Stop doling out your anger on the jobless

HERE are three vignettes from the frontline. The first involves a friend who works in ‘job activation’ in the greater Cork area. He said last week he’s frustrated at the attitude of some people, mainly young, when he proposes they accept a so-called pathway to work.

“In one case, it was a course that involved training, and the real prospect of a job. The location was 15m miles from where he lived. No go. He was moaning that he didn’t want to travel that far, didn’t think it was worth his while.”

The experience is not typical. “There are others who regard anything offering some hope as a Godsend. I was onto a man, the other day, and he nearly bit the hand off me, he was so eager to do anything that might bring him anyway closer to the prospect of a job.”