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You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/nov/05/valentina-giordano-uk-job-market-meritocratic
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A migrant’s story: ‘Everything works so well in the UK’ | A migrant’s story: ‘Everything works so well in the UK’ |
(about 11 hours later) | |
When Valentina Giordano decided on a career in urban design, she chose London over her native Milan. | When Valentina Giordano decided on a career in urban design, she chose London over her native Milan. |
Unlike her friends in Italy, “who felt you had to know somebody”, she thought the UK job market was more meritocratic. | Unlike her friends in Italy, “who felt you had to know somebody”, she thought the UK job market was more meritocratic. |
She said that having studied town planning at University College London, and then taken a master’s in architecture, “I felt, with my portfolio, I could be confident about applying for different jobs. I always felt it was quite fair. And it was also easy to change jobs.” | She said that having studied town planning at University College London, and then taken a master’s in architecture, “I felt, with my portfolio, I could be confident about applying for different jobs. I always felt it was quite fair. And it was also easy to change jobs.” |
By contrast, said Giordano, 36, an urban designer at Terry Farrell who lives in north London, “hardly any of my friends in Italy have a full-time contract”. | By contrast, said Giordano, 36, an urban designer at Terry Farrell who lives in north London, “hardly any of my friends in Italy have a full-time contract”. |
“A lot of my friends are quite resigned to it. When I tell them how it works here, they almost find it unbelievable. The situation is so different.” | “A lot of my friends are quite resigned to it. When I tell them how it works here, they almost find it unbelievable. The situation is so different.” |
The UK works not only for Giordano, who first came here as an 18-year-old, but also for her husband, Pierre, 36, who is from Luxembourg. He recently set up a UK branch of a European policy valuation consultancy. Again, her friends in Italy “almost didn’t believe that you could do that, just set up a company”. | |
It is not just the jobs market that the couple find attractive. “Everything works so well in the UK. I pay my council tax, and everything is OK. If there is a problem with the lighting, or the rubbish, you can report it. Of course, it’s not perfect. But I feel I actually have a voice. If there is a planning application, they send you a letter for you to have a say. You feel you are really participating, not just being told of a decision made by somebody else. I don’t think my Italian friends feel like that. | It is not just the jobs market that the couple find attractive. “Everything works so well in the UK. I pay my council tax, and everything is OK. If there is a problem with the lighting, or the rubbish, you can report it. Of course, it’s not perfect. But I feel I actually have a voice. If there is a planning application, they send you a letter for you to have a say. You feel you are really participating, not just being told of a decision made by somebody else. I don’t think my Italian friends feel like that. |
“The only reason to move back to Italy would be for family needs, to be close to my parents. Not to look for a job. Once you live in London and you like it – and we love it – to move somewhere else in Europe is quite hard because it is such a stimulating place to live.” | “The only reason to move back to Italy would be for family needs, to be close to my parents. Not to look for a job. Once you live in London and you like it – and we love it – to move somewhere else in Europe is quite hard because it is such a stimulating place to live.” |
• This article was amended on 5 November 2014 to correct a description of Giordano’s husband’s job. |
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