Episode 2 Invasion of the Job Snatchers

This programme contains strong language.

Christchurch. A sleepy little town on the south coast of England where

a third of the population is over 60. Nicknamed God's Waiting Room,

it's the ultimate pensioners' paradise.

But all that's about to change.

The town is opening its gates to an invasion of desperate young jobseekers

to take part in an unique social experiment.

Youth unemployment across the UK is at an all-time high.

I've been homeless. I've slept on the streets.

I'd clean toilets, I'd look after old people. I'd do anything.

It is really tough looking for work.

Especially when you're not hearing anything back from anyone.

But Christchurch struggles to attract young people

to work in their old-fashioned businesses.

All the butchers that I know are all getting old now.

This trade needs new blood.

Senior employers have offered eight-weeks' work experience.

If impressed, the mentors will offer a permanent job.

The youth today, I think they've got it tough.

It's not a very nice place to be.

In exchange, the town will receive a much-needed injection

of fresh ideas and new blood.

Welcome to the ancient borough of Christchurch!

# I said I'm living in a

# Lost generation...#

A swarm of the UK's young unemployed

were interviewed by the town's veteran bosses.

We have a wool shop where we sell wool, cottons, et cetera.

Cotton like you use for your ear, like cotton buds?

-No, knitting cotton, where you knit.

-Oh!

-Knit.

-I'm so thick.

-Yeah.

From this group, 11 were handpicked

to work across nine local businesses.

-From a fish stall...

-Wow!

That's why you hold it by his back.

..to the local butchers.

My little mate, as you can see,

there are the hairs on his chinny chin chin.

The older generation in Christchurch are used to the quiet life,

but the town is about to be transformed.

# Eat, sleep, rave, repeat... #

Everyone needs a village idiot, don't they?

I nearly broke a nail, as well!

-BELCH!

-Pardon me.

Unfortunately, I'm a bit like blowjobs.

You can spit me or swallow me, either way, I'll always be in your mouth.

The bosses will review the trainees' work with weekly appraisals.

Don't stop!

Other people's perceptions.

Lots of young people don't actually know how to speak to people.

Got to try everything once, though, haven't you, in life.

-What did you say?

-That will not do!

They'll be assessed on timekeeping...

I told her it wasn't going to happen again and it's happened again!

-..attitude...

-The guy's a prick. He's a full-on dickhead.

..and their behaviour.

You said, "Thank you, you sexy bitch." You can't use that language.

-I'm sorry.

-It's not funny.

-No, it's not funny.

For those that succeed,

the offer of a fulltime job with their elderly bosses.

-I BLEEP! hate old people.

-Some old people absolutely stink.

I can see me getting kicked out soon, yeah, for smacking my boss up.

Will they be sacked?

Do you know what? I can't do this. See you later.

And say goodbye to Christchurch?

Or will this be the start of a new career and a better life?

-Give us a hug.

-Whoo!

I really, really want it, man,

and that is an absolute life-changing situation.

One week ago, 11 unemployed young people arrived in Christchurch...

Thank you Mr Taxi Man, you sexy bitch.

-..to take on new jobs...

-Coffee shop.

-Butcher!

-Wool specialists.

..and hopefully change their lives forever.

-19-year-old Benny threw himself into work at Peeks Party store.

-Oh!

-Do I get to drive one of them?

-No, you don't that one, I'm afraid.

But raised a few eyebrows with his continual swearing...

I thought I'm BLEEP! Shit at it.

I'm so sorry. BLEEP!

..and inappropriate behaviour.

Emily, you do it, as well.

Benny's mentor, John Peek, was not happy.

Because of your language, I can't let you be on the shop floor

or talking to customers on the phone.

19-year-old Adam from Nottingham

had communication issues with his mentor, Paul.

I was well sorry because I thought we were all...

I'm having a bit of trouble understanding you.

If you don't understand me, you don't understand me.

He's going to have to put up with it now for eight weeks, ain't it?

And made matters worse on just his fourth day in.

Basically, I've woke up and I've started being sick.

Do you think you could have phoned me earlier to tell me?

Because it's 9:20 now.

Prick, innit? Bullshit.

Everybody gets one chance with me. Maybe he's just had his.

Despite having a criminal record,

28-year-old Carl made a good first impression with his mentor, Robin.

-Good man.

-Robin Lambe?

-Robin Lambe.

-It's not a job description, is it, no?

I think you've done very well this week, really.

There's one thing I will not accept,

is you coming in here smelling of booze in the mornings.

That's not something to worry about, that.

Oh, it feels good to be working again, doesn't it? I don't know.

It's Saturday morning in Christchurch.

Most of the trainees are enjoying their first lie-in.

Not surprising, really, as only a few hours ago, they were doing this.

But not everyone has the weekend off.

Carl was supposed to be starting work at the butcher's this morning at 6:30am.

It's now nearly 8:45am.

ALARM WAILS

Oh, my phone is pissing me off!

And Adam has got a 9:00am start.

His boss Paul has a strict timekeeping mantra.

Unless you're five minutes early, you're late.

So he's cutting it fine.

I can't believe, like, I set my alarm, yeah, for 7:30,

and it didn't go off till 8:30.

It's the first ever time I've, like, set the alarm on this brand...

on this new Blackberry, so, pfft! I don't know what's wrong with it.

9:00. So my alarm went off at 8:30.

That's why I've, like, I've only just got up.

That's why I've ordered a taxi.

Adam ended his first week calling in sick.

So he stayed in last night to try

and start today on a more positive note.

But already things are going a bit wrong.

Adam, it's Paul Derham here.

Yeah. Um...I'm still on my way. My alarm didn't go off.

It didn't go off at the right time.

But I'm not biking it, I've jumped in a taxi so I can get there faster.

OK. Where are you now?

We're coming through Christchurch town centre sort of thing. Yeah.

So literally, I'm only going to be about five minutes.

All right, we'll see you when you get here then.

-OK, then.

-OK. Bye.

That's his chance done. No more.

-Well, he's, er... he says his alarm didn't go off.

-Oh, bullshit!

The ferry runs to a strict schedule,

so Paul's partner Julie helps out until Adam turns up.

Meanwhile, we've got to get the boat ready ourselves instead of having help.

This is what Adam should be doing, not us.

I'm going to ask him if he really wants this job.

If he says he doesn't want this job any more, then he can go.

Do you want to get on? We're just about to leave.

I'm having to do the job he should do.

I'm having to do all the checks myself.

We got more than one thing going on today

and we could have done with his help this morning,

but obviously, he's just not interested.

Adam arrives just over 10 minutes late and has missed the boat.

One of Paul's golden rules is, like,

if you're not here five minutes early, then you're late.

I was only, like, 10 minutes late, so he shouldn't really mind.

-Sorry, my alarm just went totally off.

-Ssh!

-I set my alarm for, like, 7:30, it just didn't go off.

-Quiet.

-What?

-You're late.

-Yeah, I know.

-Go and have a chat with Paul.

-He's letting somebody on.

-I'm sorry, I just...

-What?

-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to.

-Not good enough. Not good enough.

-I know, but... I ain't got an excuse.

-Sorry?

I ain't got an excuse. My alarm didn't go off.

It's the first time I've ever set my alarm on this phone, yeah?

I couldn't find my phone. I've lost a phone.

So that phone messed up on me this morning.

You are going down in my estimations, all right?

This is your ABF.

-You know what an ABF is?

-No.

Absolute Bloody Final, all right? You're on a yellow card.

-For being, like, 5, 10 minutes late?

-Absolutely bloody right.

-All right, then, all right.

-All right?

Absolute ABF you're on, all right? Do you understand what I mean?

Yeah, absolutely, whatever.

All through the year, my crew have not been late once.

You're telling me you've never had someone just arrive, like, five minutes late?

Not once in your lifetime?

-They only do it once with me.

-Yeah, and I've done it once.

You've just done it, all right?

You lost your chance, all right?

You get one more chance. Do you understand?

-Yeah.

-Right, get on the boat and sweep that sand up.

There's no need to speak to me like that either, you know.

-Er...

-What?

-I'm the boss, all right?

-Yeah, but you're talking to me like I'm a little kid.

Well, actually, I think you might have just described yourself.

I'm 19 years old, Paul, I'm not a little kid, innit?

I don't need to be treated like I'm a little child.

There's just no need for that.

You either want to do this, or you don't. It's up to you.

If I didn't want to do it, I wouldn't have come, I would have stayed in bed.

OK. Hop on board and clean that sand up.

I know, but I just don't get...

Nobody speaks to me like I'm a little kid, innit?

Yeah, I agree with you having a bit of a go at me.

Obviously, this is your business, I agree with that.

If someone was running late for my business, I would say summat. I wouldn't be happy either.

But I wouldn't stand there and say, "You're acting like a kid," and stuff like that.

Like, to me, if you look in the rulebook, that's classed as, like, bullying.

Bullying from your employee.

All right, when we get back, if you don't change your attitude,

you can just go back to the house, all right?

-I haven't got an attitude with you, Paul.

-Oh, you have.

I'm not having that word used on here, all right? Your choice.

We're going over that way, we get back there,

you either apologise for that comment, or you're going to go home.

-For what comment?

-The comment you just made.

-Getting treated like a little kid?

-Bullying.

-But you're speaking to me like a little kid.

-I'm not bullying you.

-That's all.

-I don't think we can help you any more.

Help me with what? I've been late once.

I've never been late. I'm always here early.

-If you... Right.

-I've never...

You should have accepted what I said, right?

Accepted the yellow card and got on and shut up.

-Which I did.

-No, you didn't.

-I did.

You started answering me back.

I wasn't answering you back.

That was not answering back, Paul.

If I was answering back, people would know about it

because my voice would be loud, innit?

I'd make sure I was heard properly.

That's how I answer back.

There's some more sand to clean up down there.

Right.

I'm off to do the scattering of ashes now.

Paul heads off on another boat,

leaving Adam to stew over his ABF warning for the rest of the day.

The guy's a prick. He's a full-on dickhead.

Nobody would want to come into this place and work for him, innit?

The guy's an idiot.

It's not looking good at the moment.

He was late this morning.

He's had dubious excuses in the past for being late.

I don't know, I just...I just can smell something in the air

and it smells like bullshit to me.

Adam might be late and having a bad day but at least he made it to work.

Back at the house, Carl is still in his pit.

He's supposed to have started work three hours ago.

Until now, Carl has consistently impressed his mentor Robin,

but Saturday morning is the butcher's busiest time of the week.

And he's not happy about being a member of staff down.

It's not acceptable.

He's got to learn that.

I've not heard a word,

which is wrong. I mean, if you made this mistake

and not arrived for work,

get on the phone.

Just put people's minds at rest.

VOICEMAIL: 'The person you're calling is unable to take your call.

'Please leave your message after the tone.'

TONE BEEPS

Hello, Carl. I know you've got it on answerphone.

Could you...as soon as you pick this message up,

give me a ring at the shop. I wish to hear from you as soon as possible.

It's 11am and four and a half hours after he's supposed to start work,

Carl awakes from his beauty sleep with a stinking hangover.

Oh!

TELEPHONE RINGS

Good morning. Lambe's Butchers.

Hello, good morning. Robin?

Hello, Carl.

'Hello, Robin. I'm really, really sorry.'

I've literally just woken up about ten minutes ago.

What shall I do? Do you want me at the shop?

Well, this is your job, innit?

I mean, right, yeah, you've made a mistake, so I'll talk to you

when you get here. So I'll see you, what, in about half hour?

Um, yeah, as soon as I can.

I don't think it can be half, it takes me half an hour to cycle.

It might be an hour, won't it?

'It takes you about 15 minutes to cycle.'

All right. All right.

All right, so be as quick as you can.

I'll see you soon, yeah.

Ah, shit.

The guy is not happy, yeah.

Oh.

He seemed upset.

He was upset and angry.

Oh, shit.

Oh, I'm too tired for this.

Getting up at half fives and that, fuck, I'm too tired, look at me.

I need, like, building up into it, do you know what I mean?

I've been fucking thrown into it,

people having days off and shit like that.

Fucking hell!

It's the weekend, man.

Carl's got half an hour to get ready and cycle to work.

And do his hair, of course.

Carl, you little fucker, did you not go to work?

CARL GIGGLES

-You lazy...what happened?

-Lazy?

I've been up every morning, man! I'm fucked, I'm proper fucked, man!

Did you call in?

I've just called in now,

he's not happy, mate.

What did he say?

He's like dead upset, he's like, "It's your job, Carl,

"fucking hell, man, it's your fucking job, get here..."

-Did he swear?!

-No, he didn't swear.

He's just cockney, he always...in a cockney accent...

-It's impossible.

-Yeah.

What he said to me,

the only thing about this job is don't you come in drunk,

that's the only thing. You know what I mean?

So I thought to myself, "I'm fucking bladdered,"

when I woke up at six o'clock,

you know what I mean? I thought, "I'm just going back to bed."

Robin is halfway through his working day,

when Carl eventually makes an appearance.

Five hours late.

What happened then?

Literally, alarm clock. Slept through it.

Late night last night again, and...

Well, it's disappointing, really.

When you think of the fact that it's the first time that you've

been off the leash yourself on your own.

-Given the responsibility to get here.

-I know.

You've got to show responsibility to yourself, basically.

I know, I do.

What I was worried about more than anything else was the fact,

was, I hadn't heard anything.

You're on that bike.

Anything could have happened. You could have been anywhere.

You could have been knocked off the bike. You could have been killed. You know, who knows?

And I feel a responsibility towards you.

And I hope you feel a responsibility towards me.

-That's what I'm saying.

-Right. Fair enough.

We'll forget about it this time, but don't let it happen again.

-OK.

-OK?

-All right.

Carl gets to work with his tail between his legs.

Yeah, the thing that annoys me most, obviously, is letting Robin down,

letting the lads down.

One week in, I'm on last chance, so you know, that's not good, is it?

So the plan is to get back in the good books.

I might come in earl...

What am I saying?

It's a hard day's early start. So I'm just absolutely knackered.

As the day comes to an end,

some of the trainees have enjoyed their Saturdays off.

I spent £70 in like the space of ten minutes.

Not even ten, probably about five.

But Adam and Carl have both had bad days at the office.

The guy wasn't pissed off. He was upset.

He was disappointed.

They're going to have to knuckle down if they want to turn

things around and get a good appraisal at the end of the week.

Adam doesn't have to wait long. He's working the next day.

And even though it's Sunday,

he's keen to show his boss that being late yesterday was a one-off.

I got to work today at half eight.

I didn't want to stress anybody out at work, like my boss or anything,

so I thought if I get in nice and early, feel fresh,

have a good, like, I've been awake for a bit. I'll be all right.

We've had the doctor's incident, where he claimed to be ill.

He was late. He's on his ABF.

Absolute Bloody Final.

And he's had a yellow card.

There's not a lot else we can do.

If he trips up one more time, that's the end of it.

Check the water from the black cap.

-Yeah.

-We don't do it too tight.

Today, he seems fresh, he seems keen.

Maybe it was an enormous blip he had.

Let's see how the next week goes.

SHIP HORNS

Thank you.

Thanks very much.

And just when he doesn't need it,

Adam's fellow trainees have decided to spend their Sunday

doing a spot of sight-seeing and head down to Mudeford Quay.

Hopefully, they won't distract him from his job.

Hey!

I'm so fat, that boat is going to sink as soon as I get on it.

THEY LAUGH

You get at one end and we'll get at the other one...

It's time to go, guys!

-Hello there, sir.

-How are you?

-I'm all right, thank you very much.

-Hello there!

-Hello!

-Hello, my lovely!

-All right, love.

-OK, Adam, let go of the green one.

-Yeah.

Paul might be driving the boat today,

but he's still keeping a close eye on Adam.

Hello, yeah, so we've got all our housemates coming on board.

Hopefully, they'll shut up and sit down and just go along with it.

That fat bitch from Titanic. She could have fit him on there.

She pushed him off. Fuck him.

I'll get a nice rich husband, cos he's poor and broke

and he can have some more...

She thought, "Get him off!" She was on that...

I wouldn't employ any of them.

What do you think about the people I have to live with, then?

What a motley crew, that lot is, eh!

Blimey!

They want to have a good time, don't they?

First week is up!

Today's been quite nice. I've enjoyed them all coming down,

they've all seen me working on a Sunday.

They've all seen how hard my work is.

It looks easy, but when you start having to make sure you get all the knots and stuff right,

I think that's why they've noticed,

"He's actually working really, really hard."

-Have fun at work.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

-Thank you!

'I'd virtually given up on him.'

I didn't expect him to be here this morning.

I thought in his mind he, he really didn't want to be here.

And that would have been fine.

But he did turn up this morning.

He's turned up with a better attitude.

Thanks, dude.

'He certainly is a work in progress.'

Bye, thank you, guys.

Maybe our chat yesterday was beneficial.

The next day, and Carl is up at the crack of dawn.

-Morning, Robin!

-Morning, Carl!

Morning, Mike, you all right?

-All right, did you have a nice weekend?

-Yeah, all right, thanks.

First things first on a Monday morning.

Kettle on!

I'm keen, like a coiled spring, ready to jump into action this morning.

Adam's also keen and has turned up to work early

for the second day in a row.

Ho-ho-ho-ho!

Beautiful day!

For the rest of the trainees, it's the start of a new working week.

Today, the Christchurch pensioners are out in force, which means

there's a busy day ahead at one of the town's biggest employers.

Stewart's Garden Centre is a family business that

spans four generations, and the man currently in the horticultural

hot seat is 56-year-old Martin Stewart.

Anyone walking in to Stewart's, wanting a job,

the number-one thing they've got to have is enthusiasm.

Martin's taken on three of the 11 trainees who all now have a

week's work under their belts.

In the cafe is 19-year-old James, from Newport.

He's never had a paid job.

-Would you like a free biscuit?

-Yes, please.

-Like my jugs?

SHE GIGGLES

Joining the outside plants department is 19-year-old

piercing enthusiast Rachel, from Merseyside.

If I'd have been told before I came down here

that I would have been working in a garden centre,

I would have been like, "Oh, God, that sounds naff that,"

but it's honestly, like, absolutely made up with the placement.

It's...couldn't have been better.

Less impressed with his position is 26-year-old

Christian, from Bolton, who is in the workshop.

DIY. I don't do DIY. I don't do anything like that.

You will by the time you finish, I think.

-See, I'm not a hands-on man, that's the problem.

-Oh.

I'm a deep thinker. I'm more of a... I like to analyse situations

and maybe have my team that I could guide and they could do stuff.

I'm open. I'm opinionated.

You know, I don't really stand for no shit.

And I'm very passionate about my tattoos and piercings. It's every...

It's the world to me. On my neck. DTA. That means "Don't Trust Anyone".

And it reminds me who I am and where I come from.

My little girl's called Tiana.

It's not about my life no more.

I don't want to take sacrifices and do things that I don't like,

but if it means that she's happy in the future,

everything I do for her now.

Having a job means having money.

It means having ambitions. It means having goals.

In my last job, they kept changing the working hours all the time.

So I was working nine to nine one time and I thought, "You know what,

"I don't get to see my little girl." I had to quit.

I'm hungry for success.

I don't want to be the, that guy that doesn't do anything.

I don't want to be a nobody.

I want to be a somebody.

Although he's happy to be working again, Christian has made it clear

from day one that the job in the workshop is not to his taste.

It don't bring no spark to me cos...I can't relate to it.

These guys that work here,

they can relate to this cos they're passionate about this.

But for me, I'm not passionate about it to enjoy it.

Keep the bubbles out if you can and it will stop the paint

creeping in behind it.

Last week, Christian got to grips with painting walls.

A nice straight line.

And paint might sound 'simpletic' It weren't 'simpletic' for me.

It was hard. Strokes that you've got to do.

You've got to make sure that you're not getting the lines in.

not something I'm good at

or something that I'm interested in, to be fair.

Today, he's getting to grips with painting doors

with Luke in the workshop.

Not going to lie. I hate DIY. I hate, hate it.

But I'm learning something.

'He's really easy to get on with,

'but unfortunately, his heart's just not in it, you know.'

He's, it's not the sort of thing

he wants to do as a career path

and although yeah, he's learning a few skills with us,

unfortunately, I don't think it really counts for anything.

I think he's just not interested in it at all.

With another seven weeks left to go on his work placement,

Christian's commitment is going to be tested to the limit.

Do you think you're going to be able to stick this out?

Ah, yeah, I'm never a quitter. I'm a Leo.

That's a fact. I don't, I don't quit.

-Morning, Benny.

-Morning!

-I like your hat.

-Thank you.

One trainee whose job is on shakey ground...

Thank you.

..is 19-year-old Benny, from Norfolk.

Last week, he was banished from the party shop by his mentor

John Peek for his inappropriate behaviour and continual swearing.

That's fucking ugly.

I would look like a dick. Shit.

It's just an excuse to act slutty.

I thought I was fucking shit at it. But then...

You have to watch how much you swear on the shop floor.

I can't allow him to disrupt the business.

Can you not do that to me, please?

We want to help him.

We want him to be a success,

but if you haven't got the basics right, then you...

there's no way to go.

Benny must now work in the warehouse away from the customers

until he can prove he can be trusted.

How do I search this, right, cos obviously, it's not on the system?

So if you could type XUP and it should come up with a list of, um,

-of all the stock that we do under that.

-Right.

Yep, that's it. Your bottom one. Number Eight. That's it.

So you just push eight.

-Thanks, hun.

-OK. All right. A contract down so...

THEY CHUCKLE

We're on a roll.

TELEPHONE RINGS

Hello, Peek's Party. Benny speaking. How can I help?

Yep, we have two in stock. Do you want the location code?

OK, no problem. If you need anything else, don't worry.

Give me a call, OK? Bye.

Oh, I love helping people and doing something right. Accomplishment.

Having got off on the wrong foot last week,

Benny is now determined to win round his fellow workers.

How many do you want?

And prove to his mentor that he can behave well enough

to be let back on the shop floor.

-How are you?

-I'm all right thank you, you?

-Good. Yeah, I'm good, thank you.

Definitely.

'He's doing fine. He's picking up'

quite quick so it's good.

What can I say?

Definitely helping out.

I've got this at home. I looked at this last night, this pink book.

Carl is on a half day today.

OK, can I have a rowing boat for an hour, please?

He's keen to show that being late on Saturday was a blip

and he's serious about a future in Christchurch.

-Oh, thank you very much.

-Enjoy!

-Cheers!

-See you later.

-Bye now!

So, on this way home,

he's decided to use his time off to find out what the town has to offer.

There we go, he's off!

This is harder than I thought, innit?

A job offer for Carl would mean moving 250 miles

from his hometown of Warrington.

Captain Owen, eh!

The actual thought of moving to an "old town",

inverted brackets.

It's...it's not very cool, to be honest, is it?

I don't think I'll fit in round here, really.

HE GIGGLES

I mean, I'm from the North West,

and we all know the North West's the best, yeah?

And I'm moving down to Christchurch, where it's really, really old.

But I'm looking for a career now. I'm not looking for a holiday.

I could be in the Amazon here.

HE QUACKS

Everyone needs a village idiot, don't they?

Think I might have found my village.

-Good boy.

-He only eats Marks & Spencer.

-Does he...

THEY LAUGH

Does he eat burger?

Thanks very much, guys. Cheers.

It's the middle of the week in Christchurch.

£6.70, please. Thank you.

While some of the trainees have outdoor jobs and more manual work,

others have to get suited and booted and head to the office.

-Yeah, I just need to ask if she wants me to do something else.

-OK.

22-year-old Welsh graduate Glenn

has been working for a week at Filer Knapper,

a firm of chartered accountants who've been

trading in Christchurch for over 60 years.

Basically we're just, we're just, we're trying to move

away from paper accounts and trying to get everything on the computer

so I'm just aiding in that process and it's very much a process.

It's definitely not an event. It's going to take a long time.

There's lots and lots of things to scan.

Lots and lots of files to be filed.

I'm getting on with that.

Studied Ancient History at Cardiff University.

I racked up a whole amount of debt.

Somewhere in the region of 20-25,000.

It's a terrible, terrible feeling.

I've done it all.

Worked sort of selling life insurance, pens, door to door.

Selling gadget insurance.

"Do you have gadget insurance?" "No, I don't."

"Good gosh. Do you know what would happen if you dropped your iPhone?"

I've always been political.

I was sort of very involved with the student demonstrations in London.

I'm not certain what I want out of a job but I know what I don't want.

My work ethic is absolutely linked to how passionate

I am about what I'm doing.

Working in admin is working in admin and once you've done it,

it's like riding a bike, isn't it?

Is it not like riding a bike?

I franked today and I franked yesterday.

It was no difference, you know? It was franking.

You know, I'm learning a lot about the systems that they use

but the systems that are in place in this company,

and if I was to, you know, be employed by this company,

that would be very, very useful information

if I was to be employed by any other company.

It probably would be very, very useless information,

so take from that what you will.

While Glenn is struggling to find any enthusiasm for his job...

..over at Mudeford Quay, 19-year-old Adam has been hard at work all day.

There we go.

-There, my love.

-Thanks very much.

Don't worry, I've got you.

Once the shift is over, Paul is keen to move Adam on from the basics

and show him some key emergency procedures.

Adam's trying to get in his boss' good books

and spots an opportunity to prove his commitment to the job.

I want to do a man overboard exercise today.

Actually put someone over the side.

Is there any volunteers out of you two?

-Yeah, I don't mind doing that.

-Do a man overboard?

-Yeah, I'll do that.

-All right. OK. We'll get you in a...

We'll get you in a wet suit.

So long as I can say, as long as I don't get eaten by a crabs,

-yeah, I'm...

-You won't get eaten by crabs.

Eaten by crabs or something, I'm happy innit.

Before he changes into a wet-suit, Adam tries to improve his cagey

relationship with his boss by revealing a little more of himself.

Do you want to see my tattoo, Paul?

Not really but go and show me anyway.

Yeah. I've got a tattoo, look.

Oh, no.

-That is just...

-I want to scratch my nipple.

Anybody can do whatever they like with their body.

The shape of a face on his tummy just beggar's belief really.

As Adam pulls on a wet-suit,

it's not just his tattoos that Paul is struggling to understand.

Got to try everything once, don't you, in life?

-What did you say?

-You've got to try everything in life.

I want to start working with him. He understands me.

Oh, it's freezing!

I was happy to do it but, yeah,

I was scared about crabs trying to grab onto me.

We just pull this net up and roll you into the boat.

OK.

One to me.

1-0.

Today, Adam's attitude and work performance has been improved.

Let's see what tomorrow brings.

Yeah!

Another trainee trying to redeem himself to his mentor

is 28-year-old Carl.

I've been in a fucking worse position than this.

He's hoping all his good work this week will overshadow him

turning up five hours late on Saturday.

Thanks, mate.

He's keen to prove he's got what it takes to become a butcher,

so he's asked Robin to show him one of the trickiest tasks of the trade,

sausage making.

Then you just feed it all on until you come to the end of it.

You've got that wrist action.

Off to a T there, ain't you?

THEY CHUCKLE

And that just feels wrong.

-Don't squeeze too tight. That's it.

-Oh!

You've got to, you've got to get your co-ordination right.

At the end of the week, like all of the apprentices,

he'll have an appraisal with his mentor.

Carl knows that if he can get back into Robin's good books,

this could be the first step on a promising career ladder.

-You know how to do these now.

-Yeah.

-So I'm going to leave you to do that on your own.

-OK.

I think me and the mince machine are going to be good friends

by the end of these eight weeks, I reckon.

It's just good to be busy,

and that's where you're doing something of value, innit?

Just enjoying the process. Learning how to make a sausage as well.

That's very, it's all interesting really.

# Way beyond compare... #

It's a new day and even though appraisals are looming,

the daily grind is starting to kick in and mistakes are being made.

What can I say?

I'm really, really sorry. I really am so sorry.

Third time now, I'm on my own,

I have had to do everything on my own.

I know. I got lost.

Let's not let it happen again.

Next time it does happen, I won't need you for the whole day.

-OK then.

-OK?

22-year-old Remus from Nottingham might have turned up late

but there's one trainee who hasn't even made it out of bed yet.

Glenn, who is uninspired by his job at the accountancy firm

is only just waking up,

30 minutes after he was due to clock on.

Little bit late...

which is a major blow.

It's a massive shame that's obviously very embarrassing.

But it happens, you know?

PHONE RINGS

Good morning, Filer Knapper.

At the office, Senior Partner Steve Ellson is far from impressed,

having not heard a word from Glenn.

Obviously, in a professional office you can't behave like that,

and it's just an obvious thing for somebody to do

when they're in, in employment, is to phone in if there's a problem.

I'm going to go in. I'm just going to tell them, you know?

It's very, very unfortunate that I'm late.

Apologies and whatnot, but I overslept.

I'm not going to tell any lies, am I?

Glenn eventually turns up just before 11am,

nearly two hours late for work.

First things first, an apology.

Morning.

That's a bit disappointing.

I'm disappointed too. Very disappointed.

So, tell me again what happened.

My alarm didn't go off this morning. I woke up.

I just sort of ran down the stairs and,

and, you know, threw a shirt on and just came in as soon as possible.

Mmm, well, you can do that when you're a student.

You can't do that when you're employed.

The quickest way to become unemployed

is not to turn up on time.

No, absolutely, I would,

would expect my, my tenure here to be terminated at this point.

An apology goes a long way in a situation like this.

We like to give people a chance.

Sure Glenn will say sorry any second now.

This is your chance. Ensure you are here one way or another.

-I will.

-OK?

-Swell.

-OK.

Thanks. All right.

OK. No apology then.

If he wants to stay here then that's got to be the last time that

that happens and it's not as if it's just ten minutes, quarter of an hour.

It was a long time.

So we'll give him another chance and hopefully he will prove us

right to keep him on.

Over at Stewart's Garden Centre,

Christian's attitude towards his job hasn't gone unnoticed.

And word that he's not enthusiastic has reached boss Martin Stewart.

If anybody comes in here

and just wants to not pull their weight, they're not going to last.

He's called Christian into his office for a head-to-head

about his future at the garden centre.

Hi there, is Martin Stewart available please?

'We do give people chances.'

Second chances.

But the one thing he's going to have to do is work.

-How you doing? Hi there.

-How are you?

-I'm good.

The guys really enjoyed working with you

but out of all the people here, they're under more pressure

than anybody and so it, you know, no disrespect to you at all,

it's been holding them up a bit.

I get the feeling that actually it's not really what you want to do.

That's correct, yeah.

I'm not, as I explained, I'm not like a hands-on guy,

maintenance guy, DIY guy. It's a struggle for me.

-Shall we just go and walk the place?

-Yeah, let's have a look.

-And talk about the various things that go on here.

-OK.

And then maybe you say do you know where I'd really like to be?

-Yeah?

-Thank you. All right. Appreciate that.

-Let's go. Come on.

You follow me. I'll take my phone.

I think everyone who's met Christian has warmed to him.

I think we still need to find something that he truly wants to do.

-Come on. You've been out here obviously.

-Yeah.

'So let's get him in to another department

'and then we'll review it then.'

-You know that end.

-Yeah. I painted the doors.

THEY CHUCKLE

Promise me that whichever bit you go into, you're enthusiastic to learn.

What you then use in later life is up to you.

Walkabout completed, Martin asks Christian

if there's a department he would like to be moved to.

Evaluated everything.

-I come to the summary that I want to like work on the shop floor.

-OK.

And I don't mind, if when I'm needed,

I don't mind working in the warehouse if it can be done.

I'll take you out and I'll introduce you to Matt.

-Yeah, I'm happy with that.

-You

-all right? Yeah.

Come on then. Let's go.

It's actually touching that some business owner comes

up to you, could actually appreciate your thoughts, come to you

and take you for a tour of the whole business, saying we want you.

We'll put you where we, we feel that you are suited the best.

And it's like someone almost caring for you.

It's a big, big thing for me

and hopefully I can do Mr Stewart proud and do the job for him.

It's the end of the week and appraisal day.

All 11 of the apprentices arrived in Christchurch with

the hope of landing a permanent job.

To do that, it's vital that they impress their mentors.

However, there's one trainee who isn't getting ready for work this morning.

Ultimately, I need to think about the most productive way to

spend my time so the most productive way to spend my time is back

home searching for jobs.

When you're younger

and people say what do you want to be when you're older?

You know, the artist among us will say happy,

the brave will say fireman.

There's very, very few that say accountants

and I wasn't one of those few.

Glenn has decided to quit,

and after packing, he calls Steve at Filer Knapper to tell him.

Oh, hi, Glenn.

Well, I'm OK, thank you, and you?

Oh. Why's that?

I presume there is no way you are going to change your mind on this.

This is something you've decided you want to do.

We obviously appreciate the way you feel.

I'm glad it wasn't anything to do with us

and I'd like to wish you well in the future.

-OK then.

-All right then. Take care.

Thanks very much then. Bye.

Bye. Bye-bye.

Clearly, it wasn't what he expected in terms of work experience.

My view is that I don't think he really thought about what

he was wanting to do before he came here because it seemed to me

like it was virtually in line with what we were expecting.

But clearly not what he was expecting, which seems,

seems a shame, especially after all the effort everybody's put in.

As Glenn walks away from the chance

of a whole new life in Christchurch...

Step on it.

..the other trainees head into work for their appraisals.

Ex-offender Carl was the star pupil in week one,

but being five hours late on Saturday could have put paid to any

hopes of a future working for Robin.

How do you feel you've done this last week?

Well, I mean, obviously forgetting the five hours late

on the Saturday, I'll leave that out of the door for a moment,

I think I've done all right.

I mean, I'm waking up at 5:00 in the morning,

5:30 in the morning, I'm not going to lie to you Robin,

it's hard work, you know,

I've still not settled into that perfect routine and that.

I've been very pleased with you.

I honestly feel, and you've only been here two weeks,

that if you wanted to do something like this,

that you're, you're made for it. You'd be great.

-Really?

-That's what I think, yeah.

-Robin, that's massive, that.

-And especially with your attitude.

That's massive, that, Robin.

It's really good and it's been a pleasure having you here.

New place, new town, and like, doesn't know me from Adam

and yet he's got more confidence in me

than a lot of people who I've known for years.

In his last appraisal, Benny's continual swearing earned him

a dressing-down from mentor and company chairman John Peek.

And even though he's been making a big effort to improve all week,

he's still anxious when he's summoned to the boardroom.

Am I in trouble again? Is that what it is?

You're not in trouble.

I'm really nervous now.

-Hiya.

-Hi, Benny. Come on in.

-Welcome.

-Hi, Mr Peek. How are you?

-Come and sit down.

It's not bad, is it?

No, you've done really well because you listened to what I had to

say and then you have put it into practice and I've had a lot of...

-Peek practice.

-Peek practice.

..and I've had a lot of good reports.

-Have you? Have you had any negatives at all?

-No.

-Yes!

-All good.

I've been told that you're very pleasant to work with

and that's from someone who said they didn't want to work with you ever again.

-Who was that?

-Can't tell you.

-Oh, my God. Wow.

-But that's really good.

-What we've done is we've got to first base.

-Yeah.

-There's a lot way, lot more to do.

-Yeah.

-A long way to go.

-Definitely.

But you're not on the right track. You're going the right way.

You should be really proud of what you've achieved because...

Thank you.

..I didn't think you would turn these people...

the people around to, to liking you as much as they do.

Aww, that's really sweet.

Oh, I don't know what it is about Mr John Peek

but he always touches a raw nerve with me.

I just find him so inspirational.

And the fact that he told me that the staff had said such

lovely things, like they love having me around and stuff,

that's just an amazing thing to hear.

I just feel so included here and it's, oh, it makes me all warm.

HE CHUCKLES

Another trainee who's been working hard all week to turn things

around with his mentor is Adam.

OK, Adam, this is end of week two now.

And yeah, week's gone pretty fast.

Everything we tend to give you,

you tend to excel in.

You just don't find anything a problem, which is,

is to your credit.

It doesn't always happen like this. Trust me.

I know we had a bit of a bumpy start,

which I'm not going to lie, I did not like want to work here.

I thought I didn't really want to work with a boss like this.

I thought I was going to get treated like crap all the way.

But I think that was just a little bit of a bumpy start

and now we've built a biz together.

On the negative side, I actually can't think of one.

-Really?

-So, well done.

-High-five on that.

In the first week, I was thinking

that I didn't even want to be here no more.

I was ready to pack up.

But it's just, I really haven't even got a clue what's made me change.

I don't know what's changed my mind but I'm just really like, I'm happy.

Every day I'm getting up now,

I'm absolutely happy I'm going to work.

I'm not sat in my bed thinking, "Oh, bollocks to this",

but I'm waking up and I'm like, "Right, that's it,

"let me get back to work."

Over at Stewart's Garden Centre, Rachel's mentor Julie has

an important issue to address before her appraisal.

I'm now in the position that I know Rachel better.

I can go and discuss things with her.

So we're just going to go and discuss her piercings

because she knows it's part of our company policy.

I need to just talk to you about your piercings.

Yeah, no problem.

You know in our manual,

we state that we don't allow facial piercings.

These are fine, ear piercings are fine.

So what we want to do is can they be removed,

or if they can't be removed, can they be changed and covered?

They can be, yeah, I can remove this one and I can leave that one out.

-This, it's got a clear back on it. Could I just flip it?

-Yes.

-Yeah?

-Yes.

That would be absolutely fine, and if you can find something

that's small that can go in that, that would be brilliant.

-That's not a problem at all.

-Fantastic.

To be honest, I did wonder when that was going to come up,

cos it normally does with jobs.

Especially when you're working with customers,

cos, you know, it's all about how you present yourself

and stuff like that, and I knew full well that it might be an issue

so it's not a problem at all.

On the other side of the garden centre,

Manager Terry needs to have the same chat with Christian.

Is Christian about, guys?

After being given a second chance in a new position,

hopefully he won't have a problem adhering to company policy.

There is a section here about personal appearance.

It says staff should note that the company does not permit facial

piercings, facial or body piercings or rings or studs other than ears.

So, you need to take out...

I won't. I'm not going to lie to you, I won't take it out.

It may be in your policy but, at the same time,

it goes against all my human rights and it is a violation of them.

Human rights for piercings?

It's the way I express myself.

Now, if you can source a cover for it, OK,

which is a plastic disc, yeah,

which some guys have got in the past, yeah...

I'm not willing to do that, to be honest with you.

..we can work on that, OK?

So it's not a sure blank no, we don't allow it.

It's still the same thing.

I'm not willing to change a bulb that's only been put in for a

few weeks and risk my own health at the same time.

So, you want me to open this up where it can get infected at the same time.

Now, I believe that there's got to be some leeway here

cos at the same time, all I'm getting told is you, blatantly...

Do you know what? I can't do this.

Rob, see you later, man. Can't take this shit.

Blatantly, you're violating my human rights. That's bullshit.

Christian, look, look, come here. There's no point.

Listen, I don't even know why I'm getting told that, man. It's absolutely crap.

So, what, my appearance, what, cos I've got tattoos,

-I'm black, and what? Fuck that, man.

-OK.

No-one dictates to me, no-one tells me what to do.

End of the day, I do what I want to do.

When I was younger I would probably hit,

I would have probably twatted someone or hit them.

I would have done anything just so could they get out of my face

but now what I do, rather than get angry in front of them,

I more or less just throw a strop and there's, you know what,

I don't want to be in that situation cos I know what I can be like,

so what I do is walk away from it and try to calm myself down.

While Christian takes a moment to regain his composure,

Rachel's already sorted her piercings out

and is having her appraisal.

-On the plus side, we're really pleased with your work.

-Good.

All the team get on with you great and that's been lovely

because you've just got on and mucked in.

Things are going well for Rachel,

but for Christian, it's the end of the road.

News of his outburst in the warehouse has got back to

Martin Stewart and it's the final straw.

We asked actually both Rachel and Christian

if they could remove their body piercings.

One happened to say totally understand, not a problem.

Guess what, she's still here. And Christian, I think, overreacted.

I think he was really silly, you know?

He could still be here and we would have really liked it

if he was still here.

But I can't allow us to do one thing for one person

and one for someone else.

Yo, yeah.

-How are ya?

-I've been sacked.

Oh, mate. What for?

For expressing my views on discrimination and, and it...

-Discrimination?

-Yeah. My lip piercing.

And I said to him, at the end of the day, that I've got the right

-to express myself and through my tattoos, through my piercing.

-Yeah.

And under the Human Rights Act, you are violating that.

Human rights, is it?

I didn't know earrings was part of the human rights.

No, it's a way of expressing yourself, innit?

If you feel that at any point that something is stopping you

from expressing yourself, you can bring it back up.

Fucking hell, you know a lot, don't you?

You do law or something at uni?

I done a bit of law.

-We live in a modern age now where things are more acceptable.

-Yeah.

Christchurch is a bit behind with the times,

like, in cities, things like this wouldn't even happen, would they?

-No. Not about a piercing.

-Not about a piercing.

Well, that's a sad end to the story, innit?

It's a sad end, but you know what?

At least I can walk out of there holding my head up high.

-Ah, bless.

-It's all right, man.

Always be opinionated. Always say what I think is on my mind.

If I think something's wrong,

I'm going to stand up for what I believe in and that's what I done.

Not many people would.

Many people would just stick it out and not say a word about it.

They'll just graft and not be ha...

They won't be happy with the, the workplace they're in,

and they won't be mention nothing, but I'm not like that.

Christian's time in Christchurch is up,

and after packing his bags, he makes a quick exit.

It is what it is at the end of the day, innit?

Look after yourself, man.

Just don't let people take you for a fool.

Christian's gone.

He didn't even say bye.

I know, he told me to tell everyone he said bye, innit.

Basically if you get sacked from your placement or

anything like that, you're gone, innit?

That's it. It's over. Back to reality, life, innit?

Next time, living away from home starts to take its toll...

Clean up after yourself. No-one is a parent.

There's a fucking mug of shit in the fridge.

What a happy household we all live in.

Get me out of this house, I'm going home.

..some of the apprentices lose focus at work...

I'm not going just apologise just cos I think it's the right

thing to do, I'm going to apologise because I genuinely am sorry.

Please just leave me alone.

..and it's the end of the line for another one of the trainees.