Blame parents for skills crisis, says PM

The Advertiser: Blame parents for skills crisis, says PM [07mar05]: "Blame parents for skills crisis, says PM"

I actually haven't seen a list of which skills we are lacking. I know about the grape pickers. Grape picking has been a bone of contention for the last 3 years and now, I gather, no one is willing to pick grapes. The conditions and pay have been poor, apparently. There was so much about it in the newspapers a couple of years ago and no one addressed it so that the workers and employers could come to a satisfactory arrangement. It's partly people won't work for low wages in poor conditions. We are talking about the have generation and the gadget kids who come from air conditioned homes and schools and double income parents. We are also in a situation where small businesses are stretched to the limit because of all the costs involved and covering the GST requirements. Much more of their time is spent on paperwork instead of training people on the job. We need to look at how people are having to work and why no one has the time any longer to train people . Many people used to be trained on the job whether they had university degrees or not. Profits have become more important than people. Share holders more important than skills sharing.