Two men, 40 years apart - one in England, the other in Wales - but they share the same daunting experience of unemployment.

Their downbeat mood is palpable: a smile is rare, and their softly spoken voices convey a lack of confidence and hope after years of sitting on the subs' bench.

In the town of Royal Wootton Bassett in Wiltshire, 25-year-old Ben Gillet is in his cramped room lighting up a hand-rolled cigarette.

The window is ajar and a crisp cool breeze forces its way through, blowing the curtain into the side table.

He hasn't slept all night - a common recurrence when you're without work, he says. The last time he was employed was in 2008 - and now his days mostly consist of playing video games and consuming vast amounts of tea.

"I've played all my games to death, I watch TV series that I've watched three or four times through," he says.

"My confidence is practically nil. I have no reason to be confident these days - I don't know why I'm failing to get a job, because I get such little feedback that it just amounts to none."

He doesn't have a plethora of experience. Short stints at factories and restaurants make up the bulk of his CV, along with low-grade A levels in sciences and IT.

Pessimistic
Ben lives in a clammy rented flat with a friend. The kitchen is swamped with dirty plates and cutlery, some of which have been there for weeks. Mould lines the mug from which he drinks tea.

bbc.co.uk

Get rid of the beard for a start...

Yep!

Unfortunately it is a kind of knee jerk reaction to a very bad situation. I do hope however that that you are in the minority of those numbers. That said, it doesn't make it any easier.

Owain, do you think I have never been out of work, or skint? Do you even know what I'm doing now to support my family?

I'd rather be outdoors looking at nature! That sounds SO geeky but it's true!

Dancing for money?

Apart from that.

Sorry bro! ;-)

:-|

Fuck that!

Such utopia will only ever exist in your dreams. It's impossible.

People have such vast expectations of employment, it's work, it's supposed to be shit, very few people actually enjoy their jobs and the ones that do are very lucky and probably not earning vast sums. And a well paid job in the city is still soul destroyingly boring and hard work for the main part, people forget that and just think about the salary a lot of the time in envy. I don't think I'd last long in a really shit low paid manual jo,b I would probably turn to crime before I let that become my life.

Just remember the mantra "think of the money!" when working a shitty long shift.

I've never been able to do a really boring job I'd only last a week, when I was 15 I was sacked from Homebase which was my first job because it was so boring I went slightly mental and slashed all the bags of fertiliser with a stanley knife which created a bit of a mess. It was only my second shift but I remember thinking that it was going to take more drugs than I could possibly buy with the money I earnt to get over the shame of wearing a green polo shirt with an orange collar and a badge that said "here to help" !

I wouldn't say I enjoy my job, but it does have it's redeeming factors. The money is shit and the hours do my head in (no evenings in 4 years =l) but when I gets an interesting customer an get to rant about wine, I do get a sense of satisfaction.

I guess I am one of the lucky few who loves their job and gets good money for it.

I'm liking my job too and the money is ok. It's all good for now anyway.

Drinks on you then Pix.

Oh don't get me wrong, I have enough money to pay my rent, bills and get drunk. I'd just like a shit load more so I can live somewhere nicer and drink a load more.

Haha I wish pal. Don't quite work that many hours to warrant extra drinks atm, it's enough to keep me going. As soon as I finish uni, I will hopefully start full time. But again, it won't be much money, as I won't have the backing of student funding behind me.

Like most of us, i've put in my time at Sainsburies during my teens (bout 5 years on and off). I was rubbish at it, but mostly because the pay was so god-awful I couldnt see a reason why I should try.

Mind you, i made some great mates there and we had a right laugh. Used to fuck around all day by doing stuff like racing the power pump-trucks around the loading bay, and seeing what foodstuffs you could explode by attaching them to the donut jam-filler. They also put me in charge of Beers & Wines for 2 years and I had a quality racket going on, whereby i'd just reduce alcohol for other members of staff on the sly, in exchange for free shit from the kiosk and heavily reduced shopping when i went through 'certain' checkouts.

If the jobs shit, make your own incentives.

Jesus, calm down Robin, I wasn't attacking your 'bessie mate', I don't have a clue about his life or what he's been up to, if I'd wanted to know I would ask. I was purely pointing out that on here he gives the impression that all jobless people are in that position because of the government and it's not their own fault at all.