Careers Advice Video Shows Unemployed Girl Told To Get Pregnant And Claim Benefits

“For someone in your position, from your background, the best thing to do is get pregnant.”
“What about dealing drugs? You’ll earn a lot of money quickly, you don’t have to a 9-5.”
“Do you know how to hotwire a car?”
Not the sort of thing most young people would expect to hear when they go careers advice.
But that’s exactly what a number of candidates under 24 were told went they went to speak to what they thought was a careers adviser in Hackney, London.
Those featured said that they wanted to work in trades including accountancy, painting and decorating, personal training, fashion and beauty, banking and retail.


http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2015/04/10/careers-advice-unemployed-girl-pregnant-benefits_n_7041272.html?utm_hp_ref=uk




The video is on the link and a must watch just to see the expressions on the faces of those young people when the fake adviser chats with them.Whilst I certainly applaud this video and the work being done by the organization "Jobs For The Jobless Generation" by looking to change poor stereotypes on young unemployed people, it fails to acknowledge that there is an element of unemployed that do not want to work and claim off benefits. Those attending an interview with a career adviser are 100% the kind of young people who really want to work. They have the right work ethos, because they turn up for them when there is no requirement to do so as part of the signing on process. The fact is there is those who want to stay on benefits that just simply would not turn up or if they did there would be an ulterior reason for doing so.

An example of this is where there is a requirement to do so, in order to continue to receive their benefits. Again I have friends,2 of which are the heads of HR in their companies and they both say the same thing. You have those who turn up for a careers event day at the company in partnership with the Job center, who are genuinely seeking work and those who are only turning up in order to have benefits approved because they have no intention of wanting to work. The two groups stand out very easily when they turn up for these events based on questions posed and asked to them. Another thing they see happen, is that those who do not want to work will for a short time actively seek employment, only because of the length of time they have been seeking benefits. They then get a job, turn up late, or go sick, with poor work rates and ethics, ensuring they will get the sack, so they can sign on again and show intent to want to work to the Job center, even though their true intent is all based around being able to stay on benefits. This is an ever continuing process they say happens, of which I see happen myself in my own company. Where you see those who only last a couple of weeks compared to those come willing and work hard given the chance of employment. So whilst I back the view of this video and the work being done to dispel stereotypes, they also need to recognize there is an element in society with a view to not having to work and claim benefits, of which is a problem we should not just sweep under the carpet.