Watching the news they have said that there is still the best part of a million 18-24 out of work.
I wonder why we don’t, as part of our advertising, make more of the fact we develop many of the soft skills that employers like to see, outside of the academic environment. In fact I believe that we offer this to youngsters who are possibly not regarded highly by their schools and therefore give them a better start than they may otherwise get.
How many of us get involved in personal statements on cadet’s CVs? I’ve offered since I saw one that was a Sgt who only effectively said I was in the ATC for x years and did this and that. Nothing about leadership, responsiblity, instructing etc.
[quote=“glass half empty 2” post=12341]Watching the news they have said that there is still the best part of a million 18-24 out of work.
I wonder why we don’t, as part of our advertising, make more of the fact we develop many of the soft skills that employers like to see, outside of the academic environment. In fact I believe that we offer this to youngsters who are possibly not regarded highly by their schools and therefore give them a better start than they may otherwise get.
How many of us get involved in personal statements on cadet’s CVs? I’ve offered since I saw one that was a Sgt who only effectively said I was in the ATC for x years and did this and that. Nothing about leadership, responsiblity, instructing etc.[/quote]
Very true.
Soft Skills remain a topic heavily overlooked within a young person’s development. I think the ATC could help bring this more to the notice of employers in some way. We have our BTEC’s but there are still other aspects we could do more about.
Good thread GHE2
what annoys me about people “out of work” is since the age of 16 I have not been out of work other than by my own choice.
during the holidays of my university years i found work (temp agency)
when i was made redundant, i found work (temp agency)
and while looking for a job relevant to my skills and qualifications had 7 companies interview me
i confess with a degree i am in a better position than others, but when made redundant i felt no shame in walking into the temping agency to find work. by the time i’d walk from the office to my car they had found me work…
as a temp i have done all manner of jobs.
Drivers mate for food (3663), drinks (Britvic), alcohol and furniture deliveries in Bath, Bristol, London, Bournemouth and everywhere inbetween.
worked as a warehouse operative, picking orders and been a porter for Bishops Move and Pickfords. i have also been a cleaner and a labourer on a building site none of the above typical roles for an graduate, but i found work and was better off for it
[/rant]
GHE2 however does have a good point, i reminded my gf of the skills she learnt in the ATC which she had not mentioned on a CV and have seen Personal Statements and CVs of Cadets which do not sell what can be a unique set of skills and experience when compared to other candidates.
You can obtain a ‘Cadet CV’ from HQAC, but it is very vague. All you need is to have done set time of service, flying, gliding, shooting, AT etc… then they just put your name at the top of the page. Not very personal at all.
We do push as much to encourage them to add achievements to their CV. Also, correct me if i’m wrong, for their BTEC/CVQO they have to submit a CV as part of their work, we read through and mention that you could put this and that in there as they are uncertain one what achievements to include. Especially with DofE as most employers recognize it.
[quote=“steve679” post=12355]what annoys me about people “out of work” is since the age of 16 I have not been out of work other than by my own choice.
during the holidays of my university years i found work (temp agency)
when i was made redundant, i found work (temp agency)
and while looking for a job relevant to my skills and qualifications had 7 companies interview me
[b]i confess with a degree i am in a better position than others, but when made redundant i felt no shame in walking into the temping agency to find work. by the time i’d walk from the office to my car they had found me work…
[/b]as a temp i have done all manner of jobs.
Drivers mate for food (3663), drinks (Britvic), alcohol and furniture deliveries in Bath, Bristol, London, Bournemouth and everywhere inbetween.
worked as a warehouse operative, picking orders and been a porter for Bishops Move and Pickfords. i have also been a cleaner and a labourer on a building site none of the above typical roles for an graduate, but i found work and was better off for it
[/rant]
GHE2 however does have a good point, i reminded my gf of the skills she learnt in the ATC which she had not mentioned on a CV and have seen Personal Statements and CVs of Cadets which do not sell what can be a unique set of skills and experience when compared to other candidates.[/quote]
This is one of the problems young people face they feel if they dont have a degree they wont get a good job which is the biggest pile of rubbish I have ever heard!
I didnt do well on my GCSE’s because I was to busy trying to be jack the lad but the skills I learnt from the ACO helped me join the RAF where I learned even more to help me, then after 10 years in I got chopped due to the cutbacks 2 years ago, I spent a year out of work (not fun) but now I am a Nuclear Structural Integrity Engineer with no A levels or degrees and a bloody good wage
I think this shows how important these “soft skills” are I would say even more important than exam results.
the point i was trying to make was it opened up more doors than a fist full of GCSEs would offer me, i could set my heights higher and thus have a broad range of job options to consider
Today, the main factor that will get a young person a job is being willing to work for a lower wage than everyone else who wants the job, or being young enough that the employer won’t be legally obliged to pay them as much as the other people who want the job.
I know I’ve said it before, but at the moment there are jobs for the totally unskilled ie: 17 year olds applying to be waiters and there are jobs for those with rare skills in demand (Hello, zingy…) and a huge amount of very stiff and pretty vicious competition between those two poles.
Im all for helping cadets move on in their adult lives, have given advice on CVs and more references than I can count…
But isnt it Schools’ job to deal with this?
We can highlight the real advantages of cadet experience til the cows come home… but if the rest of the CV is drivel then it wont get past an initial sift.
I have done CV filtering for my last 2 companies, been involved in recruitment & selection aspects of my current company, & given pre-Uni interviews for 6th formers. From those CVs I proof-read from some scatty 6th formers, I couldn’t get a clue about most of their background or what pointers were given towards their desired future!
Unless a cadet has been rattling through full-time jobs at a rate of knots from the age of 16, their CV should be a simple, but comprehensive document - if anything, all the details should be on one page. Again, at such an age, their educational qualifications will not take up a huge amount of space. However, probably the longest commitment that they have shown in their lives will have been the ATC.
Consequently, I would see it as important to amplify on their CV with the relevant details of their cadet “service” to highlight important qualities that might be advantageous to a prospective employer - for example, anything that shows long-standing motivation, initiative, organisational aspects, depth of involvement or special skills/qualifications.
If I am completely honest all I wanted when I left school was a job, how the future would unfold was a mystery and remains so to this day. Unless they’re going into something such as medicine, education or law, where you may expect to tick off ‘mileposts’ your work future isn’t easily mapped.
This what I feel we almost have a duty to do, otherwise they’ve wasted 4/5 years with us.
School, if my chidren’s experience is atypical, are all but bloody useless.
Very true. However, it seemed that the better "candidates’ for the University of Life were the ones who had some direction towards a particular aim, even if they only had a non-specific degree in mind. There was a higher level of motivation to do well, even if obstacles were put in their way.