DWP Flexible new deal scheme

seven-day-weekend

What is the problem anyway with going on the course? You can still look for a job in IT while you are on it, can't you?

This is what you have to do in order to get your Benefit; why is it a problem? If you haven't found work in twelve months then surely this is better than sitting around twiddling your thumbs?

coupes

My thanks to everyone for responding.

As far as im aware it used to be that people aged 25 or older had up to 18 months before they were required to join new deal and it lasted a maximum of 26 weeks. Now with FND its been changed to after 12 months and the programme lasts for 12 months aswell.

If FND turns out to be mostly a work experience placement where you are not required to sit in a room all day reading newspapers, that might not be so bad. Although i think making the programme last for 12 months is just a way for employers to take advantage of cheap labour from the jobcentre.

The only way i think you may be able to avoid it is if you can convince the jobcentre that you already have the skills and qualifications to apply for work. But even then i think they are instructed to follow their rules and ignore the clients previous education. So its unlikely you will be able to persuade them.

It should be optional whether someone wishes to join a course like this. Otherwise it seems that they are just trying to force people off claiming benefits by putting them in an awkward and unhelpful environment. But remember its not the jobcentres fault, the policies come from higher up.

donnajunkie

davebuk wrote: »

Is there anyway of getting out of this?

The providers cant offer any training to benefit me. I normally work in I.T and all they say is we will send you to a Charity Shop to do work and then Maths and English?

Could the european convention on human rights help

unfortunately the only way to get out of it is to sign off. just make sure you dont do anything to get yourself into trouble while you are on it.
edit.
it should be illegal really simply because people who are on it are getting paid less than the minimum wage for working. in my opinion both the government and the employers are breaking the law.

donnajunkie

dookar wrote: »

Yes. Secure employment

lol.........

donnajunkie

seven-day-weekend wrote: »

What is the problem anyway with going on the course? You can still look for a job in IT while you are on it, can't you?

This is what you have to do in order to get your Benefit; why is it a problem? If you haven't found work in twelve months then surely this is better than sitting around twiddling your thumbs?

working all day 4 or 5 days a week means less time to look for work.

being on the course can often mean more time than usual twiddling your thumbs.

of course there needs to be help out there but these courses dont help. free jobsearch facilities and access to training were you can gain proper qualifications is what people need.

donnajunkie

coupes wrote: »

If FND turns out to be mostly a work experience placement where you are not required to sit in a room all day reading newspapers, that might not be so bad. Although i think making the programme last for 12 months is just a way for employers to take advantage of cheap labour from the jobcentre.

it depends on what your work placement is like regarding whether it is better. even if it is good it is still wrong to have to work for less than the minimum wage.
12 months or 6 months it is still just a way for employers to get free labour.

donnajunkie

coupes wrote: »

The only way i think you may be able to avoid it is if you can convince the jobcentre that you already have the skills and qualifications to apply for work. But even then i think they are instructed to follow their rules and ignore the clients previous education. So its unlikely you will be able to persuade them.

you could be a rocket scientist but if you have the cheek to claim benefit they will still send you onto new deal.

donnajunkie

coupes wrote: »

It should be optional whether someone wishes to join a course like this. Otherwise it seems that they are just trying to force people off claiming benefits by putting them in an awkward and unhelpful environment. But remember its not the jobcentres fault, the policies come from higher up.

the main reason they force people is because alot of the people they are targeting would not bother otherwise. the thing they dont realise is if someone is forced then the course wont benefit them and if it doesnt benefit them it doesnt benefit the tax payer either. they need to be more creative regarding motivating people.

seven-day-weekend

donnajunkie wrote: »

working all day 4 or 5 days a week means less time to look for work.

being on the course can often mean more time than usual twiddling your thumbs.

of course there needs to be help out there but these courses dont help. free jobsearch facilities and access to training were you can gain proper qualifications is what people need.

I thought that, coupled with work placements, was what they got?

I went in the Jobcentre in my home town (I'm not registered as unemployed) and used the computers to look for jobs. That and reading the papers is free jobsearch facilities.

My son got a First Aid at Work qualification when he was unemployed, and his girlfriend got a Maths qualification.

They both had work placements and my son got a job from his. His girlfriend didn't, but it gave her confidence to successfully find a job elsewhere.

What else would they have been doing if they were not on these courses?

This was the 'old' New Deal, btw.

donnajunkie

seven-day-weekend wrote: »

I thought that, coupled with work placements, was what they got?

I went in the Jobcentre in my home town (I'm not registered as unemployed) and used the computers to look for jobs. That and reading the papers is free jobsearch facilities.

My son got a First Aid at Work qualification when he was unemployed, and his girlfriend got a Maths qualification.

They both had work placements and my son got a job from his. His girlfriend didn't, but it gave her confidence to successfully find a job elsewhere.

What else would they have been doing if they were not on these courses?

This was the 'old' New Deal, btw.

yes there are some facilities for jobsearch. they are not very good though. they need to be more like what jobclub/programme centres were like. now they have a few computers shared between 20 or 30 people. they also interfere in a bad way with your jobsearch. they kept telling me to cut down my cv to 1 page. it wasnt i think you should cut it down, it was you have to cut it down or else. they told me i had to get rid of all the older stuff but this meant i had nothing but new deal programmes on my cv and all the more impressive stuff would be left out. i just humoured them and made a crappy cv like they said and kept using my 2 page cv for applying for jobs.
the work placement aspect does not work for the majority of people. we also must wonder how many of those who get a job while on new deal would have anyway. there is also the question of how many of those who dont get a job would have found one if they had not been spending all day working for their benefit instead of looking for work.
what kind of maths qualification was it? was it one of the crappy kind i have seen people get on new deal or was it something good like an a level or a degree.
wondering what else could people do if they werent on these courses isnt really an argument for them.
i'm glad your son and his girlfriend got a job. unfortunately most people dont. i believe the figures say 25% get a job which i dont think is very good. i heard this figure ages ago when the economy was supposedly doing well. while considering this figure i remind you of what i said earlier regarding how many would have got a job anyway. so the success of the new deal must be even less than 25% really.
people need to get recent experience but it should not be designed in such a way that employers can use it to get free labour. i guess limits on hours people work on placement and limits on how long they can be on placement at a company might at least help deal with this issue. if they could only have you for 1 or 2 days a week for a maximum of 4 to 8 weeks that might weed out the companies exploiting the system. afterall the jobcentre have a work trial programme were i believe you work for your benefit for upto 3 weeks to prove yourself to an employer. so if 3 weeks is deemed adequate for an employer to see what you are like for work trials then why does new deal say they can have you for what is now 12 months?