handing them everything on a plate.
4. Why should someone who earns less than the national average pay tax towards a young persons university education? If they are going to earn a high salary then maybe this is a good investment for them to make. I own my business and had to invest in it before I seen the rewards. Paying for uni is an investment in your own ability to create a good income for yourself.
5. EMA has been replaced by the pupil premium and money is avaliable for meals and travel for those who need it. I never had EMA when i was at sixth form, i had a job stacking shelves in Iceland, I also had a bike like most of todays students, so maybe they should use it.
All in all when it comes to young people we need to have a reality check in this country. It is hard out there but as they say you make your own luck.
A.Baron-Cohen
says...
1:31pm Mon 18 Jun 12
I 2 Could B wrote:We live in a global Economy in which money, goods, ideas and people can move more less freely and compete internationally, if many Britons do not appeal to UK based companies that doesn't mean that they do not have skills that would give them a competitive edge elsewhere in the world.
A.Baron-Cohen wrote:
The best suggestion would be for them to leave the UK and look for opportunities abroad
Very sound advice. The irony, of course, being that c.80% of all new job opportunities created in the UK over the last 10 years have been taken by foreigners who entered the UK looking for opportunities abroad.
Leaving the UK and work abroad is currently the best option available.
Emigration is not a new trend, 200 years ago Brits went "West" to America, then Australia, NZ & South Africa. Now is the Time to go East (China, India, SEA etc..) to seek opportunities and a new beginning.
LordAshOfTheBrake
says...
1:36pm Mon 18 Jun 12
On point 1.
I think you will find it was the previous government that laid the foundation for longer working. Don't blame the current lot of incompetents for the previous lots foundation.
* Raid pensions for tax, so less money in retirement
* Rampant inflation both in property and necessities (food, fuel)
* Spend, spend... No money left for the bust. In fact a legacy of debt that will last at least a generation. That's why we can't spend our way out of a recession
* Uncontrolled immigration
* Large number of new taxes and increased tax elsewhere
Point 2.
I agree
Point 3
I agree
Point 4.
I disagree. If Universities did what universities were supposed to do and educate and got rid of all the pet projects and **** courses that are there for the sake of getting students, the cost would be a lot less. University should be government funded for the betterment of the country.
5. EMA
I don't agree with paying pupils to attend colleges or do A-Level. Either they want to be there or they don't. However on this point, since everything has been sold off and is much more expensive, family budgets in "some" households are probably too tight to support someone through the education system. However it should be very strictly means tested to the point that most people wouldn't qualify. If you can afford designer trainers, you can afford the bus fare to college etc.
As has already been suggested, youngsters today and indeed even in my generation have an attitude of I want it now and I'm entitled to it, which is what needs changing.
Alan B'stard
says...
1:59pm Mon 18 Jun 12
No wonder they can't get jobs.
Also by protesting on 2 issues likes fees whilst shouting 'we won't work for free' didn't make sense.
Boring.
house on the hill
says...
2:07pm Mon 18 Jun 12
1) I am against any sort of forced retirement age that is discrimination by another name. If you are competant then why should you be forced to stop working and if not competant then there are other measures to get rid of staff of all ages. A number of people simply cant afford to retire nowadays anyway.
On your other points I agree, if I was asked to sum up many of the worlds problems in one word it would be attitude. Too many excuses, to quick to blame others for their lack of personal responsibility and an unfair and unsustainable expectation of others to provide for them with little or no input from themselves. And yes that isnt just the young it applies across all age groups even those who are at retirement age who have worked all their lives but instead of saving for their retirement, they have just been spend spend spend and now expact the taxpayer to pick up the tab. And before anyone gets on their high horse, this just applies to those who chose to spend their money on luxuries rather than essentials, not those who for what ever reason couldnt.
The problem with this country is no backbone, we all need to grow one and take responsibility for our own futures and stop expecting others to do it for us. Added to that youngsters do need to be better prepared for life and this needs to come from parents and schools as well as the media with all the instant fame and fortune that a very small minority benefit from but is not realisitic as a general expectation.
I 2 Could B
says...
2:24pm Mon 18 Jun 12
caravanman wrote:Actually, you're correct, the number of new job vacancies that have been filled by economic migrants to the UK is, in fact, 90%
I 2 Could B wrote:and this statistic comes from where? I think you will find it is well short of the mark. I have no idea what the figure really is but would be really interested to see your source document for this comment.A.Baron-Cohen wrote: The best suggestion would be for them to leave the UK and look for opportunities abroadVery sound advice. The irony, of course, being that c.80% of all new job opportunities created in the UK over the last 10 years have been taken by foreigners who entered the UK looking for opportunities abroad.
Source: goo.gl/8AfmZ (bottom of article)
The main problem for young people today is that they are paying for the irresponsible and disastrous economic mismanagement of the last Labour government. It's ironic that we see a socialist group whinging about there being no jobs and house prices being too high when it was Labour Gordon Brown who stoked the property market values and Labour who encouraged uncontrolled immigration which has let to there being far less jobs for the indigenous young people.
The real problem is that some people appear to believe that the current government can somehow wave a magic wand and make everything OK again. They can't. Nobody can. Labour have essentially ruined this country for at least the next 20 to 30 years. Even then, some of the policies they purposely adopted will have had even more of a dramatic effect on this country.
It's a shame that the next generations are going to have to suffer due to 13 years of Labour's inept period in office, but that's the reality. Worse still, Ed Balls, the architect of New Labour's abysmal economic policies, still plays a pivotal role in the Labour party.
If the young people of this country are to ever have any hope, they must learn from their parents mistakes and NEVER return a Labour government again.
LordAshOfTheBrake
says...
2:41pm Mon 18 Jun 12
I didn't say people couldn't work longer. I was simply stating a response to the original poster of the points that working longer wasn't down to the current "government". His implication was the current government increased retirement age thus causing a lack of opportunities to become available to the younger generation.
My personal view is inline with yours and people should be allowed to retire when they wish to (unless they are incapable of doing the job).
TakeAChill
says...
4:54pm Mon 18 Jun 12
Most of the people in that picture (first impression based on dress sense) seem to be those who caused trouble in school, showed off, or bullied the smart instead of studying and as a result this is the position they find themselves in. This is what the teachers teach in school, they stress the importance of education while your there, its up to the person to choose whether to accept that, or focus more on street cred that lasts the duration of school. The gent holding the sign will never be employed looking like something out of a rap video.
RichardR1
says...
6:54pm Mon 18 Jun 12
So it's a case of if there are jobs, then the most presentable, educated and enthusiastic will get them if they are open market jobs. However most new jobs as has been shown go to migrants and this will continue until the Government release us from the shackles of the European Union.
at home
says...
12:05am Tue 19 Jun 12
No EMA? Poor souls. The students which I teach used to basically flush that money away after a good night out. There are some cases where there is need for cash, but the majority of the kids who used to get it only turned up to get the cash, not the education they were being 'paid' to receive.
This sort of article/ march casts all teenagers in the same light. I have met some wonderful kids through my work who are energetic and will work so hard to achieve their goal, and fully deserve the jobs which they have gained through their determination.
I 2 Could B
says...
8:51am Tue 19 Jun 12
RichardR1 wrote
I have to say when they have grown up in an environment and with a Labour Government that has re-enforced all the wrong messages then it's difficult for them to understanding the basic realities of getting a job
Absolutely. Labour thought they could 'solve' the unemployment problem by simply borrowing money to pay people to work for the State, even if that meant inventing thousands of non-jobs for people to do.
That's left us with a massive pensions timebomb and a generation of people who think they can waltz into a job, can underperform with impunity and still achieve a higher salary, pension and better perks than those who work harder and longer hours in the private sector in order to pay for it all.
There are numerous businesses that young people can start up with virtually no initial costs. It's interesting to notice, for example, that the people out there in supermarket car parks washing cars all day long (and taking home decent cash money) are almost entirely immigrants. What's stopping our youngsters buying a bucket and a few cloths and getting out there? The answer is very simple - they just can't be bothered. They've seen their parents and those a few years older than them get cushy jobs in public sector offices on £20k a year for essentially just turning up for 35 hours a week and, unsurprisingly, want the same.
candid friend
says...
11:38am Tue 19 Jun 12
Billions are found for Missiles and unecessary wars.
Yet the young are hammered by high tuition fees and limited job prospects.
The old story of an unacaring elite looking after themselves, and their friends.
I 2 Could B
says...
12:31pm Tue 19 Jun 12
candid friend wrote:
The old story of an unacaring elite looking after themselves, and their friends.
Oh dear. Not this ridiculous Left wing canard again.
Think about it, the 'elite' makes up around 1% of the population, why would any political party or government in a democracy ONLY look after themselves and their friends? They need at least 9 million votes to secure and maintain power, that's roughly 20% of the entire adult population (and it's a third of the entire number of votes cast at the last election).
The idea that a few nasty rich toffs can form a government and only look after their own is a socialist nonsense.
LordAshOfTheBrake
says...
1:55pm Tue 19 Jun 12
You were talking sense right up until that last sentence......
Worked Hard
says...
6:25pm Tue 19 Jun 12
LordAshOfTheBrake says...
8:06am Mon 18 Jun 12
Quote "People came from across the country to join the march"
Eh? People came from across the country and yet they could only pull together 30 people?
If this is such a big problem; then why so few taking part. Couldn't they be bothered to get up and take part....?