"Richard J." wrote in message
...
Ben Nunn wrote:

Go to just about any office in London, and you'll find a ragbag of
regional accents, while unemployment (or economic inactivity) in
the inner London boroughs is sky high. This problem is *far* worse
than any scaremongering about asylum seekers.

Sorry, what exactly is the problem? That some people outside London
have had the courage and initiative to move in order to find suitable
employment?

Well said, Richard. Having recruited IT staff for City firms over several
years, one of the reasons that jobs go to people from outside London is
BECAUSE THEY HAVE THE RIGHT SKILL SET.

It doesn't matter a jot where someone comes from, if they have the skills
required to do the job then they will GET the job. I've given jobs to
Londoners and those from outside London (some of whom moved to live in
London, some of whom commuted). I've interviewed some bloody awful, bloody
inept Londoners in my time. One of the biggest problems I've encountered is
their appalling communication skills, whether or not they have the technical
skills for the job. Regional accents are not a problem, being able to
communicate clearly and express oneself is. That is a skill that is sadly
lacking by many of the 'Estuary English' kids as they 'um', 'ah', 'like' and
'yer know' their way through a sentence, whilst mumbling into their chests.
Likewise their ability to write a clearly understandable document, correctly
punctuated and phrased.

That's not to say that there aren't some very fine Londoners available -
simply that there seems to be more willingness by those from the provinces
to get off their backsides, go to college elsewhere in the country, then
move to wherever they can obtain employment (whereas many Londoners seem to
prefer to stay local, presumably for the excellent London social life). As a
result they have a much broader experience of life.

I have never consciously selected for interview or appointed any staff based
upon their geographical origins, simply upon their technical skills for the
job, their communication skills and their social skills. The latter are
important when working as part of a small team - it's no good appointing
someone to a position where they have the technical skills to do the job but
upset the rest of the team because of their social incompatibility.
Similarly, in safety-critical jobs, communication skills are paramount.
Where split-second decisions have to be made, that have safety implications,
it is no good having to spend valuable time trying to decipher a badly
written, unclear document.