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Get real, Hamilton Mills? |
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Monday, 09 June 2008 |
I would like to reply to the grumpy grandfather who likes to hide behind anonymity and has
told me to “get real”. In real life there are many thousands of British people working in France,
many of them in their own small enterprises, legally registered, doing “skilled jobs”, usually
taken to refer to fully trained artisans and tradespeople, as well as teachers, nurses, firemen
and so on. Most of them have trained in France to demonstrate their ability to fill their job and
to communicate satisfactorily in French. Does he really expect 100% of English job seekers
to find employment while the French struggle with a persistent 8% unemployment rate?
There are today 500,000 unfilled jobs in France, and for the unskilled ones you can often
find a vacancy at once. My grandson arrived in Paris 18 months ago with very little French,
immediately applied to the ANPE (Job Centre) and in three days had a job (from which he
soon moved on), a flat and a bank account.
I myself worked here for many years for a French employer. But if you want a posh job
with a posh salary, then you must expect to pass through the same hoops as the French do. EU
regulations may guarantee your right to work anywhere in the EU: they certainly do not
guarantee you a job.
Hamilton Mills
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