The man who killed the MN

[Chris Allman]

I remember it too Bill I was there, a part of it all. and I agree that it was our time and a time that will never be repeated.

However, my question is, what does the future hold for our children and grandchildren when all those industries employing massive workforces have gone forever. Where is the employment of the future going to be ? I don,t know where and really cant hazard a guess as every job now seems fair game for redundancy or eradication.

Chris.

[Tony Morcom]

I never viewed Seafaring as a Job, I just loved Seafaring as my way of life.

How right you are. I always considered that I never had a "job" until I came shore side.

[happy daze john in oz]

Had an uncle who devised a method of keeping razor blades sharp far longer than usual. He went to patent the idea and was offered about 600 pounds by Gillette for the patent. Thaiwas in theearly 50's so he took the money. The way of the world now is not good, I look at the problems in EU zone, USA and others and have come to the conclusion the world is on it's way to hell in a handbasket.

[Captain Kong]

How right you are. I always considered that I never had a "job" until I came shore side.

As Mother used to say to the Neighbours,"My son doesnt go to work anymore, he is in the Merchant Navy and gets Sunday dinners every day."

[Captain Gordon Whittaker]

For the past two years I have been an Ambassador for the Merchant Navy Training Board, promoting sea-faring as a career. I have given presentations in various colleges and Sixth Form Establishments, outlining the prospects and advantages of the Merchant Navy to youingsters who do not even know what the name represents. Sadly, I have come to realise that they are woefully under-educated, with made up qualifications, and no real chance of acceptance by sponsor companies. The way to sea for ratings does not now exist, in reality, for our shool leavers. Feedback tells us that the few accepted for cadetship are seldom offered jobs at the end of it all. Ships are now sailing with equivalent certificates, which have eclipsed our previously hard won British "Tickets". I have now ceased in my efforts to advertise a life that is no longer available to our native Islanders. We are, in truth, no longer a sea-faring Nation. How sad. They will never have the chances we had, or the opportunity to share memories, as we do. British MN, R.I.P.

[Captain Kong]

You are right Gordon,
.
We are the last of the Seafarers, the world will not see our likes again.

[Gulliver]

A sad sounding post Gordon,and sad because it’s true.
I could never ever trust a ‘foreigner’s qualifications,(school or professional)because more likely than not they would be bogus.

In regard to British qualifications,schools are churning out passes- in quantity not quality -in order to justify their existence in the education system,and I’m sure that all governments(whichever party is in power) hype up the results to justify to the country that their investment in education is working.

We have all watched TV quiz shows and I bet you,like me, are continually appalled at university graduates lack of literacy and their general knowledge outside the narrow field of their own degree,(The degrees they take these days are ,for example, ‘Sport Science & Health Studies ‘or ‘Media Studies with Advanced Focus on Celebrities and Reality TV Shows’-I’ve made those up,but you get my drift……)


What’s galling is that these graduates,once they’ve got their Bachelor’s Degree in their ‘too narrow’ subject,are then unable to get a job,and then spend another two years ‘studying’ for a Masters Degree,then another 3 years ‘studying’ for a Ph D !…..that’s 20 years ,from age 5 until 25 full time education….which qualifies them for…… nothing.
Am I cynical?…..I most certainly am.
Gulliver

[Jacyn Wade]

Right you are, Gulliver. My step-father always says, "a person with a PhD knows an awful lot about very little."

[Capt Bill Davies]

I remember it too Bill I was there, a part of it all. and I agree that it was our time and a time that will never be repeated.

However, my question is, what does the future hold for our children and grandchildren when all those industries employing massive workforces have gone forever. Where is the employment of the future going to be ? I don,t know where and really cant hazard a guess as every job now seems fair game for redundancy or eradication.

Chris.

That’s a big question Chris and one, which I am not sure I can give a worthwhile answer to but perhaps a thought. Here in UK our large employers were quick to embrace outsourcing of that major cost centre, labour, to such a degree that in generations we have witnessed a skill drainage like we have never witnessed before. China and India were great sources of this cheap labour but also the beneficiary of much of the skills now lacking here at home.
The present economic situation is worrying but I still think worse is to come. Our children are in for a rough ride and I suspect they are going to have to be far more resourceful than you and I who thought when we took our first tentative steps up that gangway that we were ‘cradle to grave’ employees. It’s a different world out there.


Bill

[happy daze john in oz]

Gulliver I spent 14 years working in the university system and I can assure you it is the biggest rort of all time. There is now no such thing as a fail, you get a pass between A and F. The amount of money wasted would pay off the national debt, and how they even get in is beyond belief. Students who at 18 can just about write, have little or no understnding of English language, and even less understanding of common sence. Have seen students with PHD driving taxi's, cannot get a job as they are over qualified but with no practical experience.