JSA: Gateway to work/YMCA Training

lauraknight_1988

I agree that there is only a certain amount that Jobcentre can do however if you have studied a subject for many years then you should be helped to gain a career in that subject.
What amazes me is the fact that if you have been unemployed for a certain amount of time then you are put on New Deal which will help you get into a music career or become self employed but will not help people who want to work in other areas of the media.
Also the OP was actively discouraged from taking up an internship with a company, but when he goes on GATEWAY TO WORK he will be working for an employer for 2 days for free anyway. Why was he not encouraged to particapte in the internship oppurtunity which could have lead to him gaining a paid job.
At the end of the day it all boils down to money, every person referred to these outside companies means that YMCA earn their money so people are actively referred to them even if they will not help. Also every time someone goes on these courses the number of people who are claiming JSA is lowered as they class this training scheme as training so therefore no longer on JSA which is misleading because you still get your JSA and many do not gain anything from these courses. The UK JSA rules need to be seriously reconsidered. You are constantly told conflicting things when you ask a simple question. E.G I asked if I could do some voluntary work at a local nursery and was told no as if would not be actively seeking work but the following week I was told it was ok to do that as long as it did not exceed 15 hours per week. If i had taken on some volunteering then I may have been able to gain a paid job sooner. Also i cannot understand how you are not actively encouraged to gain work experience in something because when they put you on these courses you are sent out to work for 2 days for free which effectively means im not looking for work. Its total Madness.

donnajunkie

Vader123 wrote: »

Go with an open mind.

If you have been unemployed a long time then you need all the help you can get.

Those people that moan about it and set up petitions are usually annoyed they had to do something other than "sign on" for "their" money.

Vader

correction they hate having to sign on as well. what you say does apply to some people but with alot of people they know what these courses that the jobcentre send people on are like and that is why they hate doing them.
things like this 2 week course wont be so bad. its new deal you want to fear. that is the ultimate in pointlessness.

lauraknight_1988

donnajunkie wrote: »

correction they hate having to sign on as well. what you say does apply to some people but with alot of people they know what these courses that the jobcentre send people on are like and that is why they hate doing them.
things like this 2 week course wont be so bad. its new deal you want to fear. that is the ultimate in pointlessness.

Donna just to correct you gateway to work is the first course on New deal you then do a 13 week course and then a 26 week one that is of course if you dont find a job between these courses. If you dont find a course and you complete all the courses you go round do the cycle again the following year.

waaag

i have to say that I totally agree with lauraknight_1988. and donnajunkie.

All of these schemes are of no use whatsoever. They cannot magically make a job appear. Most people are quite able to produce a CV...and on the subject of that they tell you how to 'enhance' your cv..basically lie, but that's fine because the government says so, but someone like maxine carr got penalised because she did this very thing in order to get a job in a scummy fish factory, maybe she should have said new deal 'helped' her with her cv then it'd have been ignored........it was in the papers but they 'curiously' would not print anything in response by readers about the government schemes encouraging this to force people in to a job...

all of the schemes over they years are just repackaged at the cost to the taxpayer, they wheel out the same old shiiite, JTS, new job training scheme, the whole lot. Just a ploy to massage the unemployment figures and of no use to anybody, except disrupting their day and forcing them to do pointless things of no benefit.to quote lauraknight :- "these people at the jobcentres work for commission so will pass of any job in order for it to be filled and get their bonus!" You have hit the nail on the head. And I know one who worked for DWP on new claims and for everyone she dealt with that didn't get a claim for benefit she received a next voucher......I'm sure that this can easily be confirmed..or denied as the case may be....probably denied, but I know as I have seen her and seen the vouchers and asked if if she thought this was morally wrong. She didn't. Which is probably why she was offered the job.

to quote laura agin :You are constantly told conflicting things when you ask a simple question. E.G I asked if I could do some voluntary work at a local nursery and was told no as if would not be actively seeking work but the following week I was told it was ok to do that as long as it did not exceed 15 hours per week. If i had taken on some volunteering then I may have been able to gain a paid job sooner. Also i cannot understand how you are not actively encouraged to gain work experience in something because when they put you on these courses you are sent out to work for 2 days for free which effectively means im not looking for work. Its total Madness. Yes total ,madness indeed...and it needs challenging. I can't think of the words to say....

red_devil

Jowo wrote: »

Hopefully you have options to get work experience, paid or unpaid, in the media as part of future JSA options. Have a look at CSV as I understand they have voluntary or training opportunities in that field.

csv are awful couldnt organise a pee up in a brewery avoid at all costs poster. Take it from people who really know.

All back to work schemes are useless, understaffed,poorly managed, condescending, and they are just a way of fiddling the unemployment figures.

Still i know the government have to be seen to be doing something!

donnajunkie

lauraknight_1988 wrote: »

Donna just to correct you gateway to work is the first course on New deal you then do a 13 week course and then a 26 week one that is of course if you dont find a job between these courses. If you dont find a course and you complete all the courses you go round do the cycle again the following year.

if what you say is correct is that for under 25's? as an over 25 it has never been like that here. i have never had to do gateway to work. under the old new deal we would get refered to an advisor at the jobcentre who you would see once a week or once a fortnight for a few months. you would get refered to this after 18 months claiming. you then got refered to a 13 week course or a 26 week course (not both) were you would do 1 day in the centre and 4 days on work placement. in some areas this has been replaced by flexible new deal. in theses areas after 6 months claiming you see an advisor at the jobcentre once a month taking you upto the 12 month mark. you then get refered to an outside provider were you spend the next 12 months. the differences are you no longer get an extra £15, it is no longer full time, you still sign on, you do various bits of training they deem necessary and you do a 4 week work placement.

lauraknight_1988

Donna- yes the gateway to work course is for 18-25 years olds, I dont know what happens to other age groups as i fall into 18-25!
I was very shocked by the things ive heard in the jobcentre eg one of the advisors told me she would not go to work unless she was paid enough to cover her childcare costs and rent and yet told me to accept a job paying 3.50 an hour and it was only part time so I would be much much worse off.
Ive also seen them go through catalogues and talk about what they are going to get rather then advice customers and have waited an hour past my sign on time whilst they sat around rather then deal with customers. I couldnt just walk out because i wouldnt have got my money and they know you need that.
Ive also been sent to wrong centres when they was expanding and missed apoointments because of mistakes they have made. Its an absolute shambles in these places, Ive heard them talk to customers like their a peice of !!!!....ok i know that there are people who want to sign on forever and dont want to work but for others they is no pratical help offered.
I considered taking a job that paid 100 pounds per week so that i could get of it.

Jowo_2

waaag wrote: »

...

All of these schemes are of no use whatsoever. They cannot magically make a job appear. ...
... Just a ploy to massage the unemployment figures and of no use to anybody, except disrupting their day and forcing them to do pointless things of no benefit....

They cannot magically make a job appear, that's true, but they can coax a person into thinking of alternative careers.

My point stands - how long should someone try for a dream job, particularly one with few openings and strong competition, perhaps one that will never exist for them, before considering something new?

Media jobs are really popular but colleges and Universities churn out tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of students from these courses each year. Realistically, if a person hasn't managed to bag a coveted position within a year, their competition doubles overnight.

I will always recall the desperation, frustration, anger and depression I witnessed a friend go through for more than two years after not gaining an entry level position in their particular field of psychology. That's why I admire ambition but think it also has its constraints, too, and why I am curious to know of the OPs own strategy and deadlines to achieve it in the face of a state job seeking service which is seen as an obstacle.

My friend who worked as a producer for a TV station used to be shocked at the high number of CVs and showreels that were sent through by desperate grads, the number of times people smoozed her - she had a paid contract but the company could have picked anybody to do it for free - the faxes would crank out dozens of CVs with pleas for unpaid work experience each day.

donnajunkie

Jowo wrote: »

They cannot magically make a job appear, that's true, but they can coax a person into thinking of alternative careers.

My point stands - how long should someone try for a dream job, particularly one with few openings and strong competition, perhaps one that will never exist for them, before considering something new?

are you saying that there are only few jobs in what a person wants to do but there are plenty of other jobs? you sound like a jobcentre worker. it doesnt matter what your 3 main jobs are they will always say theres no chance of a job in that have you considered this instead. at one desk someone looking for admin will be told theres no chance of a job in that have you considered child care. at another desk someone will have child care down as a job and will get asked why not consider admin. the point being it doesnt matter what your main job goals are you will always get told theres no chance of getting that so you have told do something else.

lauraknight_1988

Jowo wrote: »

They cannot magically make a job appear, that's true, but they can coax a person into thinking of alternative careers.

My point stands - how long should someone try for a dream job, particularly one with few openings and strong competition, perhaps one that will never exist for them, before considering something new?

Media jobs are really popular but colleges and Universities churn out tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of students from these courses each year. Realistically, if a person hasn't managed to bag a coveted position within a year, their competition doubles overnight.

I will always recall the desperation, frustration, anger and depression I witnessed a friend go through for more than two years after not gaining an entry level position in their particular field of psychology. That's why I admire ambition but think it also has its constraints, too, and why I am curious to know of the OPs own strategy and deadlines to achieve it in the face of a state job seeking service which is seen as an obstacle.

My friend who worked as a producer for a TV station used to be shocked at the high number of CVs and showreels that were sent through by desperate grads, the number of times people smoozed her - she had a paid contract but the company could have picked anybody to do it for free - the faxes would crank out dozens of CVs with pleas for unpaid work experience each day.

It is not only Media and Creative jobs that are difficult to come by but also jobs like nursing and physiotherapy. People study for years and never manage to get careers in these areas either. I never forget last year reading about a woman who had graducated and had sent off over 100 applications for nursing jobs and had not managed to get one? How is that right?

Fair enough not everyone will get the job of their choice but if they have studied for so many years why should they have to settle to work in retail, cleaning or other jobs when these jobs will not cover their expenses eg paying back loans and living costs.

If people are to have to take lower skilled jobs then I think the minumum wage has to be raised espically in London where the cost of even getting a train into london can be as much as 10 pounds per day.

If universites were only allowed to issue a certain number of degrees per year relating to industry needs eg teaching would need a lot and media would only need a few then their wouldnt be the problem of their being a shortage of jobs in the first place. Also this way degrees would not be "easy" as their would be a lot more competition for them and then higher demand for the graduates when they leave.