Andrew Dickens: Give the jobs to the kids

Suddenly it’s tough to get a job. 

Which is amazing, because just a few years ago we had jobs for everyone and then some. 

Now we learn teenagers in search of their first job are struggling to land anything in the current employment market - some searching for as long as two years. 

And you can see why. 

In tough times you need experienced workers, and with so many experienced workers losing their jobs there is suddenly a cohort of older workers who are taking the jobs the youngsters used to get. 

And you can’t blame the older guys. You need to ditch your humility and concentrate on cashflow to survive in 2025. 

But the older generation is feeling the heat too. 

Old workers are finding it harder and harder.  They may have the knowledge but bosses younger than them wonder about how many years they can give to the company, particularly when the super looms, the kids have left, and the mortgage is paid. 

It’s said that we need to be a meritocracy again. Hire the best person for the job. Ditch the DEI.  You know the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion – the stuff that's seen as a pretension. 

So, if that’s an anathema then surely we should be hiring the experienced guys even if they can only give five years, and we should be hiring the kids who, with a bit of investment, will pay their way back for 25 years. 

The real endangered class should be the middle management who seem to always be looking for reasons not to hire a person. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Suddenly it is tough to get a job, which is
quite amazing really, because you may remember a few years
ago we had jobs for everyone, and then some we
had to import people left, right and center. But now
it's tough, and yesterday we learned that teenagers in search
of their first job are struggling to land anything in
the current employment market, and some are searching for as
long as two years. It must be heartbreaking. You can

(00:20):
see why we has been talking about it with Jeremy before.
In tough times you need experienced workers, and with so
many experienced workers losing their jobs, saying, there's a whole
cohort of older workers floating around. They're taking the jobs
the youngsters used to get, and you can't blame those
older guys. You need to ditch your humility and concentrate
on cash flow to survive in twenty twenty five. We
all need money. I'll take a job that's below me.

(00:42):
But the older generation is also filling the heat. Old
workers are finding it harder and harder too. They may
have the knowledge, but boss is younger than them. Sit
there and wonder how many years have you got left
in you? How many years can you give the company
the souper is looming, the kids have left home, the
mortgage is paid. You want to go fishing day? Do
you know what? I might not put my money on you.

(01:03):
It's said that we need to be a meritocracy again.
It said that these days we need to hire the
best person for the job. Ditch the DEI you know,
the diversity, equity and inclusion. Find the best person for
the job, no matter how old or young they are.
Surely we should be hiring the experienced guys, even if
they can only give five years, because they are experienced.

(01:24):
And surely we should be hiring the kids because they
are a great investment. They will pay their way back
to you for the next twenty five years. So here's
the message to middle management in these tough times. I
go for an old guy or a young guy. Those
guys in the middle not so sure. For more from
Early Edition with Ryan Bridge, listen live to News Talks

(01:45):
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