Millions of jobs are going unfilled because the millions of unemployed don’t have the requested skills.
Quintile Polydactyly
Ted Rall
Ted Rall is a syndicated political cartoonist for Andrews McMeel Syndication and WhoWhatWhy.org and Counterpoint. He is a contributor to Centerclip and co-host of "The Final Countdown" talk show on Radio Sputnik. He is a graphic novelist and author of many books of art and prose, and an occasional war correspondent. He is, recently, the author of the graphic novel "2024: Revisited."
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Tell me about it! Unemployed for the second time in three years, I recently had a Job Search Review (part of getting unemployment benefits where I live). The woman, who meets with 30 or so unemployed folk a week, said that my resume was good, my experience impressive, and my job in demand. But what I hear from employers is, “You don’t have experience in the latest version of Access/SAP/etc” (apparently, in spite of two B.A.s I’m incapable of learning some small portion of a new position), and the like. Some employers are notorious (one large employer in my area particularly so)… even if Congress isn’t going to extend UI benefits, they could give tax incentives or something for hiring the unemployed. It’s quite clear they don’t care – they haven’t shown any real evidence of that since this most recent crisis began.
In my experience having a B.A. is a godsend of getting a job, even if its low paying, some jobs you can qualify by virtue of having a B.A. even if the area you studied has nothing to do with anything, over people who have actual experience in the field. From a making money stand point its the best decision i ever made, from a learning actual skills standpoint.. not so much.
The job market is one big racket. If they want to hire you, they will; if they don’t they won’t. That whine about inability to find a qualified person is pure bullshit, especially with the un- and underemployed being comprised of millions of people with experience and education in all fields, including high tech. Many employers use that lie because they don’t want to pay well for said experience/education (or, if applicant is black and qualified, doesn’t want to hire him/her). This allows them to get govt to issue more HB1 visas to hire foreigners for less money/benefits.
As for a B.A. being a godsend to getting a job, it’s 50/50. Employers also use the “overqualified” excuse to not hire as well. This excuse is used even when person is recently degreed, young, and lacks work experience. To add salt to wounds, now some employers won’t hire people who’ve been laid off or unemployed for a long time. In addition, employers are using credit checks to disqualify potential hires. If the job doesn’t involve handling money, why is this an issue? Given the economic times, it’s no surprise that some job seekers’ credit might be damaged to due loss of job or illness. Why put a scarlet letter on someone for this? They need work to earn money and rebuild their credit. This here USofA is something else. If the govt isn’t screwing you over, some corporation is.
The first time I went to college, I worked full-time and carried a less-than-full class load each term, so that I could afford to do even that, without miring myself in debt. While it kept me in class– as well as housed and fed– this strategy left me with no energy or time to actually excel in my classes or my work. When that became unsustainable, I dropped out and took a series of internships and dead-end semi-skilled service jobs.
After ten years, I went back to college to finish my BA, and now every opening in my field demands three years or more (five is most common) of experience. I wonder how people become “experienced” when experience is a prerequisite to get started. Also, after studying for two years to become employable (see above), the State won’t help me, sine I haven’t worked in over 18 months. Instead, I took extra grants to live on, as well as cover books and tuition, so that I could actually focus on studying (imagine that).
And then, just to twist the knife, when I go back to applying for the very jobs I went back to school to not have to do anymore (unskilled, entry level, non-professional), THEY want two, three years experience to wait tables, *bus* tables, if you can believe that, even to wash m@$%f*&%ing dishes!
I suspect the “overqualified” thing has something to do with employers’ concern that such a one would split the minute something that better matches her/his level of experience/training, leaving them short-handed once again. This assumes, of course, that the employer isn’t merely using the term as a euphemism for “I don’t want your kind stinking up the joint.”