What is the answer???

[debbie2525]

Hi, I am just venting my frustrations..... I have a 23 year old son who has lived here since he was 12, has been to a Spanish school he also did a 2 year aircon course here. He is fluent in Spanish, a qualified aircon engineer, can drive and yet can not get any work. With the unemployment rate for his age group being 50 percent and no goverment assistance what future do our young adults have here????

[frank]

He might have to do the same as many thousands of Spanish youngsters are doing in order to get a job, emigrate. At least he'd have the advantage of speaking English, but no idea whether his Spanish qualifications would be accepted outside of Spain. It's a grim time for Spanish youngsters, and I can't see it getting any better any time soon, and reading other forums, it still seems lots of Brits are still intent on moving over and bringing teenage kids with them. No Spanish, no hope of a job, but still they come.

[Lavanda]

The news in our village is that Germany are recruiting 2500 Spanish young people to work in engineering etc. However, I don't know how you apply. Frank's right, though — look abroad. With English your son has a head start. Good Luck!

[anyroads]

Alas, when the bailout arrives, it will make things more difficult.

14 months ago I had a son out of university, who will also be 23 in September, with a decent business degree who hoped to go into banking. He got there, eventually, (but would have taken anything at one stage), Thank God, but after lots and lots of interviews ( 3 interviews sometimes for the same company ). Things are a bit better here in the south of the UK for that age group, but it is not as easy as it was to get a job, and perhaps never again will.

Keep encouraging him.

anyroads

[anis]

Your son has my sincere sympathies, mine has also been down that road and left for UK a while ago after several years of trying here as an ex army engineer.
It is sometimes a help to try to get more than just one type of work under your belt ie. be able to do several things. I have a friend who is qualified in about four and if one fails , at least he is versatile and pick up in something else in a bad month. It is the only way he has managed to survive here so long. He is also bilingual like your son.
My friend has Corgi and a couple of other notches. TEFL english would be handy as a subsidary offering for example and doesn't take too long to get.

[debbie2525]

thanks for all your replies, I will pass all the advice onto him. He has just completed a 6 month government training course here for sports instructing so that is another string to his bow. I think the TEFL idea is a really good one xx

[frank]

My friend has Corgi and a couple of other notches.

Let's hope he has updated that, Corgi is dead, Gas Safe Register is the one to have!

[markwilding]

The news in our village is that Germany are recruiting 2500 Spanish young people to work in engineering etc. However, I don't know how you apply. Frank's right, though — look abroad. With English your son has a head start. Good Luck!

It's true that Spanish engineers are in demand abroad. The problem here is that his qualifications limit him to places where Aircon is needed.

[Enrique]

"The problem here is that his qualifications limit him to places where Aircon is needed."

Commercial computer rooms need Aircon, modern offices have it.
The lad will have to move away from the Agricultural south and go to the larger towns.

[Gasman]

Has he thought of applying to the uk camping holiday companies for their maintenance teams - some use outside contractors for the aircon servicing in mobile homes for instance, but others have in-house teams set up. If he is a capable lad and can turn his hand to other repair-based work, it might be a foothold for him. A lot of their top management people came up from couriers and on-site staff, and it can be very interesting work. He should start applying now as the maintenance teams do work in the end-of-season period and then from quite early in the New Year.
Good luck to him

[markwilding]

"The problem here is that his qualifications limit him to places where Aircon is needed."

Commercial computer rooms need Aircon, modern offices have it.
The lad will have to move away from the Agricultural south and go to the larger towns.

That's quite likely,
I'm spending the night in Madrid and I've just been for a walk.The weather is really hot and humid. You can see all the flats have Aircon units so I suppose there'll be plenty of work for technicians here.

[knowal]

My daughter and sons all left Spain after graduating at the universities here.
My daughter was offered a job in a bank in Almería, where she had worked doing summer work, they said they might pay her as much as €600 a month! (wow!)
She told them no thanks and now is a working as a public servant in London.
I helped one of my sons get a job in the UK by firing his CV and degree details to scores of companies recruiting on the Internet. One of them phoned him and offered him work, so he now lives in the UK.
My other son went to the UK, claimed JSA for a while, did some voluntary work, then got offered a job in the private sector.
THAT is the answer. There may be work in Spain, but it is very hard to find at the moment.

[debbie2525]

I totally agree with all your comments about him going elsewhere to look for work.....unfortunately he hasn,t got the confidence to do so. It would be the best thing for him as I believe there is nothing here for him. He his however extremely interested in doing the TEFL course. Like I say...what is the answer...when he is limiting his options to just one small area?........Frustrating!!!!

[frank]

Sounds harsh, but really he's going to have to overcome his lack of confidence and get on his bike. I read a couple of Spanish forums of Spanish going abroad to work, and many, many there are just the same, and they don't even speak the language well of the country they are going to. Lots, especially girls, are terrified of going, leaving family etc, but within a short time they settle in , make friends etc. It's not easy, but needs must.

[debbie2525]

Frank I totally agree with you.

[katy]

I wouldn't recommend a TEFL course. Most reputable language schools won't employ unless they have a teaching qualification too. Even if they get a job it may be for only 10-15 hours per week split over 5 days. No holiday pay, no contract. There are lots of British in Spain who have TEFL and can't get jobs.

Why not advertise in the English freebies and stick to the AC work, offer servicing re-gassing etc.

[peteroldracer]

From many conversations with British parents of teenage kids here, dragging a school-age child to Spain to live is close to being child abuse: they struggle through school and end up with an inferior education (inferior even to the could-do-much-better UK) and have little or no job prospects.
It is the most selfish act these parents could do.

[anis]

..hey, hey , steady on , old chap, think you could cause some offence here .

[pilgrim2]

Confidence! That is the answer. My daughter was 13 when we came here, now 21, she left he education system at the age of 16 (against my wishes, but any of you who have a very strong willed female in the family will understand).She then studied Spanish to level 3 at Seville University .She has never been out of work, some good contracts some not so good. She got all the jobs because she was bi-lingual, from working for construction companies, translating , golf clubs, barwork, tourisum companies to name but a few. Fliting from job to job as she pleased. She has has just completed a CELTA course ( which is apparently the one to do)and hopes to start teaching this September, she is holding out for the best contract! She has her current job in a bar to keep her going. Most importantly for me is that she is enjoying her life. And when things dont go right and she moans I tell she is the only one who can change it! She said her friends use to tease her about working in a bar (which she thoroughly enjoys) but she ´s the one laughing now as those who had 'proper jobs' have been made redundent, offered less money to keep same job or even one very large company offered the employees to stay on working for no money and wait to until things pick up! And many of those at university will be unable to finish thier courses because they can no longer afford to study. There are many reasons for upping sticks and dragging your school aged kids with you to where ever you go. Life is for living, not all of us want to live in a Nice House with a Nice Job , doing what other people think we should be doing . Not everybody has a choice. We are all different.
Good luck to your son

[IreneD]

Peter, that is very harsh and imo, unfair. I agree with Pilgrim2 - if the youngster has enough 'get up and go' and confidence, he'll do well in life. I have teenage and older grandchildren and I know lots of their friends, all educated in the U.K. Some are aiming high and going for it and some are sitting on their bUms, moaning at their lot in life. One of my gc, at 18 has an amazing future ahead of him down to his hard work and the fact he's gifted musically. But it's his personality, drive and determination, not his gift, that is making the difference. Another gc is finally - at 25 years old - getting his act together and realising the world doesn't owe him a living. Good luck to your son from me, too, Debbie.