Results tagged “professional” from Birmingham Mail - Veron Graham

Congratulations to Paul Ince on becoming the first Black British manager of a premiership team in taking over at Blackburn Rovers. I for one couldn't be happier now that the man dubbed 'The Guv'nor' on the field is now at the helm of a leading soccer club.

Our airwaves and newspapers have been awash with coverage about this - most welcoming his appointment, some even saying that Paul getting this job proves that there isn't any racism in football.

I suggest that the truth lies somewhat short of that. The dearth of Black managers in British football has to be down to the 'r-word.' Still Ince, who was the first Black player to captain the English national team, has to be commended for a number of reasons. Firstly, for having the guts to take a job at the lowest level of professional football in England, League Two Macclesfield Town. He saved them from what looked like certain relegation; next he leads MK Dons to promotion and cup glory.

I still believe that a Black person operating in most professional fields in Britain has to be somewhat better than his/ her white counterparts but Ince has showed that hard work, success and talent can still pay off.

Gwarn Guv'nor!

How many times have you heard or seen a youngster that isn't doing well in education? One who doesn't want to work too hard or too long to succeed? Or, in line with current trends, is banking on starring in a reality show which will fast-track them to fame and fortune.

Well, these attitudes do not apply to all young people and I'm a great believer in giving credit where it is due.

A few months ago I was asked to give some help and advice to an aspiring media professional by her older relative - a request that has been made of me on many occassions. However this time, I was not approached half-heartedly by someone looking for the quickest way into the business with the least amount of effort or who froze at the thought of hard work, as has happened in say 70% of cases. Sephrah Anderson (pictured) has helped restore my floundering faith in our young people.

Sephrah spent several days working with me and showed an ambition and thirst for knowledge that I haven't seen for a long time! She brought with her a timely reminder that, despite the many of the negative stories we come across, there is hope for the future.

Now - enough of the warm sentimentality!

I, like many of you, didn't have anyone around who was capable of giving me much professional guidance. Nowadays, most of us either know someone in the legal profession, education, social work, IT, law enforcement, health care, media, etc or at least knows someone who knows someone who does. That means all of us can either do something to help steer the youth on their way or link them up with someone who can.

I for one am tired of the excuses made for the lack of progression and ambition amongst some of our youth. None of us can help all the youngsters coming through but we can each do something. Not being able to totally remove a problem is not an excuse for not doing anything about it.

To borrow from a line from Janet Jackson, what have you done for youth lately?