What a week I have had. My world is still looking a little darker and just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse someone young shatters your world by being so unprepared for the real world of work it takes your breath away.
This individual has been given the opportunity of a lifetime in media terms, he was offered a traineeship with the BBC.
Now this is no mean feat, he managed to get on a course that people would walk over hot coals and then some to get on.
To make matters worse he then completes the first month in glorious fashion, he then goes to a three week work experience placement of which he completes two days and decides it is not for him and sacks the course off.
To me there are two significant issues with this, one he has denied someone else of this position on the course and two he thinks he will somehow be able to try again in the future.
Opportunities in life are to be grasped with both hands and completed successfully. These opportunities make you stand out from the crowd, this year another 2000 media students with come out of college without any work experience to talk about and this would have made his CV irresistible.
Put the BBC on your CV and the world is your oyster. It’s a little bit like convincing students that working at McDonalds is a good Idea, work for McDonalds for twelve months and you are almost guaranteed an interview.
It is as though we have bred a generation who expect to be a managing director straight out of college. It doesn’t happen, All opportunities happen because of hard work and being in the right place at the right time.
So ten years in the future when this individual realises that he could have put the BBC, the worlds greatest broadcaster on his cv but decided he didn’t think it was important, I can only hope he will look back and think, for the sake of three weeks I could have made myself irresistible to any media organisation on the planet.
Oh the impetuousness of youth!
John D Eccles 
What a wasted opportunity, and only with the arrogance of youth would you expect to get a second shot at it later on!
I worked in FE/apprenticeships for many years and the expectations of young people are so out of touch with reality but its not just the latest batch, its been going on for far too long. Having worked in skills training in South Africa for many years, I was shocked on my return to the UK to find in comparison a lot of British kids have no respect for education or educators.
Many think an apprenticeship means you do all the (perceived) nice jobs and don’t need to learn anything or put in any effort and a degree makes you special and you should earn unrealistic salaries without any effort or experience. Jobs fit around their non existent time management, they can arrive/leave when they like and can take off time without needing a reason. A late night or hangover entitles them to take it easy. They can use their phones and social media any time and take as many breaks as they want. They leave education without decent levels of the three R’s. They don’t think they need to spell, use grammar, reasoning, arithmetic or be articulate in their speech or writing.
There is little or no discipline or ethic taught at home and schools can’t control them because their powers have been eroded. No wonder so many teachers leave the field; teaching is a calling and we are losing too many teachers because they are demoralised, frightened and depressed.
Perhaps the BBC should put more effort into the selection process? maybe every short listed applicant needs to spend 2 days on the job before they decide who best deserves the job.