It's to exclude those like pensioners for whom it would be nonsensical to classify them as unemployed. But, from age 54 through to 60 I was unemployed but not claiming any benefits, so I would not have been in the figures either. I was, however "economically active" in that I was spending money. Just not bringing any
The figures are not taken from who is claiming benefits, it is compiled by the Office for National Statistics so you would have been statistically accounted for.
I have 3 children all at secondary school. I was asked today by my mother at what age could they leave school & start work.
I replied at age 16 after taking their GCSE's....same as I did 35 years ago (admitedly they were called 'O' levels then)
She said that she had been told at age 18. My daughter then comfirmed this. "No, your wrong" I said. "It is, and always has been for the past 50 years, age 16".
Just googled it & WHAM !!! You can leave at 16 but you have to either go onto further education or into an apprenticeship / work placement, which still entails further study.
wtaf ????
when did this change happen ?? under what government & why ???. Can't my lad when 16 & finished his GCSE's just leave school & look for work ?? which bright spark thought this one up ?? I know under Tony Blair & Gordon Brown it was their mantra of "education, education, education" & they wanted all & sundry to go to college/university, but whats wrong with going out & earning a living ?? Are parents expected to feed & house their kids forever ??
For the record I left school & started work 3 days after my last 'O' level....yes THREE days !! I had already applied for jobs, had interviews & been offered a job in a bank before I had even taken my exams. I started work at the end of June....1983. Just a year or two after one of the severest recessions in years, so hardly boom time.
Can he really not just leave school in the July & start work somewhere ?? He'll be 17 a few months later......hardly a child.
the worlds gone mad.
The worlds got better. Education is freedom. Education is equality.
They will be working until they are 70+ so a lot longer than you will - and will have to change jobs on a regular basis which won’t be easy. What’s the rush? What’s wrong with apprenticeship?
Sounds like you just want to get them out to work. Should have thought about that before you had them!
“I had it hard, lived in cardboard box in middle of road....”
I think it's more about having the choice.
I know of some friends who were pushed into doing A-levels and BTECs, etc. only to end up doing a job at the age of 18 they could have done at 16.
In my dissertation I finished recently, the earnings difference between GCSE and A-Level type qualifications is very small in comparison to the gap between those with A-Levels and those with degrees. Often the main benefit of A-levels is to go on to do a degree. Being forced into education from 16-18 for some is a complete waste of time and sets them back 2 years.
Also agree.
I've been telling my 3 that staying on for A levels is only worth it if you are going to study for a degree.......and in a degree that means something like doctor, lawyer or a teacher.
No point staying in the "6th form" for 2 years & then 3 years at Uni to come away with a 2:2 in media studies. By that time you will be 21/22 & still no job.
I bought my first flat aged 21. At this rate my kids wont even start earning until then.
I think any education is worth it. The period of life when you’re in education is increasingly short, percentage wise. Why make it any shorter? They’re likely to have to work for 60 years to get their pension, if they still have pensions in 60 years time. Education can be liberating, and can open up new avenues and possibilities that you wouldn’t even think of at 16.
Surprised a parent of secondary school children wouldn't know this.
On the wider issues I've long thought children should be able to study GCEs and A Levels in hairdressing, plumbing, accounting, engineering alongside Science, maths, history etc
Education for life
Another thing that I think we’re kicking the can down the road on. AI, machine learning and the whole digital change and transformation that is going on in the U.K. workplace right now means huge changes, ones that weren’t conceivable even 5 years ago.
There was a piece of research I came across last year that 5 of the most sought after jobs now, didn’t even exist 10 years ago. The school system will take years to catch up. There’s a massive chasm around upskilling and re-skilling swathes of your workforce to bring things up to speed just to survive, let alone compete
I do think the standard of route of going to uni will change soon, I don’t believe it’s sustainable. My degree was Law & Politics, spread over 3 years. Had I been doing it in the same way you do a real job (40 hours a week, instead of 10), I reckon you can half it. Not saying that’s true of all degrees, just my personal feeling
I think we’ve also got to realise, not many people necessarily know what they want at 16. You can have good parents, guiding and supporting you, but I know I matured and worked harder much later in life. My GCSE year was spent waiting for my dad to pick me up for Norwich away on a Tuesday night and missing science so I could see Mendonca score a hat trick
So much needs to change with all of this, but like everything that requires long term thinking, out short term governments won’t really do anything
Surprised a parent of secondary school children wouldn't know this.
On the wider issues I've long thought children should be able to study GCEs and A Levels in hairdressing, plumbing, accounting, engineering alongside Science, maths, history etc
Education for life
My GCSE year was spent waiting for my dad to pick me up for Norwich away on a Tuesday night and missing science so I could see Mendonca score a hat trick
Fair play for your persistence and optimism in waiting a whole year for him to pick you up for the Norwich game. Most kids would have probably realised he wasn't coming after waiting a couple of hours.
I had to resit my maths GCSE many years ago after gained an unspectacular E grade. Not sure how I managed to get an F second time around.
I think you must have done worse the second time.
I remember the class doing some questionnaire around 16 before my GCSE exams, back when you could leave at 16, about your job prospects. We all filled them in and got jobs which weren't exactly interesting for the majority of the class, like being a bin man, bus driver etc. The teacher than told us not to worry because you could get a high paying job if you stayed on to do A-levels. It was that blatant. There was even an honours board of the pupils that had gone on to uni, I imagine that stopped at my year as most of us went to uni. After doing a 4 year degree, A-levels and a gap year spent working in an office in London I started a job (1 week after my final exam) through a mate that I probably could have started at 16! Every uni holiday I would be doing office work to pay for uni. Still did get to spent a year in Australia and my parents were pretty proud that their son had a degree, obviously back in their day only smart people would get one unlike people my age where we all have one!
No better feeling to have your first pay packet in your bank account as a youngster and spend it on what you want. First thing I did with mine as a 17 year old was buy a season ticket when we were over at Selhurst Park, housekeeping for my mum, then beer and clothing.
You learn fast but another 2 years getting a bit more education for the youngsters today won't hurt them. Bit of part time shelf stacking in the local supermarket if they need a bit of money. Good experience and put on your CV.
I have 3 children all at secondary school. I was asked today by my mother at what age could they leave school & start work.
I replied at age 16 after taking their GCSE's....same as I did 35 years ago (admitedly they were called 'O' levels then)
She said that she had been told at age 18. My daughter then comfirmed this. "No, your wrong" I said. "It is, and always has been for the past 50 years, age 16".
Just googled it & WHAM !!! You can leave at 16 but you have to either go onto further education or into an apprenticeship / work placement, which still entails further study.
wtaf ????
when did this change happen ?? under what government & why ???. Can't my lad when 16 & finished his GCSE's just leave school & look for work ?? which bright spark thought this one up ?? I know under Tony Blair & Gordon Brown it was their mantra of "education, education, education" & they wanted all & sundry to go to college/university, but whats wrong with going out & earning a living ?? Are parents expected to feed & house their kids forever ??
For the record I left school & started work 3 days after my last 'O' level....yes THREE days !! I had already applied for jobs, had interviews & been offered a job in a bank before I had even taken my exams. I started work at the end of June....1983. Just a year or two after one of the severest recessions in years, so hardly boom time.
Can he really not just leave school in the July & start work somewhere ?? He'll be 17 a few months later......hardly a child.
the worlds gone mad.
The worlds got better. Education is freedom. Education is equality.
They will be working until they are 70+ so a lot longer than you will - and will have to change jobs on a regular basis which won’t be easy. What’s the rush? What’s wrong with apprenticeship?
Sounds like you just want to get them out to work. Should have thought about that before you had them!
“I had it hard, lived in cardboard box in middle of road....”
I think it's more about having the choice.
I know of some friends who were pushed into doing A-levels and BTECs, etc. only to end up doing a job at the age of 18 they could have done at 16.
In my dissertation I finished recently, the earnings difference between GCSE and A-Level type qualifications is very small in comparison to the gap between those with A-Levels and those with degrees. Often the main benefit of A-levels is to go on to do a degree. Being forced into education from 16-18 for some is a complete waste of time and sets them back 2 years.
Also agree.
I've been telling my 3 that staying on for A levels is only worth it if you are going to study for a degree.......and in a degree that means something like doctor, lawyer or a teacher.
No point staying in the "6th form" for 2 years & then 3 years at Uni to come away with a 2:2 in media studies. By that time you will be 21/22 & still no job.
I bought my first flat aged 21. At this rate my kids wont even start earning until then.
I don't want to worry you, but with house prices the way they are they'll probably be 81 before they can move out. I don't think anyone of our generation realised how long they'd have their kids living with them. I sometimes have this discussion with Mrs Stig but she just gives me a quote from a Carry On film, "you should have thought about that before you took your pleasure"!
You do realise you've just don't the whole world you're wife doesn't get any pleasure from having sex with you.
I think it’s a good idea! If a 16 year old fails maths and English, they have to resist! Good.
It’s embarrasing when a waiter/waitress can’t split a bill in two without using a calculator
It's embarrassing when fully grown adults can't spell embarrassing or resits and it could be said that there is even a hint of irony about it...
Or my phone auto corrected the text and I couldn’t be bothered to check the spelling as it was a simple message on a football message board and not a piece of literature for publication
How did you get a law degree working only 10 hours a week? Just my reading lists were more than 20
I meant contact/lecture time, but I reckon if I’d have blasted through it and done a proper 40 hour week, you can cut some of the time it takes to complete a degree
The Uni’s want them stretched out over 3 years to make money
I do know this isn’t possible for all degrees though
Comments
The figures are not taken from who is claiming benefits, it is compiled by the Office for National Statistics so you would have been statistically accounted for.
Education can be liberating, and can open up new avenues and possibilities that you wouldn’t even think of at 16.
There was a piece of research I came across last year that 5 of the most sought after jobs now, didn’t even exist 10 years ago. The school system will take years to catch up. There’s a massive chasm around upskilling and re-skilling swathes of your workforce to bring things up to speed just to survive, let alone compete
I do think the standard of route of going to uni will change soon, I don’t believe it’s sustainable. My degree was Law & Politics, spread over 3 years. Had I been doing it in the same way you do a real job (40 hours a week, instead of 10), I reckon you can half it. Not saying that’s true of all degrees, just my personal feeling
I think we’ve also got to realise, not many people necessarily know what they want at 16. You can have good parents, guiding and supporting you, but I know I matured and worked harder much later in life. My GCSE year was spent waiting for my dad to pick me up for Norwich away on a Tuesday night and missing science so I could see Mendonca score a hat trick
So much needs to change with all of this, but like everything that requires long term thinking, out short term governments won’t really do anything
I remember the class doing some questionnaire around 16 before my GCSE exams, back when you could leave at 16, about your job prospects. We all filled them in and got jobs which weren't exactly interesting for the majority of the class, like being a bin man, bus driver etc. The teacher than told us not to worry because you could get a high paying job if you stayed on to do A-levels. It was that blatant. There was even an honours board of the pupils that had gone on to uni, I imagine that stopped at my year as most of us went to uni. After doing a 4 year degree, A-levels and a gap year spent working in an office in London I started a job (1 week after my final exam) through a mate that I probably could have started at 16! Every uni holiday I would be doing office work to pay for uni. Still did get to spent a year in Australia and my parents were pretty proud that their son had a degree, obviously back in their day only smart people would get one unlike people my age where we all have one!
You learn fast but another 2 years getting a bit more education for the youngsters today won't hurt them. Bit of part time shelf stacking in the local supermarket if they need a bit of money. Good experience and put on your CV.
I have needed English more than Maths ever since. It's embarrassing when fully grown adults can't spell embarrassing or resits and it could be said that there is even a hint of irony about it...
(It was totes delibes hun).
The Uni’s want them stretched out over 3 years to make money
I do know this isn’t possible for all degrees though