is our national deficit coming down?

They are if they end up under my charge. I've raised a few good'uns in my sector

They start off, frankly, incompetent despite their piece of paper, then with the right mentoring and nurturing they usually end up being a respected member of the team. But these are just the ones that make the effort in the first place. We advertise a position, a few people apply, we invite some for interview, and half of them don't even turn up.

 

My step-son has settled into the service industry really well too to be fair.

The problem in our trade is that they're incapable of thinking a problem through - it's not their fault as it's the way that they're educated. In this trade, cock-ups or poor diagnosis can cost us thousands!
We've had to let mature mechanics go as they can't keep up with the technology (it is the same situation in the main dealers).

 

I in the run down period of my working life, work among about 80 graduates, who as there is no openings in their chosen career, are working in a call centre to pay the bills

Although their reactions and brains are a lot quicker than mine as I am old
they do not have a clue when it comes to really basic mental arithmetic, spelling or grammar

When someone tells me on the phone they earn £205 pw I need the annual income, I already know in my head it is 10660 they can not tell me and I have to advise them OK that is me I spent my life in the 50's reciting times tables etc

The graduates we employ, use the calculator and if the calculator says 5986 then that is the figure they put in without questioning it
Spelling is just ridiculous
Even with major cities, Landon, Yerk Nucastlle even countries WHALES FGS
I must admit when it comes to the Welsh, I have to ask them to spell some of the names, but I do know Heoly Frenhines, Llandudo,
Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch
I can even say that backwards
You just turn your back on the person and say
Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch

I lended some cd's of of Billy
Ive gotten to take some stuff to me mums

Back in the 50/60's only the top of the grammar schools were accepted to UNI, and there were only a dozen or so Uni's
Now every tech college in every town is a Uni

Qualifying exams to gain entry they are allowed a scientific calculator, spelling is not a bar. and the pass mark is down to 60% it was 95%+ and even then only the + ones were given a place unless all the spaces were not filled, then they accepted the 95% passes

Next you get the remainder who have left school, and eventually got a job as a shop assistant
I have said this before
I went into a green grocers, picked up a £1 bag of spuds, half a dozen mushrooms 50p a quarter, and a bunch of spring onions 52p
When I got to the till the girl tallied it up and said £1.23 love
I said I think you had better check that (as I knew it was about £2.20)

She did it again and said oops your right its 97p sose?

I gave up and stole the goods giving her a £1, I dare not wait for the 54p change :-)

Jack McH

 

But are we in less debt than last year??

 

I know miraflores said yes...but are you sure?? Labour seem to think we are lending more but if that's so then what's the point??

 

Don't worry yourself with what labour seems to think. Labour thought Saddam had the capability to launch weapons of mass destruction at us with just 45 minutes notice, or that the country was so incredibly rich that we didn't need our gold reserves so might as well sell them while gold prices were at a record low. They also thought it was sustainable to see house prices rise by 10% per year, or mortgage lending at a rate of 125% of the value of the house it was for.

 

^^^ people seem to think politicians are incompetent and its all a big accident, now we got some new guys in they'll sort everything out. Then they'll continue their agenda for 10 years before everyone realises they are screwing us too and we'll vote labour back in... and so it goes.


I might remind you that the conservatives backed the iraq war too and agreed with the 'intelligence'


People need to break out of this left right paradigm. Voting in rich elitists isn't going to benefit anyone except them and their super class handlers.

 

Very well put. The blunder that Labour made is that they became complacent. Having won an election after a number of unpopular moves, they figured they could do what they like. After all, what was the alternative? Lib Dem never stood a chance, and cons had too much recent history still fresh in people's minds.

Last time round, I was glad that the result went the way it did. I know it makes no real difference, but I hoped it would be a blow to the confidence of all parties. I hoped it would make leaders think that if they don't at least pretend to care what us peasants think, they'll lose their position in their ivory tower.