missed? jsa back to work group session??

hyperfunk_d

I have mine Monday morning (after 6 weeks). I can understand how these would be beneficial to some people who perhaps did not gain much at school or college or who have never been required to have a CV, covering letter etc, or how to approach looking for a job - searching online, registering with agencies etc. But for anyone from a working background how on earth can they be of use?

I have an excellent CV - the job centre's words not mine, have already had plenty of interviews, with more upcoming, am registered with lots of agencies, job boards etc, regularly search the internet/job papers etc and have been working in very professional positions for the past 10 years. What are they going to tell me or provide me that I do not have already? It's a total joke. Once again we are all tarred with the same brush.

The Job Centre (and Gov) are clueless - with all my previous experience, the advisor I saw when I started my claim could only come up with 'B&Q' as a possible employer that she thought was suitable and wasn't aware of what a 'Project Manager' was. They are only able to help people who want to work in retail/manual skills (plumber/electrician/labourer etc) type positions (please do not get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with working in those areas); but how they cannot cater for professional individuals is beyond me... especially in the current climate, where thousands of them must be out of work, yet the organisations that are meant to be there to assist us, only succeed in hindering!

I'll happily lose money for a few weeks, just to prove to them why I don't need to go and see if they can prove why I do.

No wonder people are sick and tired of the rubbish we all have to put up with.

Parva

hyperfunk_d wrote: »

I'll happily lose money for a few weeks, just to prove to them why I don't need to go and see if they can prove why I do.

Be prepared to lose the benefits then.... As you'll soon discover, the jobcentre is filled with people that are drug-fuelled alcoholics, young single mums, unlucky people that have talent but through no fault of their own are made to tread the boards at the jobcentre and yes, even graduates. You'll not find a more diverse cross-section of society than you'll see in your local jobcentre!

There's a big proportion that really don't want to work and there's also some of those that do want to work. Hopefully you fit the latter criteria so go get a job and prove them wrong. The downside of it all is that working for the minimum wage or working part time invariably leaves people worse off than just staying at home. Until the government fixes that issue I don't forsee a mass exodus from the dole queue.

hyperfunk_d

Parva wrote: »

Be prepared to lose the benefits then.... As you'll soon discover, the jobcentre is filled with people that are drug-fuelled alcoholics, young single mums, unlucky people that have talent but through no fault of their own are made to tread the boards at the jobcentre and yes, even graduates. You'll not find a more diverse cross-section of society than you'll see in your local jobcentre!

There's a big proportion that really don't want to work and there's also some of those that do want to work. Hopefully you fit the latter criteria so go get a job and prove them wrong. The downside of it all is that working for the minimum wage or working part time invariably leaves people worse off than just staying at home. Until the government fixes that issue I don't forsee a mass exodus from the dole queue.

I agree with what you say and accept that yes, I will most likely not find anyone on the JSA side of the fence bending over backwards to help me, but I want to at least try and make my point and speak to somebody senior who can give me some kind of reasoning behind why pointless sessions like this are forced upon those of us that do not need them.

Main points I wish to make are:

1) The course I am due to go on is completely pointless for myself (and thousands of others), and I am more than willing to prove this.

2) JSPs up and down the country are wasting god knows how many thousands/millions of pounds every week, by sending already capable people on these courses.

3) As well as wasting money, those individuals who really do need the basic help from the courses are having to wait much longer than needed because of all the spots going to people such as myself.

4) Are they really of the opinion that we are all this low on the intelligence and capability scale? So much so that the majority of us cannot type a letter or send an email?! And if so, then that scares me quite a lot!

Parva

hyperfunk_d wrote: »

2) JSPs up and down the country are wasting god knows how many thousands/millions of pounds every week, by sending already capable people on these courses.

Ah, I should read better! If you are being put on a course then you'll have to have been signing on for the last 6 months? Depends where you are in the country as there seems to be different rules for different areas and different ages.

That said, if you're being put on a course then that suggests to me that you've been unemployed for 6 months? Feel free to correct me on that.

Parva

hyperfunk_d wrote: »

I agree with what you say and accept that yes, I will most likely not find anyone on the JSA side of the fence bending over backwards to help me, but I want to at least try and make my point and speak to somebody senior who can give me some kind of reasoning behind why pointless sessions like this are forced upon those of us that do not need them.

Main points I wish to make are:

1) The course I am due to go on is completely pointless for myself (and thousands of others), and I am more than willing to prove this.

2) JSPs up and down the country are wasting god knows how many thousands/millions of pounds every week, by sending already capable people on these courses.

3) As well as wasting money, those individuals who really do need the basic help from the courses are having to wait much longer than needed because of all the spots going to people such as myself.

4) Are they really of the opinion that we are all this low on the intelligence and capability scale? So much so that the majority of us cannot type a letter or send an email?! And if so, then that scares me quite a lot!

Every single point you make is geared towards you sleeping in your bed and not actually trying to find a job. The main point of the course is to make sure that you get your !!! out of bed. I've been on the course in the past and boy did I hate it! On the plus side I managed to secure a job and claim £100 in cash off of the people that ran the course! Not sure if this is still the case I'm afraid.

You can moan forever about the course but basically you're screwed.

ohdamnit

Parva wrote: »

Every single point you make is geared towards you sleeping in your bed and not actually trying to find a job. The main point of the course is to make sure that you get your !!! out of bed. I've been on the course in the past and boy did I hate it! On the plus side I managed to secure a job and claim £100 in cash off of the people that ran the course! Not sure if this is still the case I'm afraid.

You can moan forever about the course but basically you're screwed.

No the main point is not to get your !!! out of bed... The main point should be to help people get back to work, sending people who have good CVs and good job hunting skills (i.e. can use internet, know how to phone companies, etc) on CV writing courses and computer courses is a waste of taxpayers money.

JSA is not a punishment it is intended to be a help for those people who have lost their job. Believe it or not it can be harder for a professional to get a job than someone who doesn't have skills. Professionals can not get jobs in lower paid jobs as anybody who has 10+ years in a professional field will not be employed by someone looking for 17k/year admin staff, they know that you are not going to hang around, and are therefore not worth training up, or they will worry that you will be looking to be promoted v quickly.

You are also limited by the fact that you cannot go for wider ranged higher paying jobs as those will clearly require specific skill sets, therefore you are left with applying for jobs that were similar to your previous ones, or you have to go self employed ( I was advised to teach people how to use computers at night school, as I "worked in IT").

The system is setup to work with those people who have low skillsets, which I don't have a complaint with, conversely they are those most likely to be able to take "any job", such as retail work, etc. Like I say not that this would be beneath me, but nobody is going to look at a CV working for two of the UKs/Worlds largest companies for 15 years and think "oh he'll make a good shopfloor worker"!

They could provide some specific help for people via external providers, such as interview techniques, for professionals these are v different to your normal interviews (often consisting of questioning, presentations and role play). However they deem teaching me how to format CV fonts as more useful.

donnajunkie

hyperfunk_d wrote: »

I agree with what you say and accept that yes, I will most likely not find anyone on the JSA side of the fence bending over backwards to help me, but I want to at least try and make my point and speak to somebody senior who can give me some kind of reasoning behind why pointless sessions like this are forced upon those of us that do not need them.

Main points I wish to make are:

1) The course I am due to go on is completely pointless for myself (and thousands of others), and I am more than willing to prove this.

2) JSPs up and down the country are wasting god knows how many thousands/millions of pounds every week, by sending already capable people on these courses.

3) As well as wasting money, those individuals who really do need the basic help from the courses are having to wait much longer than needed because of all the spots going to people such as myself.

4) Are they really of the opinion that we are all this low on the intelligence and capability scale? So much so that the majority of us cannot type a letter or send an email?! And if so, then that scares me quite a lot!

they dont care about you making a point. you can turn up or not, they dont care. they may actually prefer you to not turn up coz then they get to do what they love the most, sanction you. so if you could do with the income from jsa then just play along. even if you can afford to go without it for a short while you should still play along. why? because if you were ever to get sanctioned again in the future it would be a bigger sanction and at that point you may not be able to afford it as much.
i think the main reason everyone has to do these things is because they cant be seen to be favouring anyone.

donnajunkie

ohdamnit wrote: »

JSA is not a punishment it is intended to be a help for those people who have lost their job.

this should be the truth but unforntunately it isnt. jsa claimants are seen as lower than criminals and are progressively getting treated as such more and more.

Sharon87

I went to one of these sessions the last time I was on JSA. It was only a small group of people and was given by people from an employment agency. It would have been useful if I was looking for just any job, rather than one in my industry (had just started out then). They told you about how to look for hidden jobs and key words to use in CVs and covering letters.

A few people there seemed interested and asked questions. Mine only last 30-40 minutes and it was on the same day as our signing on day, so we signed on when we went in for it, which seems to be the best course of action. Mine was the 18-24 group though, who seem to all be signed on on a Wednesday, no matter what day of your claim was started.

I would be annoyed if it was a Saturday cause I tend to make plans at weekends, so if I get a job it most likely wont interfere with it.

hyperfunk_d

Parva wrote: »

Every single point you make is geared towards you sleeping in your bed and not actually trying to find a job.

You can moan forever about the course but basically you're screwed.

That isn't the case at all - if you read my previous messages I clearly state that I am already well on the way to finding a job with plenty of interviews and 2nd interviews lined up.

It isn't just 'moaning'; I would like to actually try and make a case not just for me, but for everyone - unfortunately the nation has got used to complaining, but never doing anything to change the situation.

donnajunkie wrote: »

they dont care about you making a point. you can turn up or not, they dont care. they may actually prefer you to not turn up coz then they get to do what they love the most, sanction you. so if you could do with the income from jsa then just play along. even if you can afford to go without it for a short while you should still play along. why? because if you were ever to get sanctioned again in the future it would be a bigger sanction and at that point you may not be able to afford it as much.
i think the main reason everyone has to do these things is because they cant be seen to be favouring anyone.

This is why I would like to try and speak to someone in a more senior position, not just one of the 'box ticking droids' you face at the JSP. Even if I still get sanctioned, I would at least like to get some kind of explanation from somebody with some influence.

donnajunkie wrote: »

this should be the truth but unforntunately it isnt. jsa claimants are seen as lower than criminals and are progressively getting treated as such more and more.

Which will always be the case until people step up and do something about it. I'm not trying to start a revolution here, but I am very sick and tired of the way the majority of the innocent, hardworking people of this country are treated just because they are out of work (99% due to no fault of their own).