It has to be said that the easiest way to ruin my day was to get a call at 9AM, just after I had walked in and settled down with a cup of sludge that passes for coffee and have someone giving it, your this, your that, blah blah blah. Even though I was on the phones a goodly long time, that was the one thing that really pissed me off and I could never quite get to grips with it.
Also the logic of some people just amazes me, they work themselves up - and yes maybe they have a valid complain - but then to kick off down the phone that early in the day. Its not like its going to get resolved any quicker, in fact the angrier they were the longer it often took. (Simple logic they argue 20 mins on the phone, bending my ear about how bad I/the company/life is and so whilst I am stuck there trying at that early hour to be nice I am not actually getting much done with regard solving their problem.) Besides if anything is going to make me take my damn time is someone giving me an earbashing in the early AM, besides I am married and so don't need it outside of home.
Found this on Barking Moonbats, and it made me laugh so figured that it was worthy of a post.
And another good one from the same site, not so good but again worthy of a post.
Finally I found this in the Guardian and as I am in a lazy mood and cant be bothered to set a link thing up, I have copied it. Its about how kids are not prepared for the world of work. Well no shit, it was an eye opener for me. Suddenly realising that I had to work in order to get money, and thus pay bills and afford stuff. Damn well wish I could go back to getting pocket money again!
Schools 'failing to prepare' students for workplace
Donald MacLeod
Monday June 13, 2005
Nearly half of working people in their 20s said their education had not prepared them well enough for their first job, according to a poll by the schools inspectorate, Ofsted.
Ofsted's poll found that 53% of working adults aged between 20 and 30 said they were well-prepared for their first job, while 45% said they were not. Three fifths (60%) of interviewees said they were well-prepared for work in general - and less than two fifths felt they were not.
Two thirds of those polled felt more could have been done to prepare them for the world of work, with 23% suggesting they would have benefited from more work experience and 8% believing that more vocational training would have been useful.
While around 80% of those polled felt that their education provided them with good numeracy and literacy skills, nearly 50% thought their education did not put enough emphasis on attention to detail, meeting deadlines and team working.
Those interviewed were more positive about their preparation for general working life and graduates were more positive than those who had left education between 16 and 21.
Ofsted said today that the survey showed young people believed employers had a strong part to play in developing the skills needed for a job. They felt their education equipped them well in basic literacy skills but not well enough in areas such as problem solving.
Ofsted's director of corporate services, Robert Green, said today: "Businesses need employees with a 'can-do' attitude, a willingness to take on responsibility, a creative and innovative approach to solving problems and the ability to cope with uncertainty. The question is how do we ensure young people develop these skills?"
Attempts to give 14 to 16-year olds more vocational courses in colleges and work-based training have proved very popular but have been plagued with truancy as teenagers move between schools, colleges and companies, reported Ofsted, in its first full report on the government's increased flexibility programme (IFP), which has been trialled for two years.
"Attendance in the lessons observed on out-of-school programmes has declined over the two years and is well below that in secondary schools as a whole, the report said.
"Attendance varies, depending on the provider: the worst attendance rate being at colleges, where it has fallen to only 68%. However, this figure includes days missed due to activities back at school, such as mock GCSE examinations, about which colleges have not been notified in advance," reported Ofsted.
Overall attendance on the trial schemes had fallen from 87% to 75%, the report said.
However the programme has led to more young people continuing in education, according to Ofsted - encouraging news for the government, which wants to extend the scheme throughout England to offer vocational education to young people who are turned off by academic GCSEs and A-levels.
Schools are criticised in the report for not sharing information with colleges and business partners and for failing to monitor the progress of pupils on programmes outside the school.
In the second year of the programme a large number of colleges were reaching capacity in several vocational areas and had to restrict the places available to 14 to 16-year-old learners. This was particularly the case in motor vehicle, hair and beauty, and construction, all of which were very popular, said Ofsted.
The report added: "Links between schools and employers have been enhanced as a result of IFPs. However, schools could do far more to prepare students for work experience and make better links between their experiences on placements and their studies at school."
And another copy and paste job. Those anti poverty wristbands that everyone and their cat are wearing "not" as a fashion item to show genuine concern and all that, well it seems that they are being made in sweatshops.
From Scotsman.com — Anti-poverty wristbands produced in sweatshops
FASHIONABLE wristbands worn by pop stars, actors, top athletes and celebrities to publicise the Make Poverty History campaign are produced in appalling “slave labour” conditions, damning evidence has revealed.
Chinese factory workers producing the white rubber bracelets are forced to toil in conditions that violate Chinese law and the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) set up to establish international standards for working conditions.
And what might those conditions be?
According to a report on the Tat Shing Rubber Manufacturing Company in Shenzhen, near Hong Kong, dated 12 April 2005, the company uses “forced labour” by accepting “financial deposits” from new workers - against both Chinese law and the ETI.
The report also revealed a category of weaknesses including inadequate health and safety provision, lengthy hours, seven-day weeks, employees cheated of their pay, inadequate insurance, no annual holidays and no right to freedom of association.
(Still it all go's towards stamping out poverty I suppose, unless your a Chinese worker with no rights that is... Ok I got to say it as its been bugging me about those bands: What fucktard wears them anyway? Now me I give money to this and that cause, thats my business and I keep it private. A large part is about massageing the old ego, giving it look at me, I give to charity, am I cool or what. Hears an idea, try putting some money in the collecting tin. Is it cool? No, Will anyone ask you about it weeks later? No, but at least you helped and not added to the consumerist crap filling up the planet, as well as the woes of poorly paid Chinese workers.)
And so I get to the end, and here is a joke I found on b3ta I think? So bad taste I had to put this on...
Ok check out my wind up at www.jessicamorden.blogspot.com/
Apparently Keyra Agustina has been a bit of a minor interweb star and everyone has been raving about her rather nice looking arse. And I thought that all South America gave the world was cheap plonk and Inca relics! I stand corrected.
In fact she has the approval of everyone.
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