What to do with NEETs ?

[expat]

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/how-britain-is-falling-down-on-the-yob/article1245359/

"In places where the economy is moving fast into a post-industrial mode, it is worth watching the British example: When you shift from brawn to brains, you need to do something for the guys left standing out in the street. "

 

[Julian]

Holy cow, good timing.

 

[CivicFan]

Guys like this, and a large but less-visible number of girls, have populated the background of Britain's self-image from the dawn of modern history, giving the country its most distinctive and menacing character, its national avatar.

 

[Julian]

I can think of many people and kinds of people who did things never done before, and many people and kinds of people who did things that have been "repeated" (done analogously, anyway) many times. Maybe it's just in our nature... I mean nurture. Of course, human history, like our memory, is only a record, not life itself. Maybe my memory is just faulty. Blame it on the devil. Or is that not how it works? Maybe condensation in the wiring?

 

[Gary Allan]

Apathy. I think that they don't see the benefits of anything other than what they're doing.

No ROI in anything more.

 

[expat]

This was in a Canadian Newspaper, talking about a U.K. problem. But I have seen the same thing all over the world and just about any U.S./Canadian city core you care to mention. I just never knew the acronym before.
In despair, I sometimes think that a Reserve be put aside for those that do not wish to contribute (or get the benefits) to society

I can't see the situation improving in the next while!

 

[rpn453]

Hey, I'm a NEET! No welfare for me though. Apathy is definitely a factor.

Good article. I read it the other day and it seemed more like something I'd read in Maclean's than on that site.

 

[expat]

The article mentions Denmark's response of pumping Billions into 'Free' post secondary education (I believe they even pay a living allowance) Plus mandatory* National Service.
The U.K. tried subsidies to industry in impoverished areas, but when the subsidies stopped, industry moved out.
Back in the 70's I supervised at one of these subsidised 'make work' projects, the work force was lacking enthusiasm to say the least!

*There is a kind of 'get out of NS' lottery.

 

[benjamming]

Good link. Thanks for posting.

I believe the root of the problem lies in folks not having a meaning for life. If there is no purpose, it is hard to be motivated by anything other than tradition. If one questions tradition (as we did here in the 60s), then there is not much left if there doesn't appear to be any meaning to life.

Satisfaction from life typically comes from two areas: vocation & home. Without a meaningful vocation, home life suffers due to the imbalance. This can also work vice versa. A man begins to see himself as a failure. This is then passed on to their children as mentioned in the article. It's difficult to tell which came first & it may not really matter since balance is the key anyway.

"It is a much more recent phenomenon than people realize: As recently as the middle 1990s, 20 per cent of young workers were employed in manufacturing. That has fallen to 9 per cent today."

Note the lack of manufacturing jobs. Only 9% are employed in manufacturing - actually "making" something. I wonder what the percentage is in this country? Not everyone needs to be a [insert favorite profession here]. That much is obvious. We have taken away many vocations for a plethora of reasons. Why do you think there has been this huge shift? I don't know. It's easy to blame it on greed, lax (nonexistent) environmental laws, emerging markets, but none of that really seems to be it for me. I can't pin it down.

There is a large segment of folks who can function ok in low skilled manufacturing jobs, but have a real problem functioning in "knowledge" based skilled jobs. When a country moves from a manufacturing base to a service (knowledge) based country - there is a whole lot of folks who are going to be left out in the cold. Is that what I'm seeing in England based on this article?

Men, in particular, have (had) an inherent sense of adventure. Performing meaningless tasks & mind numbing jobs begins to bury this innate trait. This is one of the reasons that I perform & continue to do my own maintenance & auto repairs. Cost is one of the reasons, but there is also learning & actually doing something that I can be proud of - solve real, practical problems.

 

[expat]

Originally Posted By: benjamming


Men, in particular, have (had) an inherent sense of adventure. Performing meaningless tasks & mind numbing jobs begins to bury this innate trait. This is one of the reasons that I perform & continue to do my own maintenance & auto repairs. Cost is one of the reasons, but there is also learning & actually doing something that I can be proud of - solve real, practical problems.



I think you hit the nail on the head here.
In the town where I live, Logging WAS the main industry. That is all but dead now. Used to be, a guy with a strong back (even if he had a small mind) could go out and work, be proud of his work, provide for himself AND a family. For generations, that was good enough!
Now, without post secondary education of some sort, the retail service industry is about the only thing open to you. For many, that is not fulfilling.
A life on the fringe or petty crime may seem more attractive.

 

[Gary Allan]

Quote:
Note the lack of manufacturing jobs. Only 9% are employed in manufacturing - actually "making" something. I wonder what the percentage is in this country? Not everyone needs to be a [insert favorite profession here]. That much is obvious. We have taken away many vocations for a plethora of reasons. Why do you think there has been this huge shift? I don't know. It's easy to blame it on greed, lax (nonexistent) environmental laws, emerging markets, but none of that really seems to be it for me. I can't pin it down.


Manufacturing wasn't rewarding. Now there are those in the umbella of manufacturing that found their jobs enjoyable ..but there is some sense of accomplishment with putting out a product.

What manufacturing mostly did was allow you economic mobility and access to avocations of choice. Most manufacturing now is only reluctantly entertained here. It's the "necessary evil" of choice by industry. Most of it is lower paying, hence provides little in terms of "gainful" reward. It allows you to pay for your limited pathetic existence.

It would be nice if we had a culture that inspired everyone to move in whatever direction made them happy. What we promote is 100% in the direction of chasing a buck to "buy" happiness via distractions. I had friends that worked at lower paying but thoroughly enjoyable jobs as county assistant park rangers. They never made what I did ..but were always happy going to work. Their lives thrived in the work environment. They weren't working at all.

I've also met who were mountain climbers ..marathon runners/bikers/swimmers ..who had jobs of no substantial meaning at all. Pianists that were in human services to pay the bills ..etc..etc.

They had a life.

Quote:
There is a large segment of folks who can function ok in low skilled manufacturing jobs, but have a real problem functioning in "knowledge" based skilled jobs. When a country moves from a manufacturing base to a service (knowledge) based country - there is a whole lot of folks who are going to be left out in the cold. Is that what I'm seeing in England based on this article?


Don't confuse intelligence with education. I've seen many who would be termed "crude and rude" who were quite clever. I'd like to think of myself among them. Matching aptitudes with tasks/toils isn't always going to happen.

I think that this whole re-emergence of the rabble is simply due to no functional reason to participate in a never ending devolution of your existence into a worker bee just to eek out a living. Now surely one could suggest leveraging said rabble to "motivate" them into rethinking that position, but the root cause is lack of desire to serve others much more than themselves.

They see no point to it. "Welcome to your declining future!! Enjoy all the benefits!!"

 

[benjamming]

Gary,

I never said anything about intelligence or education.

A vocation is very different than a job. You work at a job. A vocation is what you were called to be.

 

[Gary Allan]

You're right. I took liberty in condensing a few statements in that response and probably didn't interpret it well.

The bottom line to our social future in terms of employment is that we're going to have collisions between productivity and everyone having a purpose. At some point we'll have to ask ourselves what the purpose of the society is if it's not going to satisfy the needs of the whole.

There's a universal constant in there somewhere that can not be trumped. It's sorta like the combustion triangle in regard to CO, HC, and NOX. You can reduce CO and HC by leaning it out...but your NOX goes through the ceiling. So you throw in EGR to "take up space" (effectively). It's sorta the same thing here, except EGR is the byproduct and not the instrument.

 

[Loobed]

NEET's?

Non Educated or Employed Twats

 

[Loobed]

Originally Posted By: Gary Allan



I think that this whole re-emergence of the rabble is simply due to no functional reason to participate in a never ending devolution of your existence into a worker bee just to eek out a living. Now surely one could suggest leveraging said rabble to "motivate" them into rethinking that position, but the root cause is lack of desire to serve others much more than themselves.

They see no point to it. "Welcome to your declining future!! Enjoy all the benefits!!"



Your future has already been decided for you by someone who is insecure and stupid.


This is worth reading

http://www.johntaylorgatto.com/hp/frames.htm

 

[benjamming]

Originally Posted By: Gary Allan
The bottom line to our social future in terms of employment is that we're going to have collisions between productivity and everyone having a purpose. At some point we'll have to ask ourselves what the purpose of the society is if it's not going to satisfy the needs of the whole.


I agree with this.