Work hard lads

[Jim Brady]

As it was before these high fees came in kids were going to uni for a bit of a jolly I think,some of the things that they were taking was ridiculous and believe it or not uni's were teaching these stupid courses it was just unbelievable just what you could take.Maybe African Face Mask's but most common Media Studies whats that all about.Another good one was Sociology,I was in a pub in Liverpool near the uni all the students used to drink there,pubs by uni's never have toilet rolls because the student nick them to take back to their flats.So they had the loo paper that came out one piece at a time (the shiny stuff) some wag had written above the toilet roll dispenser Degree's in Sociology please take one,thats what they are worth!!!!!
Regards
Jim.B.

[Rodney Mills]

My friends ex-wife's doctoral thesis was "Left-handed calligraphers from Herot", which ment the right-handers had already been written about.

Cheers, Rodney

[Les Woodard]

Rodney they did that here in Oz years ago saying that it was going to be a level playing field concening tariffs. Guess who was the only team to turn up for the game.

Here we go? Years ago.

Could start a job and work your way to become manager of the place

Could join the union and move up to become one of the leaders of that union

Could become a memeber of a political party and work your way up to become at least a minister if not prime minister.

All of the above and more have ceased because having someone with a degree would mean that they knew more than the common bloke and we would be better of.

Today

Most places have shut down because of mismanagment and corruption

Union's have gone to the pack because leaders are more concerned about revenue and furthering their own carrer prospects than looking after members.

Become a member of a political party and the faceless men of that party make sure your voice is not heard if it does not agree with policy.

Anyone notice a common thread running through all of this. My veiw has always been that the more educated that you become the narrow one's overall outlook also becomes. Where the average person who has to have many skills to survive will have a broader outlook on life hence have a wider vision of life than the professional. That is why we are in so much **** worldwide. Like the old indian treaty of years ago. When there are no more indians around. Who needs chiefs.

[happy daze john in oz]

Recall my days at the UNI as an admin officer. Studenst taking all manner of degrees that in the end were hardly worth the paper written on. Apply for a position and present your degrees, told very good what experienece do you have? Get the experience then you eill get the position, but if you cannot get the position you cannot get the experience. Wwe have taxi drivers here in Melbourne with doctorates in such obscure subjects that no one wants them. A piece of paper might lok geat at an interview but it does not mean you can do the job.
Incedently saw a bit in UK Mail, during the Jubille some apprentices were used to assist with the set up of much of the inrastuctue and were paid just 2.80 per hour!

[Bob Petty]

Spent all my working life in the building industry,from 1970 on to my retirement.
Tin shed to change in, along with the jackhammers, crowbars, bags of cement and the like, a cold water tap in the corner of the site to wash up at the end of the day.
No paid public holidays, compo that ran out after a few weeks,(that was if the company had paid it)
Daily hire, no super, as for safety, forget that, death on a job in Sydney weekly, shall I go on.
The employer wants to go back to the good old days (good for him)
The working man has the right to collective bargaining under the United Nations human rights conventions. May I recommend some reading material, Bertolt Brecht, when you have finished , I can recommend any number of books, that may be of use to you.

[Les Woodard]

Can recall those days as well as I was into steel erection. No ladders or safety harness. Running purlins out at the end of the job. Nothing like being up in the air standing on a podger waiting for a beam to swing into place to pin bolt it was there. Safety gear? What safety gear. Sandshoes, shorts, shirt and a bloody big belt with all sorts of gear attached to it plus a bolt bag. Bob it was rough for sure mate but be honest we had a bloody ball doing it did we not. No safety nets then either physically or financial and we survived. Worked for Hornibrooks in Sydney and a few other small builders so we where both around to understand how the BLF worked. Did you like me also work out bush for a while as I found that as close to being back at sea as I could for mateship.

[Captain Kong]

Hi Les I did Steel erecting when I came ashore for a spell when I got married in 1962,
As you say, no Safety regs. in those days, No ladders , climb up the stantions, knees on the inside feet on the outside and then shin up 50 feet or so. run along the beams, no safety nets over a concrete floor way below.
No harness, no safety boots or gloves, No safety helmets.
Tommy Jackson carried his bolts in his jacket pockets and these fell out like rain drops as he crawled across the beams.
When we were building a big Paper Machinary Factory with overhead cranes. Had to leap out of way when he was bolting up. One day I was below him and was making up a sling of Purlins, when he dropped his podger, I had just bent down as it hit me in my back ,dropping me to the deck, fortunately spanner end first, if it was sharp end it would have gone right through me. I had to go to the hospital and had four broken ribs.
Just had the weekend off, no sick pay then. I crushed my foot another time as a beam that was being made up in a sling fell on my foot. just wearing canvas shoes. Injury not too bad, just black toe nails and a bit of blood. There were many near misses.
On the next job, Sheffield Power Station, a big High one over one hundred feet , Tommy took a dive and landed on his head on the concrete base. it was instantanious. We just had a morning off for the funeral and then back on the job. I enjoyed the job, the only shore job that I could relate to close to seafaring.
Then in the coldest winter in 1962/3 we were laid off until the following spring. so had to find another job and then later went back to sea.
Cheers
Brian.

[Les Woodard]

Must have had big bloody pockets is all I can say as we used to have a sack hanging from our belt so that we did not have to replemish our stock so much. Besides that would slow one down with not many bolts to pin the steel with. Had a foreman up in Bouganville that we nicknamed Judas. Told us that if we could erect thirty bits of steel that we could knock of for the day. Well we did it and he did not come to the party so hence the nickname. But yes it was a closest that I ever got to being back at sea probably because you had to rely on your mate for your own safety and vis versa. Just a bit of trivia Brian. When coming down and sliding down a column did you not like it when some bugger had left a jag of weld on the flange and it would tear a bit of your hand of but of course you could not let go. Similarity between that and handling topping lifts when a barb would do likewise.

[Tony Wilding]

Degrees seem to have become all too common, in subjects that will never make a career, totally a waste of time , effort and money, and still no work experience. Apprenticeships are far more important, but the poor wage deters most. Degrees are for White Collar Jobs, not much good for manual work, they study for a Degree, then take a year out traveling, are 22 befor they have ever worked, an Apprentice is fully qualified by then, far more useful, providing there is work to do, when you hear of some of the subjects studied for Degrees its a big joke.

[Les Woodard]

Another good lurk that they have here in Oz. Unemployed sign up for a degree that is studied at home vie a computer. Can take four years to complete so they are exempt from having to look for work because of study time. I wonder how many will complete these degrees before deciding that maybe they would be better of switching to another so as to prolong the course. Now they are talking of shortening the apprenticeship course and allowing them to finish early by a year or more so expect more cowboys coming into the workforce with indentures. Personally I have always thought what a crazy system the education one is. They go to school and once finished move into uni and do a degree to become a teacher. Then they move back into the school as a qualified teacher. So what experience have they had other than classroom activity. Then they are the ones that are preparing the next generation to go into the work force. Am I alone in seeing a huge mistake with this system. No wonder our kids when leaving school have poor attitudes towards work.