Minister Heckled Over '64-Year-Old Apprentices' Suggestion

[mikey4444]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-politics-40510535/minister-heckled-over-64-year-old-apprentices-suggestion

This Tory Wonk seems to suggest that women born in the 1950's, who have unexpectedly been denied a pension at the age they were promised one, can ease their difficulties by becoming apprentices !

[mikey4444]

Eddie...glad for you !

[Peter Pedant]

I am doing night skool in ... book keeping as we speak
I can keep books - hey anyone out there interested ? decent rates!
I can call myself an accountant but not chartered ( = protected designation)

I thought ed s/o realised you could read and write and put you out of the warehouse and into the office
dreams - dreams it never happens

and yeah ed one of my frenz was sacked a day before his 50th birthday so he couldnt claim early retirement as of right

[kvalidir]

At the risk of being a little controversial, we are creating a massive amount of unemployment in the young by trying to swindle people out of their pensions at the age we promised them to them, and thus spending a lot of money on benefits and training for the young. I don't think the pension age ought to keep rising I actually think the men's pension age ought to have been dropped to 60 in line with the women's age at that point when all this shifting the goalposts started and I certainly don't think that apprenticeships for people aged 64 is really the way to go, and here is why. We have a massive raft of experience and talent already in people over 50 which is entirely untapped in some quarters because of the skewed perception of some employers. We don't need someone who has worked in accounting for 30 years and knows everything there is to know about it retrain as a flaming nail technician, what we need is a system in place in the workforce where experienced employees are shadowed by young people wishing to work in that sector for perhaps the five years before they are due to retire. That would ensure that someone walks into a job knowing what they are doing because the hands on person who knows it actually taught them how to do it properly in that very environment. If people over 50 want to retrain in something they prefer then obviously it should be their right to do so, but to suggest people swindled out of their pension should be apprentices is a disgrace and not addressing the initial issue of not enough jobs for everyone. Our lovely work experience girl who is here, who is absolutely lovely I must add, can't even answer the phone properly, stick labels on things, schedule filming with only four actors involved ( so they are all available together- REALLY simple) and the thought of leaving her in charge on her own is shudderworthy- but I bet we could leave any of you to do it after a five minute conversation and things would flow perfectly. It's frustrating because most employers actually know that too, we have to start valuing age and experience and that is a wider social issue which needs urgent addressing.

[naomi24]

//I certainly don't think that apprenticeships for people aged 64 is really the way to go//

Despite the alarmist headline, that is not the suggestion. The scheme relates to the over 45s.

[mikey4444]

What this has now made clear is that the WASPI women are not being treated fairly.....to suddenly be told that your Old Age Pension will be paid 5 years later that you previously been told, and at such short notice, must be causing wide-spread alarm and worry.

This Government could do something about the situation, but refuses to do so.

[naomi24]

I don’t think any of us like the idea of our pension age being deferred, but Labour doesn’t appear to have any ambition to change it, and for some time seems to have been hatching a plan to link retirement age to occupation which is fine for a body knackered by a lifetime of manual labour, but doesn’t take into account health risks caused by long term stress suffered by office workers.

//Labour will not slow down the rise to 66, but will review plans to increase the SPA beyond this. The party will instead consider introducing a different SPA depending on an individual's job. For example someone who worked in a job that involves manual labour would be allowed to retire earlier than someone who has worked in an office job due to the health risks associated with manual work. //

http://citywire.co.uk/new-model-adviser/news/labour-considers-flexible-state-pension-age/a1015192

[cassa333]

Kat, don't let your apprentice forget the Kitkats.

Apprenticeships are designed to train the person in the technicalities of the chosen profession. They should in all honesty be able to answer a phone and do basics. Not knowing where the sugar is is one thing but to not be able to make a cup of tea is another!!

This scheme has probably been designed with the middle aged in mind because it addresses retraining and I think someone decided to latch onto the over 60s just to score points both politically and personally.

Perhaps they are trying to derail the whole scheme by latching onto the outrageousness of something that 'could be' rather than the intent of the programme.

[cassa333]

That was Kvalidir not Kat... don't know where that bit came from. Probably auto correct...

[hereIam]

All I can say is that I'm glad I'm out of it all and happily drawing my pension. I feel SO sorry for those that have to work longer than at first thought when a lot of them have already worked many, many years. I have a friend of 59 who is really unhappy in her job, but is not eligible to draw her pension until she is 67 !