Job center no help with training?

dugdale_2

Wishface,
It took me less than a minute to extract the following from the jobcentreplus website

Contacting learning and training providers

The better qualified you are and the more skills you have the more likely you are to find work, stay in work and get promoted.
England

The Careers Advice Service provides free information and advice on learning and work A confidential helpline is available from 8am to 10pm, 7 days a week on 0800 100 900 or visit http://careersadvice.direct.gov.uk/
‘Nextstep’ face-to-face services give information and advice on
learning, training, and getting qualifications. Visit http://nextstep.direct.gov.uk/
If you’re not sure where to start with skills, you can call the ‘In Our Hands Helpline’ on 0800 011 30 30 or visit www.lsc.gov.uk/inourhands


What sort of response have you had from the above agencies ?
I would think it eminently sensible that people looking for training would contact the above bodies rather than waste the valuable time of frontline jobcentreplus staff.

wishface

why are you asking me? I'm not the OP.

So if this info is available from a website what then is the problem with providing it face to face?

sharski

Well come on then, clever clogs (AKA Wishface)...

Tell us all how a JC bod is meant to do all this in 5 minutes???

I look forward to you ideas..!!

dugdale_2

wishface wrote: »

why are you asking me? I'm not the OP.

So if this info is available from a website what then is the problem with providing it face to face?

Wishface,
a) I'm asking you because you were the person who hijacked the OP's thread and became very vocal about how you believe Jobcentreplus fail to provide a certain service.

b) Nextstep centres do offer a face to face service, often at jobcentreplus locations, all you have to do is phone a freephone number to book an appointment. The phone number and indeed actual locations are all on the links that I provided.

wishface

how on earth do you a) hijack a message board thread and b) hijack it by talking about the same thing?

you've also missed the point i made. if these services are advertised on their website then why not face to face?

wishface

sharski wrote: »

Well come on then, clever clogs (AKA Wishface)...

Tell us all how a JC bod is meant to do all this in 5 minutes???

I look forward to you ideas..!!

i didn't say anything about 5 minutes. if they can't provide a decent service why is it then my responsibility to fix it?

Oldernotwiser

It's up to the claimant to explore all the options open to him/her and for the Jobcentre to be able to signpost a claimant to other providers of information when asked. The OP was asking for the JCP to "send" him/her on a course, which isn't what happens.

dugdale_2

wishface wrote: »

how on earth do you a) hijack a message board thread and b) hijack it by talking about the same thing?

you've also missed the point i made. if these services are advertised on their website then why not face to face?

a) 33% of the posts on this thread were made by yourself whilst the OP has not returned to post on the thread after the opening post, hence I stated that you've hijacked the OPs thread.
b) Not a relevant point as I never mentioned that you'd changed the context of the thread.

The OP stated that when they went to sign on they enquired about being sent on a course and the response was that the JC staff member could only help with basic maths or English.
I wouldn't expect a JC staff member responsible for dealing with members of the public signing on to be able to advise on all the different courses available at the OPs local technical college. I would, however, expect someone from nextstep to be able to advise on relevant training courses. Nextstep are not part of JCP (or at least I don't believe that they are), however do, on occasions use JCP locations to offer their services.

Oldernotwiser

dugdale wrote: »

Nextstep are not part of JCP (or at least I don't believe that they are), however do, on occasions use JCP locations to offer their services.

No they're not (I used to be a Careers Adviser with them), although they often do interviews on JCP premises.

PasturesNew

I must say that I agree with the OP. The whole ins/outs of education is completely beyond me. I've tried many times looking for courses and I can just never find anything that it is possible to start, or anything that's actually useful.

It does seem that if you're in the loop you assume everybody else knows what's what - and if you're not in the loop you have no idea about what's available, where to look, etc.

I have tried phoning a few places for information and you always get the same old nothing out of them. It's a big black hole unless you know "the system"... which I don't.

Training, training, training ... what does it actually mean? Where is it? What's the score? No idea. The Internet can just lead you up the path... I was trying to find A level Maths the other week at evening classes and just got completely overwhelmed with nothingness ... although it does seem there's some new-fangled scheme (which I didn't understand) involving AS and A2 - one source said you needed one before the other, another source said it was the other way round ... and it was all irrelevant as it was only available full-time at a college and not evening classes.

But, basically, unless you live in/near London, or a well-funded area, then trying to find relevant courses is pretty much impossible. There's no one central searching place.