Check yourself out

Despite all the grumbles about Unexpected item in bagging area & other recorded messages, self-checkout is growing in popularity at the supermarket. Annoying, in one sense, because those of us who grew to rely on being able to make a fast getaway find that, increasingly, we have to join a queue rather than sail straight through.

The supermarkets are happy to meet the demand however. Asda have greatly increased the number of such checkouts, & have even  provided some to suit those (who mostly seem to be shopping in pairs) who like self-checkout even for a fully laden trolley; they have a conveyor belt, rather than just space for a basket.

It remains to be seen whether this will lead to significant reductions in jobs – which would be sad, especially in these difficult days. But with renewed emphasis on customer service there may be other roles for paid staff to undertake.

Bussing for jobs

Stagecoach are now offering a 50% discount on bus fares for job seekers who get a discount card from the Job Centre.

This is a welcome move, though I fear it will not be as much help as one might hope.

Bus routes for the most part still follow the traditional hub & spoke pattern, taking people from the outskirts, where they lived, into the town, where all the jobs were. But these days employment is increasingly to be found on the outskirts, making orbital travel more necessary.

There is also the problem of – outside London – bus services being much reduced after 6pm, which only adds to the difficulties in these flexible working days. Those who live on council estates are particularly poorly served, since these are often on the road to nowhere else. Restrictions on housing benefit & the disappearance of cheap lodgings probably make it impossible to think of moving to live near your work. Those same factors militate against the idea of moving to areas more plentifully supplied with jobs too.

Since I have been in a position to observe the determination of job seekers using the library facilities I have often thought that a smart phone & a means of personal transport would make all the difference to their efforts. The first ought to be easy enough, but the second is really problematic. Gone are the days when a young man could pick up an old banger for a song & do a fair amount of the maintenance himself – MOT & the cost of insurance, plus the lack of garage space make that a pipe dream for most. Cycling is not an attractive proposition because of the hills, & impossible in snow & ice. Even safe places to store a motor cycle or scooter are rare.

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Retailing jobs

At the end of last week’s Bottom Line on Radio 4 one of the contributors made the point that shopping & supermarkets contributed to more than just meeting the wants & needs of consumers: for example a recent study had shown that more than 40% of youngsters get their first job in retail, thus giving the sector an important social role in introducing them to the disciplines of work. It was claimed that Boris Johnson had his first job in Marks & Spencer.

And a good thing too, not at all to be sneered at. There’s a lot to be said for getting your own pay packet, learning the hard facts about deductions from pay, & the way your wage never goes as far as you fondly expect that it will.

Even the lowliest job – shelf-stacking or trolley parking - offers anyone with the least amount of intellectual curiosity & imagination the opportunity to learn a lot about the processes needed to get the goods to the customer, the vagaries of human nature, & the way things might be improved.

Best of all, it shows why it is worth getting your head down to earn the qualifications which will hopefully open the way to a job which you might find more satisfyingly challenging.

Link
Radio 4 Bottom Line: Retail