World In Action - Starting On The Dole

Episode of World In Action from Monday 27th June 1977.
A look at youth unemployment focusing on 2 teenagers from Liverpool.

[@andrewcdavies]

Shocking times, my dad used to watch World in Action, I was eight when this aired. I remember the theme tune sending shivers down my spine.

[@kingjames133]

And me

[@Roscoe.P.Coldchain]

Me too it was always our Que to go to bed when this music came on in the 70s

[@stevebrazilio]

Agree! The only tune that sent more shivers down my spine back in the 70's was the opening tune to The Tomorrow People!

[@lodersracing]

Same lol

[@alandavies1054]

Same here…born in 1963 and my Mum and Dad always watched World in Action. That tune still spooks me out today and I’m 60 years old lol.

[@robharding4028]

I left school in 72, and you could walk into most jobs with the minimum of fuss, I never thought at the time, it would ever change, But now in 2022,,almost 2023, it has never , ever been anywhere near as good as it was back in the early 70's.I feel so sorry for the later generations,We had it good back then, To all those we have lost through shear desperation of being unemployed.we wont forget you .

[@CycleAlong]

Probably because the UK started importing a cheaper workforce..

[@keithparker1346]

​@@CycleAlongmass immigration is an issue us people on the left have failed to address rationally

[@jackkruese4258]

But Britain was in a mess back in the early 1970s it’s also in a mess now but unemployment isn’t as bad as it was in the early 1980s.

[@CycleAlong]

@@jackkruese4258 the quality of employment today is dogshit, bet you didn't have zero hour contracts back in the 70's

[@jackkruese4258]

@@CycleAlong It depends really, I’d agree a lot of jobs now are zero hours dog shit but there’s also more opportunity at the same time. Tons of people today do jobs like IT consultancy, as my partner and son do. He’s only 24, went to a standard comprehensive, uni and starting salary was £38K in IT. Those jobs are pretty common now.

[@algie-t2w]

World in Action a programme of real substance. Now it's all grossly over-paid middle class television and radio presenters interviewing grossly over-paid middle class career politicians.

[@maruyama2076]

You are right. All of the show about culture have gone. This one, south bank show etc. etc.

[@pifflepockle]

@@maruyama2076Always have to have an entertainment angle now. Dumbed down pish

[@johnathandaviddunster38]

BIT NAUGHTY BUT I WENT FOR A JOB INTERVIEW IN THE 80S AND THE INTERVIEWER SAID YOU MIGHT AS WELL HAVE THE JOB AS NO ONE ELSE HAS APPLIED ,WHAT HE DIDN'T KNOW IS I TOOK THE CARD OF THE NOTICE BOARD IN THE JOBCENTRE!!! THAT'S WHY I WAS THE ONLY APPLICANT!!

[@laetitialogan2017]

Every person for themselves...good for you

[@ChocoSapper]

I use to do the same to increase my chances. It worked.

[@dav01kar]

Cheat lol

[@beckyzwhite]

Me too, but I did this at seven Job Centres on the same day. The job was in the office of a rope works and turned out to be shite, but one of my duties was to open the boss’s morning mail. I would then intercept and reply to any job reference requests for other jobs I had applied for. Eventually, I landed a good position with a big construction firm, where I then met my husband. I can’t be the only person who managed to get ahead by employing such dishonest methods.

[@alexanderjenkins8601]

I used to stick fake jobs on the board, ridiculously low wages and long hours shoveling sh**e. I once put one up for a porn actor. It drew a fair crowd .

[@dukedepommefrite]

It’s amazing to see two young people who actually WANT a job

[@oscargrainger2962]

It’s crazy watching this, when I left school in 77 my career did not exist. I am now a computer network engineer and tutor and coming to the end of my working life. I’m due to retire next year.

[@tartanbessy436]

I was born in '76 and as a kid was brought up on lots of news and documentaries thanks to my dad. Very glad to find World in Action on YT, sadly it goes to show the poor are always left to their own devices with very few short term and shorter sighted, less than helpful projects 🙈

[@hottestbabe1000]

How i loved watching this programme , just a kid at the time but 43 now and see how times have really changed , Not for the better people seem to be struggling still, the worlds just a different place.

[@hottestbabe1000]

JCBAirmaster73 You couldn't of put it any better , I totally agree. But I have to say going on another level the early 80s were the best days for me.Today is pretty boring.!!

[@hottestbabe1000]

JCBAirmaster73 Totally !! . there's no meaning in the lyrics today. I'd rather sit and watch all the classic top of the pops. I wonder why they don't show World in action . That was a classic programme and that music proper Old Skool. !!

[@hottestbabe1000]

JCBAirmaster73 Now your talking ... I luv old Skool , Nothing beats class. At least we still have the memories.

[@TheGava4]

hottestbabe1000 NO social media!!! Just programmes like this...

[@gunner678]

Just remember that it was a Conservative government then and the same now and I say that as a former Conservative. Britain must have change before its too late. Encourage others to vote to get rid of this awful government. I am a returned British army officer and thoroughly ashamed if what our country has become, again.

[@Thematt7890]

That Scouse lad Eddie is a stand up fella. Proud of his city, proud of his family and just wants a job to make them proud.

[@athelstan927]

It's nobodies city now apart from the tourists and immigrants! 😢😢

[@awakeningwithreiki9451]

I hope he is happy now and has a family who are proud of HIM

[@welshlad6427]

@@awakeningwithreiki9451he moved to Bolton and is now a woman called Edna aged 63.

[@shellsbignumber2]

Time sure flies, kids leaving school in 1977 are now nearly at retirement age.

[@mistofoles]

Back then, anybody could just wander into the job centre and browse the job vacancies. Not anymore. Now you need to book an appointment just to get into the foyer.

[@gunner678]

Tory government again. Vote the buggers out, and I say that as a former Conservative, 25 years military career. They need to go!

[@spidyman8853]

Ohh wow. How times have changed.

[@maratonlegendelenemirei3352]

Thank the Lord I struck it lucky in 2007 and got out of the hole known as UK.

[@jinxterx]

@@maratonlegendelenemirei3352 Where did you go?

[@RaphaelDawkinsCombatRadio]

You can browse jobs from your mobile phone now, they weren't even invented back then.

[@pch2230]

When I left school in 1981 we had only one meeting with a Careers Officer. It literally consisted of telling us where the Job Centre was and how to sign on.

[@WillScarlet1991]

Lol.

[@ruthbees7214]

I would agree with you. I come out the same time jobs were scarce and no apprenticeships whatsoever it took me a long time to get a stable job. Years really.

[@richardlaversuch9460]

It would be interesting to see Karen, Eddie and the others as they are today and how they working careers have developed.

[@Andy-wx4wx]

I thought exactly he same, I wonder how they are doing. I am in my 50s as many of the youngsters on the programme will be now. It was a difficult time, I ended up on a YTS scheme earning £26 pw and then unemployed for a time. We now live amongst a generation of easily offended, self entitled young people, what a contrast!

[@MsColl90]

@@Andy-wx4wx ridiculous. Young people have it much tougher now. Low wages, insecure employment contracts, borrowing just to get an education, rent slaves who will never have a chance to get ahead. We sold our children down the river.

[@nickprince9881]

@@Andy-wx4wx i was thinking exactly the same also.

[@stormytempest6521]

@@Andy-wx4wx They were brutal days in Liverpool and alot of places, but you never got your benifits stopped! you got by somehow.😉

[@godsson7787]

@@MsColl90 thank you. Its facts community's gone to shit. How many churches/youth clubs do we have that sit empty or have been demolished? We are more divided than ever by class and colour lets be real with ourselves.

[@whtmasterd]

I left school April of 77. My parents pushed me into an engineering apprenticeship as I did not have a clue what I wanted to do and what I was good at. This was a blessing in disguise, I completed the apprenticeship and learned the discipline of working for a living and more importantly I understood the rules of the 'game of life'. The most important things I learned; education and experience provided keys to doors that I could only walk through if I had the key. It taught me how to work with people and understand that taking responsibility and being a leader also gave extra keys. I have used every job I have had to move myself forward adding value to my employer and to myself. I used every job to understand what work I liked and what work I did not. I learned to do the best possible work on jobs I liked and also on jobs I did not like, this created a level of integrity, discipline and pride to keep me moving forward for the betterment of me. I can only thank everyone who made a difference in my life by trying to make a difference in others. I have had a lot of luck and I have made a lot of my own luck. This program is a great reminder that leaving school, and becoming a young adult is stressful whatever year it happens. Most young people need some luck and some help to get them started. We can all make a difference if we choose to.

[@nwlman]

I left school in June 1985, it was really hard especially for young men.

[@howey935]

nwlman I left in 87 and couldn’t find work so ended up joining the army because there was no other options.

[@72megasnoopy]

Howzer The man Or it was the YTS bullshit £27.50 a week Fukin joke thst YTS

[@movesky6696]

@@72megasnoopy help form yst a joke my thinking want repair car but yts did not help had wast of time

[@zeddeka]

@@howey935 one thing I'm really curious about - why was further education not a consideration? Now, kids have to stay in education by law until 18.

[@JohnSmith-su3ze]

stop whining

[@STEVENSHIREBROOK]

I always used to look down on people out of work assuming that they weren't trying . My opinion changed when I was made redundant after 15 years at a firm . Gave up on the job centre after the first visit. I couldn't believe how badly they treat people and basically messed people around . I applied for over 100 jobs in the space of 2 months and only had a couple of replies and 1 or 2 interviews and loads of calls from agency's that again, just messed me about and made false promises. Luckily enough , I got some cash in hand work ( recruited down the pub lol ) that tied me over until I got a decent full time job 4 months later .

[@mariekatherine5238]

Same problem in the US only worse because we get no health insurance. I graduated college in 1982 and started working off the books as a babysitter/house cleaner/home companion for elderly. That way I could eat and sleep and bathe at some of the places. Otherwise, I had a few friends with a couch, a university library with all-night study room, and if none of them panned out, I stayed outside, usually hidden in a garage, a barn, or in the woods. Come winter, I had to thumb my way back to the parents. BTW, there WAS no dole unless you were pregnant, had a child, had no parents, etc. Eventually I found a job, and have been gainfully employed until now, 2020, age 60, job gone because of COVID. I’m back to applying for endless jobs I won’t get because of age and health issues, and am anticipating living in my van. I’m too young for social security, too “well-off” for Medicare, (can’t own a vehicle!). So in order to get assistance, I have to be street homeless at age 60 for a year? I won’t live through the winter and I see that’s the idea. One less mouth to feed. So do I have scruples against cheating the system? None at all.

[@laetitialogan2017]

100 %..

[@ianmcglone8387]

Who fucking cares

[@jamesdean1143]

Sorry to hear of your bad luck story. A problem shared is a problem halved.

[@athelstan927]

I wish you all the best.. I'll pray for you..

[@mistofoles]

As well as being unemployed currently, I also have a serious knee injury which severely limits my mobility, so I can understand completely the demoralisation and depression it causes people.

[@turboslag]

World in Action and Man Alive, quality programmes with well researched and accurate reporting. Absolutely nothing like them since or now. This looks like the era I left school and my experience was totally different. I had a job to go to BEFORE I actually left school, and the job had a block release college training course attached to it. This lead to a University place and a career in electronics. I also had jobs in the holidays and never had a problem with finding one for those times. Ultimately I joined my father in his business venture which was fortunately relatively successful. This also gave me the experience of interviewing candidates for jobs in our company, this was in the 80s and 90s. The jobs were low to medium skill but most of the applicants were terrible. Few or no qualifications, very poor communication ability, no ability to express themselves, little to no maths ability, etc, etc. Generally, anyone that could actually string a sentence together got the job, because in our area there was no other choice. It was like the people had never been to school. Glad I don't have to find people for jobs now!!!

[@julben27]

I left school in 1974 with a few CSE qualifications.Went to work in factories until the day after my 19th birthday when I started nurse training. I studied for Enrolled nurse ,because of my lack of 5 O levels .Thank goodness for the test I was able to take to test for aptitude and intelligence.In 1980 , l took another test which allowed me to begin my Student Nurse training for two years,qualifying in 82 as a Registered Nurse. The fact that I was able to sit those tests saved me . The qualifications needed for nursing nowadays would be impossible. I lived in the nurses accommodation and paid very little for it, only needing to buy food. biggest bonus was being warm and having continuous hot water without parents nagging. Also,there was no student loan to pay back.My first months wage was £100 …l’d never had so much money.

[@teviottilehurst]

8.44: that old man at the career's office was so patronising. These people were just pen pushers. A lot of them didn't give a fuck.

[@edelgyn2699]

I've worked in a JobCentre, not only do many of the staff not give a fig they are also meanspirited crypto-facists who spew venom about some of the poor sods who are trying to get a job. Not only that, a loophole in the civil service regulations enables JobCentre managers to employ friends and family on short term contracts (no open competition for their posts) - the unions turn a blind eye to it. Often staff are not qualified to do the job they are sat in!

[@Crazy1Clive]

@@edelgyn2699The same could be said of posts for Tube train drivers (starting salary £49k, rising to £60k on experience)!

[@Sweetie8387]

I thought that, smiling away to the dad who was making some great points and felt passionate about his daughters future

[@garethwilliams4467]

what do you want him to say ? If there aren't the jobs there isn't much he can do about it.

[@johnk1639]

I really liked young Eddie. I’m sure he did well in life

[@RaphaelDawkinsCombatRadio]

It would be nice to know how Eddie got on.

[@jrbs]

​@RaphaelDawkinsCombatRadio believe it or not, I wondered what became of him and found him on Facebook!😁

[@balance3201]

And? ​@@jrbs

[@jinxterx]

@@jrbs And?

[@RaphaelDawkinsCombatRadio]

@@jrbs I looked there too, didn't find him. How are you spelling his name?

[@mistofoles]

I don't remember my dad having a cup of tea ready for me when I came home from job-hunting !

[@JohnCashin]

I had exactly the same experience when I left school in 1980, so I can relate to a lot of this, I just went to college for a couple of years to fill the gap but when I came out the situation was still just as bad, after a while I just got so demoralized I settled for living off my dole money and didn't bother to try and get anything else, got a job eventually though, after about 3 years, I guess it was the pressure to do something, when you're in your 20's, still living at home doing nothing, it gets embarrassing, especially when you bump into friends you went to school with and they are doing something or seem to be but the job was a load of crap, a part of one of those government scheme things, so it was just for a year. Then back on the dole again....then in work again....then back on the dole again...and so on, things have changed now in the cosmetic sense, from what they were in the 70's and 80's and of course we have technology we didn't have back then, eg, the internet, mobiles etc but a lot of it is really the same thing under a different name and they are slowly bringing all the benefits people get into one, Universal Credit is where it is all headed now, you can get that while you are in work to help, I do, it's got some good things but there are other things I don't like about it, for example, they will know how much you are earning in your job through your National Insurance Number and will adjust your UC accordingly which is not a problem but why do they make us ring in to tell them what they will already know? and when you ring them it's awkward, you have to go through this robotic voice and then when you speak to someone you have to go through a security check to make sure it's you, it just seems stupid and pointless. The only real difference for me is I'm now 52, very old in employment terms like many of these lot in the film will be too, we're older and wiser but we're still dealing with the same baloney we've always had to deal with from the various governments that have been in power who have just played around with our lives, they look after themselves and their own while the rest of us, the majority of us who are on the outside looking in have to somehow pay the rent, council tax and other bills out of the peanuts we get and if we don't it's all.....errrrrrrrrr.... "our fault" for not managing our money properly....yeah....right....course it is, cheers.

[@pix046]

Spot on.

[@anne3362]

Story of my life too..

[@angieh4534]

seems it use to be embarrassing, to be on the dole, now people pride themselves on getting money they don't have to work for.. I know these people really didn't have a choice, but today the majority is just pure lazy slugs..

[@seanwheeldon9315]

@@angieh4534 how can someone be getting more on the dole than someone working bloody ludicrous

[@angieh4534]

Sean Wheeldon 🤷🏻‍♀️

[@thebigloc1]

The same happened to me in the mid 2000s and early 2010s in Ireland. Every time I finished a course if I didn't get a job I did another course. I ended up doing 10 years of courses, getting many certs, diplomas, two degrees. I then finished institute of technology and I couldn't find a job. I went on the dole and felt embarrassed and awful. I then did part time short courses while on the dole. They were for a few months each. It helped me to volunteer to teach adults to read and write one on one. I did this while looking for work, also volunteered in a local charity. I was unemployed a few years and tried so hard to get a job. It made me feel useless, awful, no good, depressed. The job I have now I am in a little over two years. I am lucky I started just before covid hit. From filling in the first forms online took almost 21 months for me to get my job. I did online form filling, online exams, passed them I then got to do exams at a building, passed had panel interview then I got told had a job but had so many forms to fill, things to send them took months before I got into the job once I got it. I feel lucky as now a recession they say is coming.

[@athelstan927]

Jesus, it was similar but nowhere near as bad in the early 90s.. I wish you the very best and the millions like you up and down the country.. I think if I had my time again and be online business.. this job market is a con. This system has failed the people. Good luck again!

[@bernadettemurray2016]

Sounds very similar to my life loads of government training programs. Issues with anxiety and panic, which has caused total lack of confidence applying for certain jobs. Did plenty of volunteering and cleaning jobs.

[@bernadettemurray2016]

I meant to add that l had several short term different posts in retail and care work the last was an appalling experience.

[@catherine9242]

Well the 70s music was bloody brilliant 😉

[@fpreston9527]

Here here

[@Crazy1Clive]

You're actually listening to music which was recorded in 1967.

[@gmc9451]

I did a YTS in 1983 as an apprentice electrician earning £27.88/wk. Also had a Saturday job as a porter at Boots the Chemists and earned almost half my YTS wage for just one day's work. I think before YTS's were introduced there was a scheme called the Youth Opportunities Program (YOP).

[@stevecoppin6396]

topps , i remember we got a topps 'plumber ' to put in a shower... ended up doing it myself

[@Bombabingbong66]

We r the same age. How did your career go after that?

[@gmc9451]

@@Bombabingbong66 not great.

[@G4RY1159]

@@stevecoppin6396 🤣

[@andrewh2u]

There was nothing at all locally when I left school just a few years after this. Finally, I found interviews at an electronics manufacturing factory 25 miles away and cycled there to find over 300 other applicants there in person for panel interviews and paper technical exam tests for 15 jobs! Cycled to that job and back every weekday for six months until I could purchase a motorcycle for the travel. My friends were being paid more for unemployment pay but it was my launch point!!

[@paulchance3766]

I left school in 87 and was unable to jump into any work so the idea in my family was to send me over to relatives in the states to perhaps continue education there or work etc but came back after about 7 weeks then tried to get a job in a magazine factory to which they said the familiar 'we'll call you' quote which came to nothing .. Then a few months later joined the Y.T.S scheme for 2 years doing different jobs for only £35 odd a week.. thankfully the owner of the last business I was in was closing down right at the end of my two years, then i ended up in the post office where I was initially paid £129 a week plus two of my older brothers worked there anyway and have now been there 34 years and still going.. I didn't regret the low paid y.t.s totally as it gave me the memory, experience, and the fact that I could say I did work somewhere other than royal mail lol..

[@mistofoles]

I agree with Eddie, it is extremely demoralising being unemployed. I take no shame in claiming benefit allowance, though, because I am actively seeking employment, but I need support for myself and my partner in the meantime.

[@rocksoliddude1]

JSA is your entitlement anyway, the only fault of your unemployment is society for not providing you with a job yet.

[@Kawasakifreak1]

@@rocksoliddude1 'Society' - don't you mean businesses recruiting people to grow the business profitably ? Those are the only jobs that last & why hammering businesses with ever more taxes & regs will only make things worse.

[@garethwilliams4467]

that's the difference, You have no shame. I think benefits for unemployed should be removed.

[@mistofoles]

@@garethwilliams4467 If you're just a lazy bastard and taking the piss, then yes - But not if you're genuinely out of work through no fault of your own and are actively seeking employment...How else are you supposed to support yourself in the meantime ?

[@garethwilliams4467]

@@mistofoles You should never be out of work though. There are always jobs available, even in a depression. Someone somewhere needs something doing. Now ... I'm guessing you will tell me but they don't pay enough, I'm don't want that job I want a different one etc ... or my favourite how do I afford x,y,z. My answer to that is someone like you can't have x,y,z. That is the harsh reality. Anyone who wants work will find it. Our problem is we give people a choice about wether to work or not.

[@edwardjohnson7059]

I left school early 80s and didn't know a single person with a proper job.. every single one of my mates was on some gov scheme. Spent my late teens blagging a living and got so used to not working that it became the norm. It took the shock of a child in my early 20s to shake me into reality. It's easy to say things are bad now but the reality is it was a LOT worse then, the big difference now is the internet, you see daily there are others having things way better than you, back in my day everyone was in the same boat and we didn't see anything else to aspire too.

[@davem4423]

As a kid in the 70's this program filled me with dread, the music was scary & items covered really showed the dark side of life most of us never had ..........well we did , just didnt realise as it was the 'norm' .....free school meals with a big white token that all the other kids could see , to be called a 'welfare' kid & other stuff....even though my single mum worked 3 jobs , 2 day jobs & a night job , while my nan looked after us , walked to school or rode my bike, couldnt afford the bus , 5 mile ride every day rain ir shine......but it taught me you work to pay your way , despite what moaners say the benefits system is VERY generous .........get off your arses & provide for yourself , its not easy but nothing in life is easy

[@fishtales2597]

Same when I left school in 85, just going to YTs because no firm was willing to take someone on with no experience, its still the same now. Nothings changed

[@121zoso]

This was 1977 ? Scary thing is things got even worse in the 80’s . Wonder how things turned out for the them . They must be in their late 60’s now .

[@Fiachraraven]

God bless Liverpool, the greatest city in the world.

[@weerobot]

That Cheered me up...

[@gillysmusic]

What a lovely lad, i hope he fared well in life, he deserved it, respect, great attitude and work ethic, and high morals oozed out of him. His parents did an excellent job.

[@shadow-Sun]

God this is all depressingly familiar to me when I was a school leaver in the North East in 81 ...the YTS schemes the feeling of being not wanted ....I moved south to London and greater London wherever the work was and never looked back in terms of prospects ...I worked low grade jobs worked my way up got experience and then things improved bought house got married etc etc got nicer cars as finance allowed nicer holidays and bang 35 years later I am an OVERNIGHT success having what I have got now ! lmfao ..at least that is how it appears to the youth of today who I meet ....

[@equinox95]

I left school in 94, getting a job was like winning the lottery.

[@zeddeka]

I left in 93. One thing I can't understand is people who didn't go on to further education. They've changed the law now to make everyone stay in education until 18. Best thing they ever did.

[@equinox95]

@@zeddeka I did attend further education but employment was the problem, especially in 95 where I was from...recession.

[@mistofoles]

Not taking the piss, but Eddie would have been a great character in BOYS FROM THE BLACKSTUFF.

[@zeddeka]

Boys from the Black stuff was actually written at this time, although it's associated with the later thatcher era. I suspect there were a lot of people like him around in those times.

[@shoot_the_glass5654]

Painting decorator lad looks like he was in Auf Wiedersen pet.

[@boyfromblackstuff7859]

​@@zeddeka Boys from the black stuff was actually made to represent life under the previous Labour government, by the time it was first aired the Conservatives were in government.

[@stevebrazilio]

As a 54 year old struggling to find a job now, I can at least be grateful that jobs were abundant in the late 80's when I came out of school. No comparison to leaving school and immediately having to go on the dole, those times must have been exceedingly hard.

[@mistofoles]

The morose organ music complements this programme perfectly.

[@mintythemoose]

Outstanding documentary. These kids would be in their 60s today. How I would love to know how life panned out for them.

[@KevinJohnDay.]

During the Thatcher era in the early 1980s, I was jobless despite being a skilled welder. I spent more time out of work than actually working, bouncing between jobs here and there. It was a real downer, it was like having a one-way ticket to Miseryville. My buddies were also living off the dole with barely any cash to spare. Those days were just plain awful, but at least the music scene was banging.

[@mumpygumboo8554]

You mean the trickle down economic theory didn't work? ha ha.... so sorry to hear that you had that experience. I'm glad the music fed your soul anyway. Greetings from Nelson, BC, Canada.

[@garethwilliams4467]

@@mumpygumboo8554 trickle down does work. You're just whingeing about how much you get. Every job created in the privat sector is an example of trickle down - as a poor person ever given you a job ?

[@mumpygumboo8554]

@@garethwilliams4467 no poor person, of course has given me a job except if I was a cop, social worker, doctor, etc, service worker who deals with such things. However, the MIDDLE CLASS, a creation thanks to labour unions and fair taxation has created ALL the jobs I have done. And, I've worked in many sectors, warehousing, construction, silviculture, bartending, waitering, janitorial and the arts.Very few of the clients of any of those organizations were the wealthiest of citizens. A level playing field is needed. It's not trickle down, it's sustainability. The big boys want more, more more and they squeeze out everyone else. Doesn't create shit. Just buys it.

[@martyboy1906]

And now in 2016 nothing's changed

[@rocksoliddude1]

WRONG! IT'S 10 TIMES AS FUCKING BAD,

[@mrhat50]

Indeed, all Zero Hour contracts now!

[@andymottley3273]

Marty Boy only the weather has changed, we use to get proper summers , heatwave going on for weeks back in 1977

[@emmaashton1046]

andy mottley just had that in 2018 ...

[@72megasnoopy]

Johnny Law it’s a joke init

[@waynecrothers9441]

I was employed on an "ace" scheme,back in 1992 for 1year,I loved it,1halfday a week to local tech to learn painting and decorating,we decorated homes for the poor and elderly,I got that good I was wallpapering ceilings etc,I didn't think fast fwd 22yrs I'd be living in a 1 bed bungalow in same area I worked on that scheme,long story short I started my own small business cleaning windows,managed to secure a commercial run in town centre, unfortunately I was diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis and reactive arthritis 12 yrs later,I was always willing to work but I gotta be realistic,I dunno why those schemes were stopped,to many it's a gateway to permanent employment plus the local area is getting facelifted,lot of young folk now couldn't care less,they're happy being on benefits,certainly very different times from when that was filmed,I'm old fashioned I believe a man should work,if he's fit and well,I'm 49 now and unfortunately retired thru ill health.......ps we cut gardens,cleaned windows and decorated homes mainly in winter,il always think back fondly of my time on the ace scheme,I made friends for life.....

[@ashab1]

Well with the new government schemes that are coming into place you may get your wish mobility won’t be an issue due to the amount of jobs where people can work from home.

[@Changedmynameagain]

I believe a man should get double his money for the sweet f a, like all the other knobs.

[@YJB8CCFC]

The youth of today could take a leaf out of Eddies book. What a well spoken, honest guy. I hope he went on to do well in life.

[@johnjonesToffeeman]

I took a work experience 6 month scheme in 1976 with Littlewoods. I got kept on and ended up as a Director worked my way up,still working in Thailand now 45 years on

[@patrickmorrison6253]

i done same had to leave england to better my slef 38 years now

[@paulwilson2968]

Left school in 1978 no qualifications ,offered 3 apprenticeships within a month , started 1 left 3 years later , by then the situation had completely changed ,was on the dole for 2 years,

[@berniestar1490]

I'm in Australia, same situation, left school 1978 plenty of jobs. 1982 and 83 were shocking, no work.

[@londonlady227]

Have to be honest, when I started looking for work back in the mid 80's, I landed a job with the UK govt. I presented myself well and talked well. My parents brought me up like that. You have to help yourself as well. Dress well, talk correctly...that goes a long way.

[@SEAWEEDER1]

I live in rural western highlands of Scotland and left school in 1987, When we left it was straight into a job because we were poached by employers because i think only 7 of us left that year with 3 moving to Edinburgh. You could ask for the wage you wanted, Got with the council as i was the only one who lived in the area and been with them till this day. Local kids are now leaving the area because there are no homes for them to move into as most are holiday homes.

[@john111257]

i was bought up to work, im 63 now and arthritic, had to finish work...all that overtime, all them late nights, double shifts...and hardly any support

[@maratonlegendelenemirei3352]

and for what? A shilling a day and an 'orse sh*t sandwich.

[@donnajk4423]

I was 17 back then and my first Job was in BHS. By the afternoon i decided i sisnt like it , so I walked out 😬 , went across the shopping centre to Tescos, and got a position of checkout girl. All within an hour. Stayed there 2 years. Loved it. I feel sorry for the youngsters today with job choices and lack of them.

[@Lar308]

I left school in 1978 having done and passed my leaving cert (Irish equivalent of High school certificate) but dreaded having to do so over the unemployment. I swore that I would never go on the dole no matter what. I applied for a few jobs. Any job would do but I preferred garage jobs because I was into cars. I got a job washing cars in a Ford main dealer at £13 a week. Within a year I was working in the sales office (sales clerk was my title) getting £30 a week. Still that was pretty bad at the time so I went to work in an American factory getting £170 a week with overtime. I later joined the Irish police and was promoted sergeant after 14 years and retired in 2013. I pride myself that in all that time I was not unemployed for one day.

[@nonnayoubuzinnes1669]

As someone who was born and still lives in Liverpool this breaks my heart. Liverpool gets knocked for "sponging off the taxpayer" but back then there was a work ethic that probably doesn't exist now, these young kids wanted to work and they were almost apologising for having to rely on the dole. Having never been unemployed I can only imagine how desperate they must have felt. This also makes me nostalgic as my Grandparents would all have been alive and I remember every summer seemed hot for months back then!

[@irene-jb7jc]

I remember world 🌍 in action I'm 52 nearly. It's not much better now.

[@ZeldaFitz]

I left school 10 years later in 1987, jobs everywhere by then. Eddie seems like a good bloke, I wonder what he is up to in 2020?

[@oktfg]

Filmed during 1976 when Labour was in power operating Keynesian spending programmes that caused economically damaging stagflation and situations of managed decline in Britain’s inner cities. The end of the video gives a brief glimpse of Prof Fred Ridley, who as head of Liverpool Uni’s political dept was a convinced Europeanist and deputy chair of the regions Manpower Services Commission where he baked-in his beliefs that Liverpool’s economy was to far gone - the situation so helpless that only radical utopian restructuring of the labour force was needed to manage the decline of the cities of the north. That in his view where doomed because the north was on the wrong side of the country far from European markets with tired old ports and obsolete industries that suffered low productivity. Thankfully his agenda of forcing Married women from the workplace. Capping Mens hours and youths working on collective farms was never realised. Liverpool was not deconstructed. Even though it was a Labour government who closed Triumphs brand new factory in Speke in 1978 causing the collapse of all its component suppliers in the area. Thatcher is nowadays conveniently blamed even though this video shows how a Labour government was stealing hope from the youth of northern cities and its primary decision makers, like prof Ridley had basically given up and run out of ideas.

[@boyfromblackstuff7859]

It's apparent the professor has never worked in the real commercial world nor run a business. He has some ridiculous ideas.

[@StephenGrew]

Yes I was a school leaver in 1977 and I was fortunate to find work, in a shop, then as a gardener for the lical council, and an apprentice for 3 and half years. But I needed to go my own way and started my own business in the 80's as a potter, tough working for one's self but really rewarding, I also fished, odd jobs. Then I pursued my ultimate aim to a full time musician in the 90's which is even tougher and nearing 65, and with the assistance of Tax Credits and a family to feed, we manage. However, what the future holds with an ever increasing machine motivated world, A I and the like, robots, it could be even more difficult to get jobs that are rewarding. I felt sorry for those young people back in the 70's.

[@annoyingbstard9407]

I wouldn’t worry. If you think back, computers were going to do away with clerical work. We now have more people than ever sitting in offices, staring at screens, doing Christ knows what but all apparently earning a nice living. The economists from the previous century are realising their theories (and that’s all they ever were) are totally wrong and just as traffic increases to fill the roads, jobs increase to fill the number wanting to work.

[@BML8384]

when you see how Bleak the 70s were you can really appreciate the optimism of the 80s.

[@NickSBailey]

They really weren't, not from how I remember it, and unemployment escalated in the 1980s.

[@rocksoliddude1]

80s were worse you dimwit it was the early 1990s where there was some decent opportunity and went down hill after that

[@dominewimbury9120]

William McLellan optimism?! Unemployment went through the roof in the eighties. Three million at least!

[@wake-and-ariseyou-workers890]

Your talking rubbish in 1980 there were over 3 Million unemployment ? What optimism do you mean the recession after recession and huge cuts on public spending and mass funding of tax payers money that went on public school boys leaving school and university into there banking futures . While the working classes had the YTS , like now one rule for the rich and one for working classes yes .

[@welshlad6427]

I loved the 80s ❤️

[@TheRattyBiker]

Job creation is great, it's a year better spent than on the dole and after that year when you go for an interview and they ask for experience instead of grades you can confidently list something off! Great idea.

[@keithparker1346]

It's better than nothing but still not a decent alternative to proper training

[@richardlaversuch9460]

And we all know, the unemployment problem got considerably worse in the early 1980s.

[@patrickmorrison6253]

thats why i left england in 1983 and never been on the dole sence then

[@adamhughes4442]

I got a job in an office weeks after finishing my exams in 1987.

[@johnoudot5915]

What great moral fibre and integrity these kids had. Nowadays they would not even get out of bed

[@AndrewMuschett]

Good to remind ourselves of ill prepared we were for our working lives back in the day nowadays we all have to more clued up and armed with extra curricular skills, rather than just rely on day to day education,it has never been enough to ensure a satisfying lifestyle or career path😊

[@bernardkelar6089]

I left School in December 1977 and one of the lucky ones. I hadn't an O'level but too late to get an apprenticeship.

[@ZeldaFitz]

School term ends August 31st, how come your school year finished in December?

[@oscargrainger2962]

@@ZeldaFitz There’s 2 leaving dates August and March. If you were an Easter leaver it meant you didn’t do any exams. If you left in December your parents had to sign a form saying you did not want to finish but you had to be 16 in the December, it’s exactly what I did.

[@edelgyn2699]

@@oscargrainger2962 In those days you could leave at the end of any term once you got to school leaving age, so three times a school year.

[@oscargrainger2962]

@@edelgyn2699 yeah that’s what I did, left at Easter. Couldn’t wait to get out and start earning. Lol

[@adamhughes4442]

Don't know why they had to film Eddie changing his trousers for an interview. Totally irrelevant! Wouldn't happen now!!!

[@RaphaelDawkinsCombatRadio]

Perhaps it was a female director.

[@mathewmeehan5553]

Poor buggers no wonder many ended up using drugs and drink depressing

[@terrystephens8603]

Left school 82 started on yts went around industrial estate to ask for work was very demoralising. Eventually got trade as butcher then joined army doing catering. Dont work in either field today but it did help for sure.

[@Àdhamh_Fife]

This programme was broadcast just before I was born. Fascinating. Wonder who the young people in this programme got on, especially Karen and Eddie.

[@crumplezone1]

I really hope those first two kids did alright as you can tell they would have been an asset to any company, I was lucky as I got a engineering apprenticeship and finished up with a life long career earning good money, now retired. best wishes to the 1978 cohort of leavers

[@b106dom1]

I left school 13th may 87 had no qualifications it took less than a week for me to get work lol well a YTS youth training scheme bricklaying for £27.50 pw upto £35 pw for two years then went into roofing done a load of other work currently working in construction operating telescopic forks Don’t give up people

[@gunner678]

Good for you!👍

[@xUzi786]

I left school in 2014 and ive been on zero hours contract since 2016 but I get paid a good hourly rate and I get decent hours every week thats why I stayed in that job.

[@annablue7457]

left school in 76 , not too bright at school , was on the dole for about 4 weeks , but got a job in Admin after about 4 interviews.

[@mistofoles]

"May I see your testimonials ?" "What, now ? Won't a picture do to start with??"

[@davidlawrence9091]

I manage to get a job in October of that year, despite leaving school in 1973. I had jobs between 1974-1975 and I had that break of good fortune in 1977.

[@wormsnake1]

I wonder what happened to the mixed race young man who featured in this video? So likeable and intelligent. I hope he found a way out. ❤️🙏.x

[@norman7527]

I left school in 1974 and found a poor paying job in the hospitality industry and eventually ended working in IT. Fast forward to 2024, frightening prospects for the majority of the UK office workforce once AI really kicks in

[@DavidHembrow]

The job creation scheme jobs are real jobs. Making toys for disabled children and decorating old people's homes are both extremely valuable for society. Both are more valuable than most government jobs.

[@stewartgreig3272]

Well said but once funding ran out that was the end of that. It's similar to up here in Scotland where a lot of companies were offered free rent and rates etc. on specially built industrial estates in order to attract employers and reduce unemployment. Once benefits ran out so did the companies. Back to square one.

[@margaretohara7250]

Would be interesting to hear how this lovely young man got a job. He seemed so eager to find work.

[@avalondreaming1433]

In the U.S. teenagers worked minimum wage jobs and lived with their parents. There was no dole for us. But crap jobs were and still are plentiful. The problem being you can't support yourself on it.

[@garethwilliams4467]

you're not suppose to support yourself on a MW job. THey are teenages, old people and students. If you're trying to survive on MW you are doing it wrong.

[@jamesjarrett52]

And yet people will still insist on telling you how wonderful things were in the past!

[@raywebster7405]

Yes but attitudes totally different today they don't want to work but want to reap as much benefits out of the system they can and moan that they can't manage they want it all and contribute absolutely nothing and they wonder why Britain is broken

[@tomroland5467]

The headmaster at the start John Morgan had it exactly right. I was at school leaving age in 1977. When I started secondary school there was a widely held belief that basic qualifications in maths and english would get you a job. By 1977 that was no longer true and kids with decent qualifications were finding it hard to get jobs. Many kids just gave up on school becuase they could no longer see the point in exams.

[@clivebaxter6354]

I spent years on the dole in the 70'/80's never did me any harm!

[@jaqulinerathbone296]

When they were both depressed looking for work, I was colouring in my garden, that's because I was just 6 then.

[@koont666]

I was 11 and making my action man pogo

[@tefllife2024]

In 1977 I was 3 and just learnt to use the toilet. Little did I know in my little world what problems people were going through.

[@jaqulinerathbone296]

@OLIVER M....yes there must have been middleaged people in1977 going through problems us 40s and 50s people are dealing with now. 10 years after this, in the late 80s i was working, but i found it easy to get work but that was because it was low skilled factories,barwork waitress...didnt have to compeate with "hard working" forigners then either.

[@tefllife2024]

@@jaqulinerathbone296 I'm happy I've always had work, even immediately after finishing school back in 1992. It's sad to see footage like this. These youngsters would be about 60 now. Hope they had a better life.

[@stephanblack4558]

When I was a lad I used to walk 67 miles to school and back with no shoes all up hill with the wind in my face, all I had to eat was bread and lard, I used to have to walk 43 miles a day to fetch water from the well, I had one penny to live on for a whole year and that was to feed me and 17 kids but it was a grand life back then, these folks today are to bloody soft.

[@keithparker1346]

Lol

[@mistofoles]

Kudos to Eddie for decidng to turn up at that guy's house in person, but he'd just missed the job - If he'd phoned earlier, he might have had a chance.

[@RaphaelDawkinsCombatRadio]

Lol, he did turn up earlier that agreed.

[@jamesdean1143]

Willie Whitelaw : “What shall we do with all these unemployed that we have created ?” Margaret Thatcher : “Let them claim benefits !” Imagine her, sitting at home, doing nothing ? She could never sit still.

[@algie-t2w]

How strange! none of them seem to have gone to Eton.

[@leod-sigefast]

Made for life if you are in the 'old boys network', as it ever has been. Raab, Hunt, Sunak, Johnson, Mogg will NEVER struggle for -work- income.

[@garethwilliams4467]

@@leod-sigefast it takes more than that. But you keep on blaming the 'system'.

[@user-rk3ub8yg2k]

Just listen to how intelligent the young person is compared to today!

[@aaarrrggghhhh]

I did a Youth Opportunity thing in 1982. It was pathetic. We were given safety boots, a donkey jacket and sat in a scout hut for a year and only did one garden in all that time.

[@jamiew1664]

im only 6 mins in... but, god bless you eddie.

[@gerrynicol3951]

The girl sitting at organ did the theme tune to the programme

[@hunterluxton5976]

The rejection in person seemed disingenuous by the employer.

[@mAiSiEbOOOO]

He seemed to be making up an excuse for not giving a black man an opportunity to fill the vacancy.

[@RaphaelDawkinsCombatRadio]

Yeah, I didn't believe him, I don't think Eddie did either.

[@gregwardnz]

​Don't assume this is a spontaneous encounter. The employer is taking part in a recreation for rhe benefit of the camera crew. This is why he is stiff and awkard. Hes acting it out. ​@@RaphaelDawkinsCombatRadio

[@ponyboycurtis3795]

Wow..look how fast young ladies matured back then..Karen only just left school and yet plays the organ well and holds a proper intelligent conversation like a proper adult..she looks and dresses and talks and acts like a real adult and all at around 17 years of age i would say..compare her to girls of a similar age nowadays and the immaturity levels..stark contrast...shame for the kid Eddie on 12 mins i think we can all agree the guy was lying and just didn't want a black kid working for him.

[@Sweet.G]

Job club was great, read the papers and free tea and toast, it was sad when you had to leave after 6 week. One week i apllied for about 20 jobs and didnt get one reply. We used to call the job center , the joke shop

[@gabbycattell9030]

would be awesome if they could track these people today see how the last 40 years has affected their life. i was lucky i left scholl in birmingham on the friday and started working the next monday albeit a training scheme but i had some pennys coming in,i got £23 a week for 35hrs good god

[@keithparker1346]

Also a comparison with being on the dole as a youngster nowadays would be good idea

[@albaproductions9602]

Careers office was a waste of time, Job centre too everyone I know got jobs by getting off their arses and going round businesses day in day out, others took cash in hand jobs some went to college and bettered themselves.

[@movesky6696]

careers office useless

[@velouris76]

Totally agree that careers office are a waste of time… That said, having been unemployed in the 1990’s, the days when you found a job physically going round businesses or factories and are long, long gone…it simply doesn’t work that way… Getting a job around that time involved a lot of phone calls, a lot of printing out letters and CVs, and a lot of posting…I’d say nowadays, access to the internet is an absolute necessity for anyone looking for any job…

[@anthonywalsh7613]

It was still the same in 82 when I left school

[@thesatisfiedcustomer4869]

Look at those dinosaur career bureaucrats.