[InBlack]

I have always thought what a good idea it would be to have some kind of skills co-op. A large group of people, such as us using the forum, who we could do a trade with. For example, I could give tuition in the subjects I specialise in, or help with areas I know in exchange for things I am no good at....such as DIY. Would there be much interest do you think?

[Darth Vader]

There was a thread on here somewhere, that did this for a while. Don't know if it's still up and running though.

[Flowersfade]

this is an awesome idea.... i'd love to take part my special skills are baking and cooking as well as tuition in science maths or English. speaking of baking made some bread earlier yum yum

[Madam-M]

Ooh - sounds good. But how could it be organised?

[Oddgitt]

I know a few people who might be interested in this.

Incidentally, my gf's brother, who lives in Madrid, is heavily involved in something the same, called the time bank - he gives english and music lessons and he gets stuff in exchange. It administered a little differently, but the same thing in essence,.

[riverman]

hi, i can weld and have all the gear. what can you do for me??

[muckymurphy]

Originally Posted by riverman

i can weld and have all the gear. what can you do for me???

might be in need of your skills in a few weeks time

[kevvv]

A great idea. i'm a good gardener but how could you equate my relative low skill base with say an electrician,who would be far more skilled, if i were to swap time with then. would i have to do twice the ammount of work

[muckymurphy]

Originally Posted by kevvv

A great idea. i'm a good gardener but how could you equate my relative low skill base with say an electrician,who would be far more skilled, if i were to swap time with then. would i have to do twice the ammount of work

there used to be a similar scheme where participants earned "stones" for their work which could be traded for the skills of others.
the last i heard was that HMRC were looking into the tax "or lack of it" implications of the scheme.


as a disc jockey and a qualified electrician i do these things mostly because i enjoy doing them getting the qualifications and experience has always been worth every penny.
as a teenager, i had 2 allotments and thoroughly enjoyed every moment i spent in them.
its sad that the supposedly "lower skilled" you are, the less you are paid. i have always been of the opinion that the more you sweat, the more you should be paid. it should be as in cuba where everyone is paid the same regardless of their occupation.
never put yourself down, there are times when i would gladly fix your electrics in exchange for you taming my garden.

keep ya chin up.

[Dozy]

Originally Posted by kevvv

A great idea. i'm a good gardener but how could you equate my relative low skill base with say an electrician,who would be far more skilled, if i were to swap time with then. would i have to do twice the ammount of work

I was involved in a now-defunct LETS (Local Exchange Trading Scheme or System) in the north of city.

Everybody - regardless of the service/skill they were offering - received the same number of credits per hour for their work. I thought this was fair - after all, being a qualified accountant is bugger all help if you've got a lawn that needs mowing or spring bulbs to plant!

The LETS scheme which uses stones , seems to run differently, in that people can decide for themselves what to charge.

From my experience, the main problem with setting up a LETS is finding volunteers who are willing to give their time to doing the paperwork/accounting, so joining an existing group might be a better option than trying to set a new one up.

[girlyblonde]

im great with children, (ex reg childminder) i now work with Dementia patients so would be able to offer baby sitting for all ages,

[Andy]

Originally Posted by Dozy

The LETS scheme which uses stones , seems to run differently, in that people can decide for themselves what to charge.

From my experience, the main problem with setting up a LETS is finding volunteers who are willing to give their time to doing the paperwork/accounting, so joining an existing group might be a better option than trying to set a new one up.

Simple solution to that. Everyone has to give, say one hour every two months to be a member of the scheme. The time spent running the scheme comes out of the "pot". The Admin/paperwork just becomes another skill.

[HarmonyMusic]

You could set up a face book and use the events function to invite people to help or train in whatever skill is required in exchange for you doing a skilled event on a different day. The issue you will have is that you might only have 1 DIY expert and 50% of the members want help with that so they are always having to help but the members they help may not have the skills you would want in exchange

[here'2'there]

Count me in if this goes any further. I'm a man with a van service. I have loads of little jobs that need doing round my gaff ...... you know the ones you never get round to doing lol !!

[bethwebb]

Originally Posted by girlyblonde

im great with children, (ex reg childminder) i now work with Dementia patients so would be able to offer baby sitting for all ages,

I wouldn't let you near my elderly relatives with that demeaning attitude. Dementia or no, they're still adults.

Regardless, I'm interested in this. Quite a good cook, and good with doggies if anyone needs a dog sitting service.

[staffsNlaffs]

Originally Posted by kevvv

A great idea. i'm a good gardener but how could you equate my relative low skill base with say an electrician,who would be far more skilled, if i were to swap time with then. would i have to do twice the ammount of work

No you just need to make sure when the flowers bloom in his garden that the green and yellow ones dont touch the blue ones...

[John---doe]

Originally Posted by Dozy

I was involved in a now-defunct LETS (Local Exchange Trading Scheme or System) in the north of city.

Everybody - regardless of the service/skill they were offering - received the same number of credits per hour for their work. I thought this was fair - after all, being a qualified accountant is bugger all help if you've got a lawn that needs mowing or spring bulbs to plant!

The LETS scheme which uses stones , seems to run differently, in that people can decide for themselves what to charge.

From my experience, the main problem with setting up a LETS is finding volunteers who are willing to give their time to doing the paperwork/accounting, so joining an existing group might be a better option than trying to set a new one up.

Probably now defunct because it didn’t work the way it was set up.

Do you really think a qualified accountant, (who can earn lets say £500 per day) will swap a days work for a gardener (who can earn lets say £100 per day) ????

You must be able to see that in a Capitalist society it will only work if the Accountant gets more ‘credits’ for his days work than a labourer – no matter how skilled.

Otherwise the scheme will only operate with labourers /unskilled swapping jobs, tradesmen swapping with tradesmen, etc, etc.

[staffsNlaffs]

[QUOTE=John---doe;7545665]
You must be able to see that in a Capitalist society it will only work if the Accountant gets more ‘credits’ for his days work than a labourer – no matter how skilled. /QUOTE]

Skinner wrote a book (Walden Two) about a modern Utopia which dealt with the matter of swapping skills in this way. Payment was free time credits or something

[AlyJ]

The 'Time Bank' works in Chesterfield in the same way as the LETS scheme. It's an hour for an hour no matter what the skill. I would argue that it takes more effort to dig a garden than it does to do some accounting. Not all highly qualified people are as ruthless as John Doe would have us believe however! Altruism and community spirit is not the sole domain of those who have less qualifications or 'expertise'.

[hriley1987]

This is a great idea.

My skills : graphic design (logo / leaflet / flyer / brochure design as well as imag retouching) using Adobe CS5 and Quark, marketing, brand consultancy, drama teaching, copywriting, scriptwriting, English and Philosophy tuition, SEO

Skills I need: gardening, DIY, ironing and sewing