SOCIAL CLIMBING

Much fuss was made this week about the comments made by James Caan, the newly appointed 'mobility tsar', and ex Dragon's Den star, which I overheard when he was being interviewed on Radio 4. 
Hypocrisy comes to mind when his own business practices come into play, and it became evident that two of his children had been employed by his own company. Yes, there is the argument that they were only employed on merit, but in reality what manager, at whatever level, is point blank going to refuse to hire their boss's offpsring? Get real. I've worked in enough companies to know that this happens, and regularly.
However, the principal of giving one's own children a 'leg up' the career ladder is, I believe, not necessarily a bad thing.
My father-in-law, almost 40 years ago, gave what today is still the most important piece of advice I've ever been given - 'It's not what you know, but who you know'; and this can relate to every aspect of your life, not just work. Each year at Wadham School the Rotary Club of Ilminster arranges for a group of professional business people to go in and conduct 'mock interviews' with students about to go out and seek their fortune. Of those I interview, almost all of them, in choosing where they go for their work experience, rely on their parent's contacts, and therefore end up working for the week at the company of someone that is known to them. I see nothing wrong in this at all, and in many cases, if it weren't for these contacts, they would have little prospects of finding gainful employment on leaving school. It's tough out there, and I believe we all have a moral duty to help, not just our own kith and kin, but anyone that crosses our path. The rewards it can reap are beyond measure in terms of not just financial gain, but also a sense of personal satisfaction in helping to smooth life's rough path a little. I am still in contact with someone, who as a young 21 year lad I gave the chance of a job to almost 30 years ago. He has never forgotten the gesture, and neither have I, and as a councillor I still apply the same principals. If through me I can point someone in the right direction, or help them to make the right contacts to solve their problems then I consider it a job well done.