Government skills assessment quiz ridiculed after outlandish job suggestions

Ailing workforce told to retrain as stunt doubles, Bingo callers and colon hydrotherapists

Bingo callers among roles suggested by government - despite industry being impacted by pandemic (Getty Images)

The government’s new careers advice service has sparked ridicule after suggesting drastic and often absurd life changes for participants amid an unfolding employment crisis.

Warning that he could save only “viable jobs” as emergency financial support for many British workers waned, chancellor Rishi Sunak said on Tuesday that people in “all walks of life” should consider retraining.

In response, members of the public flocked to the government’s new National Careers Service skills assessment, taking to social media to share the most outlandish suggestions they received.

Despite contact sports remaining severely compromised by social distancing rules, several people were advised to retrain as boxers — including former University Challenge winners, artists and public health experts.

In another instance, the conductor of Scotland’s LGBT+ choir Loud and Proud, Kathleen Cronie, was told to retrain as a colon hydrotherapist.

And in other notable cases, academics were advised to become stunt performers, while one respondent was given the choice between professional football player and Bingo caller.

It followed a fierce backlash from the arts sector after Mr Sunak, asked by ITV News whether some of the UK's “fabulous musicians and artists and actors” should get another job, responded that “as in all walks of life, everyone’s having to adapt”.

While many interpreted his comments to suggest that struggling artists should retrain, Mr Sunak in fact pointed to examples of how those in the arts were finding new ways to generate income within the sector.

This appears to be just as well, given that a number of people in employment less heavily impacted by social distancing measures, such as gardeners, were advised by the government website to become actors.

Many who took the survey likened it to a Buzzfeed quiz.

The survey itself lasts between five and 10 minutes, and sees participants asked to agree or disagree with statements such as “I am comfortable telling people what they need to do” and “I like to see things through to the end”.

Upon completing the 40 or so questions involved, some participants were simply told that the government could recommend no suitable employment for them.

While Mr Sunak said that some 750,000 people had already lost their jobs during the pandemic, Labour warned last month that Mr Sunak’s decision to save only “viable jobs” would place more than a million additional roles in jeopardy.

And as the government appears set to introduce even stricter lockdown measures across much of England, city leaders are reported to be insistent that such measures must come with significant financial support for affected workers and businesses.

In response, Mr Sunak is expected to set out new support measures on Friday. 

The Treasury will announce a furlough scheme in which the state will subsidise two-thirds of workers’ wages in industries directly affected by local lockdowns, according to The Times.