The job market is a lottery and why employment figures are a nonsensical folly

listen to ‘The job market is a lottery and why employment figures are a nonsensical folly’ on audioBoom

Graduates like me have entered a volatile
and unsettled job market. And so have
non-graduates.

It's the draw for this week's job lottery! Get your tickets out and see if your applications lead to success. You could be a winner!

Many job seekers and those looking to expand the amount of work they do always have that recurring hope that their desires, hopes and ambitions within their own career can be fulfilled. Yet despite figures out today stating that unemployment has fallen, very few people have questioned the potential devil in the detail as far as the reality of the overall situation in the economy is concerned.

According to the Office of National Statistics, unemployment fell below two million between June and August 2014. The fall between a year earlier and now is 538,000 which is the largest annual fall in unemployment since records began in 1972. Yet the economic inactivity rate is still an eye watering 22.2%. For the sake of clarity, I tried to find an official definition of what "economic inactivity rate" meant on the Office for National Statistics website, but I was not successful.

However, according to the Scottish Government website, "economically inactive" was defined as people who weren't officially unemployed, but who aren't in employment and:

- Want a job but have not been seeking work in the last four weeks; or
- Want a job and are seeking work but not available to start work in the next two weeks; or
- Do not want a job.

So let's assume that being economically inactive is defined as such. How many people fall under this category, but who cannot find actual paid work or earn a living in order to satisfy their social and economic needs? And how many people fall under this category who want to be in a job that suits their own career needs, but are being shut out? And, on another note, how many people find themselves self-employed through no choice, but to stay afloat as much as they possibly can in the stormy sea?

That's the reality and the core of the whole problem that actually exists in our country, economy and society. There are talented graduates and non-graduates of all ages with a strong bank of experience and skills who cannot find a vacancy that helps them move on in life. There is a disturbing complacency amongst nearly everybody when it comes to the overall employment and job market situation.

And it's not just the fact that there is next to no work available in many areas, but when vacancies arise and candidates fulfil pretty much the criteria in an interview which would make them a perfect appointment, they still face the likelihood of being knocked back. That's the reality today. You could have all the experience and skills in the world, but it counts for nothing if you're not "it". I appreciate that the competition for vacancies is fierce, but that doesn't compensate for the frustration and injustice that has arisen more than ever for many talented people.

The release of the latest employment figures today reminded me of an early morning telephone call to London based talk radio station LBC when I spoke to Olly Mann about my own life and career earlier this year. More people might find themselves employed by name, but not in spirit. And as I remember stating to Olly, statistics are one thing, but the reality on the ground is another.

Let's all stop being naïve, give ourselves a good damn reality check and think properly about what's really happening out there.

Calcutta Cup 2014 Preview: Scotland v England

Let my blue suede shoes come out and be worn. Let the saltire be wrapped around my torso. Let my vocal chords be warmed up, ready to sing "Flower of Scotland".

The 2013/14 international rugby union season for Scotland continues as we play our biggest game from 5pm tonight against England in the key Calcutta Cup fixture. It is set to be a volcanic occasion. And the context could not be more friskier. 

Last week, defeat was bitterly tasted north and south of the border to Ireland and France respectively. Both teams will be angry and full of passion for this key fixture. Scotland have only won this trophy three times since after 1990, so nobody can doubt that our neighbours will be the firm favourites to win.

But they won't walk to victory. Last year, we may have been beaten badly by them at Twickenham in the opening fixture of the Six Nations. Yet we roared on to an impressive third place with famous home wins over Italy and Ireland at Murrayfield. This is a Scotland side that is improving and they have proven that they should never ever be written off, especially when times get tough (just like last week).

The fans will play a very key role, as ever, in this evening' proceedings. Scotland do not have to dominate the match. Scotland do not have to do anything clever. Scotland only needs to show complete resilience and frustrate the visitors. If they do this, then there's every chance that we may seal, quite probably, our most famous sporting victory in recent decades. Especially (dare I say this in a wider context) in what is this nation's most important years in centuries.

Are prescription charges in England fair?

listen to ‘Prescription charges in England’ on Audioboo

Should English MP's be only allowed to vote on English
matters?

Patients on the NHS in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland do not have to pay for their medicines. However, NHS patients in England will still have to pay for their medicines, unless they are officially exempt. And with prescription charges per item rising to £7.85 this month, many people south of the border are still questioning why the levy still exists and whether it should go.

Earlier today, I tried to obtain statistics online to find out how many patients in England are exempt from the levy for prescriptions. But sadly the publications hosted by the Health and Social Care Information Centre with those details were unavailable.

However, to illustrate the overall situation regarding prescriptions in England, the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee have a graph titled "12 Month Rolling Items Dispensed" which shows that at around November 2011, the number of prescription items dispensed broke through the 900 million item mark. And that figure is slowly escalating to a billion. And in my experience working in England last year, the majority of patients do not pay for their prescriptions.

If this is generally the case across England, then I suppose one can be forgiven for questioning the justification for a prescription charge. With the prescription item fee rise this month, it is very clear that the coalition at Westminster has no intention to review the levy. But, politically, you cannot blame some people for raising another issue of whether English MP's should only be allowed to vote on issues affecting England.

And I don't blame them for that. I think it is a major pity and, frankly, astonishing that politicians at Westminster have never considered raising the idea of installing a mechanism to ensure that England has the ability to fully decide on what policies they want implemented, without MP's from other parts of the United Kingdom voting also on those issues despite the fact it will have absolutely no relevance to their constituents.

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society's Neal Patel voiced his opposition to the 20p increase in prescription charges on behalf of the society. I can understand his comments and he is certainly not wrong to give the impression that the exemption system needs to be reviewed.

But in an age of austerity and cuts in public spending, rising costs for medicines and lower employment prospects for pharmacists, are free prescriptions across the whole of the UK really affordable?

What defines us as Scots?

Scotland is a small country in the north of Europe. Yet we are big people despite having just over 5 million inhabitants across our land. But on the weekend of the birthday of our national bard, Robert Burns, one may ask themselves this fundamentally intriguing question: what defines us as Scots?

And after making two contributions on BBC Radio Scotland's Big Debate with the ever canny Brian Taylor (how I love that Scots word), the answer, to me, is clearly not just a single one. The audience was diverse - we had indigenous Scots, Jamaican Scots, Middle Eastern or Arab Scots (such as myself), and Scots who were born or even brought up in another part of the UK such as England. Beyond that you have many other types of Scot who either live here or abroad. This diversity defines us.

The previous contributor early on in the debate (14:07) spoke about our nation being the best little nation on earth. His point was fantastic and illustrated what makes Scotland such a diverse yet united nation. I unapologetically went one step further and, with glee, described our nation as the "greatest nation on earth" (15:10). "No swagger here whatsoever", Brian Taylor declared but I went on to substantiate my point.

In all seriousness I really do believe we are the greatest nation on this planet because of this diversity. Any person can read Burns poetry. Any person can read Scots. Any person can put a saltire around their torso and wave it at Hampden Park or Murrayfield. There is no such thing as a "them and us" attitude up here because its not Scottish and it confronts our values as a people and nation. And whether you went to a faith, grammar, private or state school or whatever your ethnic or religious background, everyone is in the team and everyone counts. We are a canny people and take a broad minded view of life and the world around us and express ourselves so eloquently in many different ways, whether we are happy or sad.

And even abroad, look no further than the United States. Scotland isn't just a nation of 5 million people. There are at least five times more Scots in America, either by birth or ancestry and thankfully more and more people are tracing their ancestry to our country. Mitt Romney, who ran for the United States Presidency in November 2012, is technically one of ours because of his ancestry.

To put it simply, wherever you go, Scottishness is everywhere.

But what about recent times? Later on in the programme I put the question out into the open air asking whether regaining our Scottish Parliament or even the controversial years when Margaret Thatcher was British Prime Minister had increased our awareness and desire to defend and preserve Scottish culture (32:45)? Brian cleverly turned the direction of the question onto me.

There is no doubt that those periods in history let the genie of Scottish national aspiration out of the bottle. They were wake up calls. Now I'm not taking a stance on the Scottish independence debate here but events such as these provoked strong feeling and it isn't even thinkable to suppress those feelings, rather its actually an unhealthy thing to do. I don't think I've seen Scottish culture celebrated as much as now and I wonder if clinging on to our heritage is defining our politics today. The Yes side for Scottish independence may be way behind at the moment but who knows? Remember Liverpool beating AC Milan in Turkey nearly eight years ago?

And even events in our own personal lives can release our own genies from our own bottles. Like in my case, for instance, when I moved south to England on two occasions. Don't get me wrong, being in England was a extraordinary learning experience and in many ways enjoyable as well, particularly with regards to travelling around the nation of St George.

But you don't really realise what you've got until you leave. And once you do then you are desperate to come back and not just stay here, but contribute more than ever to Scottish society. That's certainly the case with me and, as I found out yesterday, many other people.

To finish off, I want to quote the current Irish President, Michael D. Higgins from his Christmas message last month where he said:

"As our economy has contracted in recent times, many people are feeling the consequences, in terms of employment or income. However, our economic condition does not, on its own, define who we are."

The same applies north of the border.

Alba gu bràth.

Why the pharmacy student cap will not really be fully effective until...the end of the decade.

Image courtesy of Salvatore Vuono / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

The Conservative Universities and Science Minister, David Willetts, and the Conservative peer, Lord Howe, announced earlier this month that there will be a cap on pharmacy student numbers in England, according to the Pharmacy Life website. The aim of the cap is to bring about a re-balance between the number of pharmacy graduates and NHS-funded pre-registration placements.

As welcome as this cap may be, it frankly is too little, too late. This is a measure that should have been implemented years ago. Pharmacy has, thankfully, finally caught up with dentistry and medicine in ensuring a balance is maintained between supply and demand. If I predict correctly that the cap will be effective from the next academic year, 2013/2014, then next year's graduates have a much better chance of securing a pre-registration placement in approximately a year to eighteen months time. 

But what about when they go on to qualify as newly qualified pharmacists, when they need to find secure work? This is where the main problem really exists. Right now, many pharmacists are, if they are really lucky, only able to secure occasional shifts often finding themselves heavily underemployed.

And many more are having to make serious decisions about their future. Does pharmacy even have a role in their future career and life? Its a tragedy that graduates across these islands are even asking themselves the previous question. How did it really all come to this? 

This is the reality that has shocked many newly qualified pharmacists everywhere. And we are not talking about people who, in footballing terms, would only find any hope playing in the reserves side of a football team. They are not write offs. They are talented people who have been unfortunate enough to find themselves in the middle of a volatile storm. 

I am no advocate of negativity. Nor do I scaremonger. But if we are really putting the worst scenario forward then it may not be until the end of this decade when real stability will resume in terms of ensuring a healthy balance is struck between the number of pharmacists available and pharmacist jobs and work. And that's if the economic crisis begins to finally properly ease for the first time since 2008.

How many people are going to really quit pharmacy as a profession after working for years to secure their degrees? How many people are going to stay in pharmacy no matter what stage they are currently at in their careers? These are not known and nobody knows how many qualified pharmacists exactly will be registered to practice in Great Britain, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland in the next few years. The job market is simply saturated. And deeply. Unless the amount of work available increases then there will be more unemployed pharmacists who will have to potentially make some life changing decisions.

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are yet to implement similar measures. And as far as I am aware a similar measure does not exist in the Republic of Ireland. The other nations mentioned should implement such measures if they are to avoid worsening this employment crisis as what has unfolded in England. No country is immune from what has happened.

Just because we now have a cap on pharmacy student numbers, it doesn't mean that those who secure pre-registration placements from 2014 onwards will be guaranteed a job. Instead, they will simply have to slow down and join the long tailback on the pharmacy employment motorway.

Pharmacy student? Pre-reg? Maybe even newly qualified?

Image courtesy of Salvatore Vuono / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Pharmacy student? A pre-registration pharmacist? Or maybe even just newly qualified?

I would like to hear from you as I plan to carry out a personal investigation into the growing crisis facing the pharmacy profession with regards to pharmacist unemployment and particularly our young people in the profession who's futures matter for the future evolution of pharmacy.

And this is where your important role comes into play. I want to hear from you with regards to your hopes, aspirations, concerns and even fears about where your future is going.

I would also welcome any input from the General Pharmaceutical Council, Royal Pharmaceutical Society, academics, community, hospital and industrial pharmacists, pharmacy leaders and entrepreneurs, managers, journalists within pharmacy/healthcare or any other person directly or indirectly related to the pharmacy profession.

Your time and input will be hugely valuable to me as I hope to seek solutions and answers with regards to this growing crisis and also instil hope for everybody so that a bright, positive and prosperous future exists for the pharmacy profession.

If you are interested in helping me then please e-mail me: anas@officialanashassan.com

I look forward to hearing from you.