Everyone remembers their first job. More often than not, it’s in the service industry. I started at 14, pouring drinks, serving food and standing with an ice-cream tray. This is where I learned how to handle mistakes, such as dropping an entire tray of prosecco glasses, or spraying hot coffee all over a bridesmaid because I plunged the cafetiere with too much gusto.(正是在那里，我学会了如何面对失误——比如把一整盘普罗塞克酒杯摔在地上，或者因为压法压壶时用力过猛，把滚烫的咖啡喷了伴娘一身。) I learned how to talk to angry strangers, and what it means to have a bad manager. I learned that the customer is always right(顾客永远是对的), except when you’re talking to chefs, who will throw ham at your head if you tell them that. All in all, I did 10 years of restaurant, bar, pub and cafe work, from the age of 14 to 24, and I largely attribute the formation of my character to that decade of work.
每个人都记得自己的第一份工作。多数情况下，那是在服务业。我14岁就入行了，端饮料、上菜、举着冰淇淋托盘站着。正是在那里，我学会了如何面对失误——比如把一整盘普罗塞克起泡酒杯摔在地上，或者因为压法压壶时用力过猛，把滚烫的咖啡喷了伴娘一身。我学会了如何跟怒气冲冲的陌生人说话，也明白了遇到一个糟糕的老板是什么滋味。我懂得了顾客永远是对的——除非你是在跟厨师说话，你要是敢跟他们讲这一套，他们能把火腿扔到你头上。总而言之，从14岁到24岁，我在餐厅、酒吧、酒馆和咖啡馆干了十年，我把自己性格的形成很大程度上归功于那十年的工作。
But this kind of character-building(塑造性格的) experience is under threat. Job postings for temporary work in hospitality in the UK were down by 25% year-on-year(同比) between 2024 and 2025, with 22,369 fewer unique postings. Hospitality leaders have blamed rising wage and tax costs for their inability to hire new starters, and young people are bearing the brunt: nearly 1 million young people are not in education, employment or training (Neet), despite 84% of these seeking work.(酒店业领袖将无法招聘新人归咎于工资和税负成本上升，而年轻人首当其冲：近100万年轻人不升学、不就业、不进修（即“尼特族”），尽管其中84%的人在找工作。) The Recruitment and Employment Confederation has explicitly(明确地) warned that the industry relies heavily on 16- to 24-year-olds, so the impact will be on teenagers seeking their first job. In Manchester, Nell’s Pizza advertised 10 part-time roles for people between the ages of 14 and 18, and received about 2,000 applications.
但这种塑造性格的经历正受到威胁。2024至2025年间，英国酒店餐饮业的临时岗位招聘同比减少25%，独立岗位少了22,369个。酒店业领袖将无法招聘新人归咎于工资和税负成本上升，而年轻人首当其冲：近100万年轻人不升学、不就业、不进修（即“尼特族”），尽管其中84%的人在找工作。招聘与就业联合会明确警告，该行业严重依赖16至24岁的年轻人，因此受冲击的将是寻找第一份工作的青少年。在曼彻斯特，Nell’s Pizza发布了10个面向14至18岁青少年的兼职岗位，结果收到约2000份申请。
But it’s not just the career prospects and the financial setback(挫折、倒退)s that are at stake(处于危险中、攸关) here – young people will miss out on(错失、错过) a more fundamental process of maturing. For many British teenagers, myself included, those summer jobs pulling pints are an apprenticeship(学徒期、学徒训练) in adulthood.
但这里岌岌可危的不仅是职业前景和经济损失——年轻人还将错失一个更根本的成长过程。对许多英国青少年（包括我自己）来说，那些夏天拉啤酒龙头的工作，就是一场成年期的学徒训练。