Aspiring to become an electrician. How many young people do?

Not sure why anyone is surprised by this.


Given that the UK generally despises anyone working with their hands, coupled with completely unrealistic "careers" promoted on social media, is it any wonder why our craft and artisan jobs are predominantly performed by foreign nationals to a large extent. I was on a site recently (large multi storey building near London) and there were fire evacuation notices in more languages than I could recognise, let alone read. 


I appreciate things might have changed a bit, but I recall my careers master (who was an English Lit. academic) being horrified at the thought of me leaving school at 16 to get an apprenticeship - it wasn't what his pupils did, that was something for the thick kids from the local comprehensive school. And to some extent, that's still true as the more likely apprenticeship candidates are now very effectively marshalled, sorted and pushed into university  - leaving the thick kids to do the manual jobs. Different reasons, same outcome to some extent.


Then we have the phenomena of "Being Rueben" which perhaps in part goes some way to understanding the mind set of the yuf of today (or the mind set of the parents of the yuf of today)


Regards


OMS

Not sure why anyone is surprised by this.


Given that the UK generally despises anyone working with their hands, coupled with completely unrealistic "careers" promoted on social media, is it any wonder why our craft and artisan jobs are predominantly performed by foreign nationals to a large extent. I was on a site recently (large multi storey building near London) and there were fire evacuation notices in more languages than I could recognise, let alone read. 


I appreciate things might have changed a bit, but I recall my careers master (who was an English Lit. academic) being horrified at the thought of me leaving school at 16 to get an apprenticeship - it wasn't what his pupils did, that was something for the thick kids from the local comprehensive school. And to some extent, that's still true as the more likely apprenticeship candidates are now very effectively marshalled, sorted and pushed into university  - leaving the thick kids to do the manual jobs. Different reasons, same outcome to some extent.


Then we have the phenomena of "Being Rueben" which perhaps in part goes some way to understanding the mind set of the yuf of today (or the mind set of the parents of the yuf of today)


Regards


OMS