Manual Labour

Surely all labour is manual - stuff that you have to do physically: until scientists perfect a way to do stuff telepathically then all labour is going to be manual and operating the toaster with telekinesis will have to wait a little longer.

But I'm being literal-minded. Of course manual labour doesn't refer to all labour, just the stuff you do with your hands as the Latin origins of the word dictate. If, however, I am allowed to be a little more literal-minded then I would take issue this time with manual labour just being about the hands because that's quite far from the truth...

I associate manual labour with the traditional heavy-lifting jobs - the kind of thing you need a man and a lad for. I'm a girl. I have spindly little arms. I'm not overly tall. I often get a headrush when I stand up. I am not suited to jobs where you have to get your hands dirty, so to speak.

To be honest that's a very out-dated viewpoint and if I wanted a career in construction there's so much red tape around the compensation culture, that I wouldn't be allowed to do anything that puts me in danger. All is not lost, but then I don't want a job in construction - it's just not what I'm good at.

But what's the point of all this?

Well the government seems to be encouraging certain industries to recruit and even coming up with projects of their own that will create many, many jobs. Fantastic! Finally there are some more jobs on the market - I won't have to apply to be the new Archbishop of Canterbury after all (well needs must). There is a downside: all these jobs seem to be related to manual labour - construction, car building, manufacturing in general.

Oh.

I don't begrudge anyone these jobs - it is a very necessary part of the economy, but this raises a bigger question. The government is putting money into a very specific job sector catering for people with very specific skills. Anyone can do unskilled labour, but as I have previously stated, I cannot lift anything that looks even remotely heavy, and I couldn't even engineer my way out of a paper bag.

Is this fair?

Should we be petitioning Downing Street to create more jobs across more industries?

If I were the kind of person that liked protesting I would say yes. I am not one of those people because I believe you can't have everything in life and there needs to be a certain amount of give and take. Social responsibility anyone?

So I concede that Mr Cameron can't give me everything; I am somewhat anomalous compared to most jobseekers and don't expect to have everything gift-wrapped for me when it comes to looking for work - where's the fun in that!? But even if you're reading this and you are a more average jobseeker, you may look at the number of jobs created in the construction industry (for example), seeing that there are far more there than anywhere else, and then immediately reach for your placard and felt pen: this is maybe not your best option.

Let me explain: it's the overall numbers we should be interested in. We should look at the number of jobs lost in the construction industry and then see what the final total is when you add in the new jobs. My guess is that there would be very little change at all. But even if it wasn't, the idea is that we increase manufacturing which gives a kick up the bum to the economy and then everybody's happy.

So although there are fewer jobs for me to apply for than, for example, someone who is excellent at making car bonnets, I have to content myself with that, knowing that my number will come up eventually (either that or I start doing a little bodybuilding of my own).