No firm will take on son as trainee
THE average pupil today completes his/her academic preparation for life beyond the safety and comfort of his/her home. For the academically inclined this is just a simple stepping stone or gateway to the adult world.
Most students have a dream or goal that they strive towards, only to have them shattered after many years of studying at a university, culminating in the inability to put it to practise in the workplace, for reasons that I do not necessarily want to condone or condemn. Put the blame on the global economy or whatever reasons there may be.
Then there are students who are technically gifted, yet they too are "measured" on their academic ability or incapability. Geography, history and life orientation add absolutely no value to us, they only test one's ability to memorise facts in parrot fashion.
We all know the "value" that certain subjects have added to our daily existence. However, whether we like it or not, we are judged on our ability to memorise these "bits of useless information". Maybe a bit harsh but valid under many circumstances.
I have three sons, two of whom have gone the normal route and all we have to show for it are student loans that remain my responsibility. Both are extremely "academically" capable.
However it's the age-old cliché that is very much alive today, "it's not what you know, but who".
My third son, one of twin boys, was the unfortunate/fortunate victim of circumstance. At the tender age of 11 he was diagnosed with "All" (acute lymphoblastic leukaemia).
You may question the "fortunate" in my statement but 3½ years of gruelling treatment of chemotherapy, radiation, injections, lumber punctures (commonly known as a "spinal tap") and of course many weeks of hospitalisation, mostly for pneumonia, because of the low white blood cells presence caused by the constant chemotherapy, this has made him mentally stronger than most. As a result of this illness he struggled tremendously to complete all of the "so-called" academic expectations that measure our intelligence.
He is tremendously gifted in the hands-on technical areas. Whether it be electrical, sound engineering, mechanical, carpentry, in short anything that requires logical and practical thinking.
However all measurements are once again purely academic, in which he has a shortfall due to challenges he faced earlier in life. Surely this should give him a positive "tick" somewhere.
The average age of qualified artisans in our country is between the upper 40s and 55 – scary but true. The once frowned upon artisan is now an endangered species.
With this and the technical ability of my son in mind, we thought it would be a good idea for him to study something that he enjoys and he would be very competent at. Even although we as parents are prepared to pay for his studies/courses, at local institutions, we are "blocked" at every quarter with all kinds of illogical reasons.
Does someone wishing to study medicine have to "shadow" a doctor for a period to be accepted into medical school, does an aspirant lawyer have to do the same? Trying to enrol him at an institute that specialises in apprenticeship training in various fields we are requested to find a company that will "employ" him (free) and give him the necessary background to qualify for acceptance of registration.
Is that not exactly what I am willing to pay for, that is as a student would study law at university without previous experience?
The frustration is that there is not one company in our area that is even willing to take on a young man and give him a chance in life. He missed out on so many things we all take for granted and he is so passionate about doing something that money is not the stumbling block.
Who would not want to employ someone absolutely free, on a short term basis, just to give him an opportunity?
Andre Ferreira, Port Elizabeth
