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berylghotmailcom's latest comments
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15th Nov 2017berylghotmailcom commented on:
How easy is it really to get a job when you're over 50?I’m confused; I’m a female born in 50’s post war Britain, a child of the 60’s, a generation that was encouraged to invest in pension schemes to work and play hard, with the promise that our lives would be better than those of our parents, amongst those promises was a longer healthier life, a shorter working week and an earlier retirement age. As a female the contraceptive pill brought my generation freedom from the fear of unplanned and unwanted pregnancy. Myself; I have been in full-time employment from the age of 16, (I’m now in my early 60’s) when I started work at 16 I was looking at a retirement age of 60 I am now looking at another 7 years, I learnt to drive as soon as I was able I own a car, I’ve travelled the globe, I’ve enjoyed fulfilling relationships and a happy marriage (although now widowed). I’ve brought and paid for my own home, I was a victim of the 70’s and the 90’s recessions made redundant in both, I am in work although earning around £12,000 less than I did in the 90’s, my husband and I chose not to have children and until their deaths my siblings and I looked after and cared for sick aging parents. Am I unusual, well maybe not the norm for my generation but I’m not alone, I know several women whose stories could mirror mine own; one very close to me, who now 60 and finds herself redundant for the third time in five years, on her own with a mortgage in need of help and advice. So what help is available in this time of need, almost nothing; all she is entitled to it the basic job seekers allowance a little over £70 per week, ah you might say she must has savings no she does not, for 13 weeks all she is entitled to is job seekers allowance at the end which she may be entitled to a little help towards the interest on her mortgage. So please explain how she is supposed to LIVE? wait until she’s unable to pay the bills lose her home which she has worked long and hard for, get thrown out on the street put up in B&B until perhaps the local authority or housing trust rehome her. Maybe then she would be able to claim all these benefits that at the moment as a lifelong contributor to this country she doesn’t appear to be entitled to (unless you can advise differently). Perhaps a trip to the job centre (that’s a misnomer) they are an absolute joke this lady has been there asking for help/advice perhaps additional training all they are interested in is paperwork making sure you are searching and applying for jobs and completing a daily diary of your searches for them to check (pathetic). This woman has over 40 years commercial experience and applies for work on a daily basis yet is offered few interviews and little to no feedback. Employment agencies don’t put her forward for positions because they say she has ‘too much experience’ even though she would be more than happy to do some of these jobs, she believes (I’m inclined to agree) this is a euphemism for your too old but how do you prove it. So how do the people you see on the TV, hear on the radio and read about in the newspapers make a career out if being unemployed and have a much better life than myself and this woman? Through the media we hear the government placing a great deal of emphasis on the 18-24 year old unemployed but what about the other end of the age spectrum who the government are expecting to work longer and longer, it seems we are the forgotten generation, we did everything that was expected of us and more, we dared to make a better life for ourselves have a better standard of living than our parents. My generation dared to move from factory floor manufacturing into the digital computerized age, did we try too hard, achieve too much, become too independent, that’s certainly what it feels like. Would this woman be in a better position now if she had not taken contraception seriously and had a multiple of children via numerous partners and rarely if ever worked and relied on the state for everything for the last 40 years, again looking at reports in the media one might possibly say yes.