Things You Should Probably Have An Opinion On: Esther McVey

In her first column of the new term, Fran Lowe discusses Empl0yment Minister Esther McVey.

Hers is a name that you may well have heard being bandied about on social media over the last few days. Here’s why: Esther McVey is Employment Minister, and in a recent interview with The Daily Mail she spoke out and said that the unemployed youth of today should be prepared to take entry level jobs. Apparently, we should all stop moaning and “get a job in Costa”.

To a certain, very small extent, I can almost see where she is coming from. She is right in that it is highly unlikely that when we graduate we will walk straight into our dream job the following Monday. There is always going to be that awkward time of interning, finding work experience, and thrashing out job application after job application, and that time will need funding. Personally, I have no doubts that when the time comes, I will fund it by working in a coffee shop.

However, this is much easier said than done. Clearly, McVey has never tried to get a job in a coffee shop. I can smugly admit that it will be easier for me than for others: the version of my CV that I use for part-time jobs has the words “2011-2014: Caffè Nero” in big letters at the top. If and when I am an unemployed graduate, I know that this will make it significantly easier for me to do exactly what McVey wants me to do, and get a job in Costa. They’ve been trying to poach me for years.

Esther McVey
Image Credit- REX

However, there is something crucial that McVey seems to have forgotten: that kind of job is very highly sought-after. In the Mail’s article, they mention that one Costa shop in Nottingham received over 1,700 applications for 8 jobs. My own experience in recruiting staff has been similar: I would say I take at least 15 CVs a week, and if there’s no relevant experience, I hate to say it, but that CV goes straight in the shredder. There are just too many applications to even read them all properly. McVey seems to think it is the easiest thing in the world to walk into a job in a coffee shop. The reality is that even that kind of job, the job that no one even really wants to do, is still hard to lay your hands on.

McVey appears to have the common misunderstanding that all unemployed people are lazy- a view not at all aided by a lot of what we have been seeing on Channel 4’s Benefits Street. It looks like the argument about whether or not benefits claimants are really just scroungers is really coming to the fore, and with her comments about unemployed youth, McVey has put herself right in there. Whether or not she is just playing politics and has done this deliberately to try and raise her profile remains to be seen, but what is instantly evident is that McVey has no comprehension of what it is like to be unemployed, and to repeatedly have your applications rejected and your CV ignored.

But, not only is McVey’s view unrealistic, it is also unfair. When we graduate, after three or more years of hard work and stress all in pursuit of a good job at the end of it, we apparently should not be disappointed if we end up working in Costa. We should be satisfied to be going in at entry level so we can work our way up- one day, we could be managers! Because making coffee is exactly what I want to do for the rest of my life! McVey would argue that is just me being a “job snob”, aiming too high and being too ambitious.

All this is really very disheartening. It hearkens back to a few months ago, when someone very close to me was struggling to find graduate work and was told, by someone very close to them, to accept that they would just work in a coffee shop for the rest of their lives, because it was all they would ever achieve, despite their top degree from a top university. Many tears had to be mopped up, and much encouragement given. A few months later when that elusive grad job was landed, many words had to be eaten. But essentially Esther McVey is saying exactly the same thing. Is there anything more soul-destroying?

Image Credit- Alamy

It’s as though all those years of being told by your parents, your school, and now the university, to be as ambitious as you can be, and that we can be anything we want, have been snatched away from us. McVey even goes so far as to state that “[we] are dealt the cards [we] are dealt, and [we] have to make the best of that. That is life”. I may be reading too much into this, but is it not implied that there are some of us lucky enough to be born to go to Oxford and become a Tory Prime Minister, and there are some of us who might aspire to managing a branch of Costa? Apparently, being over ambitious is not the way forward, and instead we should be realistic. I’d like to see the faces on a classroom full of small children if she goes in there and tells the ones that want to be doctors that they might one day drive past a hospital, or the ones that want to be actresses that they will almost certainly wait on tables for the rest of their days. Our heady days of aspiration are over.

What’s more, I can firmly remember being told when tuition fees were raised to £9,000 a year that doing a degree was still worth it, because of the better job prospects at the end. The government spouted figures at us about how much more we were going to earn with a degree; how much further on we would be by the age of 30 than those without degrees; how £27,000 wasn’t extortionate. All of that seems to have been forgotten: we may as well have just got a job in Costa all along. Two years in, I might have been an assistant manager by now.

All my life I have been told that going to university and getting a good degree would give me so many more job prospects, and that I could therefore afford to be more ambitious. I consider ambition a good thing, but it seems Esther McVey disagrees. Maybe I should just make the most of the cards I was dealt when I was born, and accept the fact that because I went to a state school in a town with the wrong kind of reputation, I will never get that dream job. The £27,000 that my degree is costing me might well turn out to be a complete waste of money.

As utterly demoralising as McVey’s words are, I am aware that there are plenty of people who will agree with her, and that my view is only so outspoken because I am an unapologetic leftie. It’s probably true that there are some unemployed young people out there who could be trying harder, and maybe they should try and get a job in Costa. A lot of this also comes down to the immigration argument: perhaps things might be easier if there were less migrants getting these jobs, freeing up vacancies for our home-grown unemployed. But the reality is, Costa is going to employ the best staff it can find, and I honestly don’t mind if my cappuccino is made by someone from Portsmouth or Poland, as long as it’s a decent cappuccino. It comes down to qualifications and experience, not what it says on your passport.

I think the best response to people like McVey is to fight back. If we let her words discourage us, believing that after years spent in the library slaving over essays and revision, we will still just end up working in Costa, that’s likely to be what will happen. Myself, I would quite like to be able to say in five years’ time “Look, Esther McVey, look how wrong you were.” Ambition is healthy, and McVey isn’t going to make me lose mine.

Fran Lowe, Features Columnist

Work Experience? Why Not?

Considering work experience? Charlotte Trefusis tells you why it’s a VERY good idea…

University flies by, and the job search looms. It is therefore so important to make the most of the free time that you currently have, especially in your amazingly long summer holidays. Three months can easily be wasted, or put to good use through work experience and internships. These allow you to enhance your CV, gain transferable skills, impress a potential future employer, and have an opportunity to explore different job options.

Image Credit: Niklas Rahmel

It is widely accepted that having a degree is no longer enough to impress when applying for jobs. You cannot rely on Exeter’s reputation as a highly ranked university to propel you into a ‘dream job’, so additional ways to stand out compared to the other applicants are certainly needed.

A CV is effectively putting your life onto one page, and presenting yourself to a potential employer. If they like what they see, you may progress to the next stage, but a recruiter looks at a CV on average for eight seconds. These eight seconds need to count! An impressive internship or work placement may make all the difference, and allow your CV to be picked out from amongst your competition.

However it is not just about adding an impressive line to your CV. Transferrable skills, such as time-management, leadership, teamwork, attention to detail, and so on, can be applied to every aspect of life. They will help you in interviews and in the wider world of work. You can also learn a lot about yourself and what you do and do not like. This summer, I was an intern for a newspaper in London, and I loved the fast-paced and thriving environment. I was able to compare this internship with previous work experience in a smaller and more personable company. I enjoyed both environments, but found that I was better suited to the smaller team and office.

I have found that internships can be intimidating at the start, as you are propelled into an established and often pressured working environment. I have also learnt that what you wear can often form people’s opinion of you. My boss at the newspaper company told me that, for a girl, the moment that your skirt goes from above the knee to being knee length is when you go from student to professional. I was treated well by the company, but it is worth being aware that some businesses can take advantage of interns, especially those who are not being paid. By law, if an intern is counted as a worker, they must be paid minimum wage. So be aware of your rights!

Some summer internships enable you to come back to university with a firm job offer, taking off a massive load of pressure for your final year. But, even if this is not the case, you may have impressed a future employer and you never know who may remember you. It is such a great way to build contacts, and to network. Anyone who is interested in business should look at getting a LinkedIn profile, which is effectively the professional version of Facebook!

Image Credit: EG Focus

However, one of the best things about work experience is that you can get a sense of what you might eventually like to do, without the commitment and pressure of a job contract. You can sample different career options, and ask all the questions that a fixed employee would look stupid asking! Work experience allows you to learn how to behave and thrive in your chosen place of work, and this can make a massive difference to what you ultimately decide to do. Through different placements, I have gained an awareness of what I do not enjoy, as well as the aspects of a job that I do.

So definitely consider getting work experience in the holidays. If you can juggle a job, volunteering or work experience in term-time around your degree, then go for it! But do not compromise your studies, as they ultimately form the foundation of your experience to an employer. It is about creating the balance, and managing your time wisely. Many schemes and placements for next summer require you to apply before Christmas, so get planning!

Charlotte Trefusis

Summer Recruitment Fair begins

Image credit: University of Exeter

Career Zone is holding its Summer Recruitment Fair this Wednesday, 15 May, in The Forum from 1:00-3:30 p.m.

Students are not required to book and all are welcome to attend.

The fair will feature a range of exhibitors from a variety of sectors including Dell, Johnson & Johnson Ltd. and Teach First. They will promote graduate vacancies, summer internships, and casual summer and part-time jobs.

Students will also be able to browse a range of employability training opportunities and attend a CV clinic run by Career Zone.

The event is sponsored by JMC Recruitment Solutions, a leading recruitment company for the aviation, rail and automotive industries.  Full details of all exhibitors are listed in the brochure.

Career Zone is Exeter University’s career and employability service. The Summer Recruitment Fair is Exeter’s final recruitment fair of the academic year. Further information on the regular services and support Career Zone provide for Exeter students can be found on their website.

Olivia Luder, Site Manager

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NUS President claims "real triple dip recession" involves opportunities, jobs and prospects

Image credit: The Guardian

NUS President Liam Burns told students at the annual NUS conference in Sheffield yesterday that they face a three-pronged attack on their futures, with the UK economy edging towards a triple dip recession.

Amongst the 1,000 delegates were five Exeter representatives, including outgoing President Nick ‘Welshy’ Davies.

Burns told the congregation that “the real triple dip recession” facing young people is a lack of “opportunities, jobs and prospects.”

Labelling the job market an “abyss” for young people, he said:

“The current youth jobs crisis is not simply a recessionary ‘blip’ but a long-term and deep seated problem. Our labour market is failing to deliver economic prosperity, social justice and wellbeing for the majority.”

Youth unemployment in Devon has risen gradually for the past three months, though there was a marginal decline for the same statistics in Exeter alone.

Nationally, figures are more disheartening, with 672,000 16-24 year olds remaining unemployed and 1.62 million 18-24 year olds “economically inactive.”

Alongside warning against a looming “summer of misery,” which is likely to see youth unemployment pass 1 million nationally, Burns told the conference that the NUS needed to make greater gender equality another priority.

Despite criticising government initiatives such as the trebling of tuition fees and scrapping of EMA, he also stressed the need for realistic campaigns.

The three day conference will see national issues debated and a new NUS committee elected. No Exeter affiliated students are standing.

Fresh leadership will come as a relief to some, many of whom hold the incumbent President responsible for the Demo2012 protest, which was widely deemed shambolic. 

As such, delegates will be disappointed that the event has not receive more widespread publicity thus far, in the wake of Margaret Thatcher’s death; the news of which sparked controversial cheers from some delegates. 

Even with limited media coverage, Burns will nonetheless hope that his words can influence the body’s agenda in the coming months and galvanise the membership into making a significant impact upon government policy.

Harrison Jones, Online News Editor

Protest on Tremough campus

A recent FX protest march through Falmouth. (photo: Flex)

Students and staff based on the Tremough campus are protesting against Falmouth University’s decision to transfer the contracts of 130 members of Academic and Support staff to a private company owned by Falmouth and the University of Exeter, known as FX Plus. This is the first time that a UK university has transferred its entire Student Support service to an external company.

The employees at the University, which gained full university status in December, work in a variety of student support roles, including Library and IT Services, academic skills assistants and disability support teams. Their new roles within FX Plus will mean that they are no longer entitled to receive pay in line with national standards, since university-owned subsidiaries such as FX Plus are allowed to operate outside these pay scales.

One member of staff at Falmouth, who did not wish to be named, told Times Higher Education that a librarian newly recruited to FX Plus could be paid as much as £5,000 a year less than staff moving over from Falmouth.

“That is a very significant amount when you are on the lower end of the pay scale,” she said.

In a statement on behalf of FXU (Falmouth and Exeter Students’ Union), Falmouth President Scott Pearson said: “We have been assured by both Falmouth University and Falmouth Exeter Plus that there will be no adverse effect on the delivery of services to students”, while FX Plus Chief Executive Niamh Lamond has assured staff that their contracts will not be altered.

Speaking to Flex, Falmouth University’s student newspaper, a member of the FX Protest who wished to remain anonymous said of FX Plus: “It’s not directly accountable to the students in the way a University is. Our concern is that it takes away that accountability.”

The falmouthexeterprotest website has also expressed concerns over the move, as staff will potentially be linked to regional pay scales in Cornwall, one of the poorest counties in England, rather than the national scales to which they were previously associated. They claim that the move will disadvantage students undertaking Higher Education in Cornwall, as they believe that a lower pay scale will reduce institutions’ capacities to attract the best applicants for their job roles.

The protestors have said on their website that “there has been no clear argument or evidence presented to us that demonstrate how [the outsourcing] will improve services. We know that no alternative models have been looked at and staff have not been consulted on the decision making process.”

News of this protest comes amidst a national backdrop of university privatisation controversies, after 400 students at Sussex University protested against the outsourcing of catering and support staff earlier this year, with 200 students occupying a lecture theatre.

Owen Keating, News Editor 

 

Gender Inequality, are we really helping things?

Photo credits to Phil of Photos

Picture this: A small IT firm set up in Exeter employs four people and due to growing demand for its technical products is looking to employ a fifth member. This will be a skilled job and will require some training, and the interview process has narrowed down the candidates to a 28 year old man and a 28 year old woman with identical skills and potential; who does the firm pick?

Much has been done in terms of employment law in the past decade to address the inequality, both in wages and in treatment between the genders. However, much of the legislation has proved counter-productive and often harmful to prospective female workers, especially for those employed in small businesses. Consider the case of maternity leave. An employer has to pay six weeks of 90% pay and then up to another thirty three of £135.45 a week (or 90% still whichever is lower) for an employee who during that time contributes £0 to the company. That can mean thousands of pounds shelled out to an employee while in the meantime a replacement has to be found. A worker to cover the lost manpower is often very difficult to recruit as the work is only to be for a short period of time and especially for skilled jobs this is often both difficult and expensive.

Furthermore, many women lose the willingness to go back to work and want to stay with their child; while the company’s outlay on maternity pay will be decreased, the disruption of their long term plans is not healthy for business plans. For men, paternity pay can be an inconvenience, but as it only lasts two weeks, the impact on the business is minimal. For large companies employing thousands of workers, the small numbers on leave at any one time, providing they are not in important areas, will have much less effect, but for a small business, especially in harsh times, this can prove catastrophic. So, back to Exeter’s IT firm: why should they employ the woman?

Benjamin Blackford