[Dante Hicks]

Originally Posted by Tomkat

Have you done any recruitment before?

Yeah, a few times over the last couple of years. In fact a little over a week ago I was involved in an interview panel and selection process for a position. One of the applicants mentioned on-line gaming as an example of team work. (I hoped it was PA and they were going to be awesome, but it wasn't and they weren't ) And I had the dubious pleasure last month of having to undertake the recruitment process from start to finish for new positions created within the section of the business I work in. From writing the incredibly shitty job advert (which was on the Guardian Website and everything!!) to short-listing, doing the interviews and finally making the decision on who was appointed. It was all very, very boring.

I'm not entirely sure how a large company would filter down 1000s of application forms to even 100 or so, from completely qualititative data.

Large companies which regularly receive thousands of application forms have HR departments designed to do such things. And if you're looking for ways of easily categorising people you simply make them fill out an application form so you can easily sort people by their level of experience (for instance). To be honest, if the job is in anyway worthwhile you just get your admin officer to read through them all and pass up the strongest x%

The sad truth is that most kids would choose David Beckham Studies or Beauty Therapy as they simply aren't mature enough emotionally, mentally or educationally to be able to sit down and work independently.

There's nothing wrong with studying David Beckham Studies.

But it wouldn't change overnight anyway, and with your method of "leave them to it", you'd end up with a bunch of self-centred degenerates.

Have you seen modern Britain lately?

Anyway, I explicitly said such a move would be phased in over time. People's behaviour now is influenced by the environment they find themselves in - we're all in agreement here otherwise we wouldn't care about education in any case. I'm suggesting one of the causes of the behavioural patterns might be the education system we currently have. Yes, if you said to kids "Hey you don't have to go to school tomorrow if you don't want" then I'm guessing the vast majority wouldn't go. I know I wouldn't have at the time. But that's because I viewed school as a prison sentence to be endured, not an experience to be treasured.

The likely effects of sudden changes in policy is not a useful indicator on whether the policy themselves are good and bad. Someone who suddenly stops taking heroin may well suffer horrifically, but that does not mean that taking heroin is necessarily good for one's health.