"Y
ou don't expect to be set up in a
coach and six, and to be fed on turtle soup and
venison, with a gold spoon, as a good many
of 'em do!" –Charles Dickens, Hard Times
No, nobody who is unemployed expects turtle soup, let
alone a gold spoon, but is interesting work too much
to ask? In today's tight job market, when we speak of
vocational training, all too often we forget that vocation
means calling, work that is deeply and intensely related
to one's own talents and interests, as well as the need
to earn a living.
In the U.K., under the aegis and educational activities
of the Prince's Trust, young unemployed people, aged
18-30, some of them ex-offenders, are encouraged to
learn skills that match their personal gifts, and in many
cases to start their own businesses. Even younger
people, beginning at age 13, who are at risk for truancy,
exclusion and underachievement, are encouraged,
through participation in the Prince's Trust xl clubs, to
have a say in their education and to cultivate skills,
confidence and motivation.
HYLAND
