Work Programme

dandelionclock30

Your not a provider in disguise are you?

Reverbe

heather I have had experience with Skills Training also and to be fair providers cna be good if you actually need help with interview techniques or CV's etc. Where they fail and fail utterly is when the candidate does not need any help.Then you get shanghaied into all kinds of schemes and half baked ideas so they can get money for you by claiming they have helped you.

heathertheblether

dandelionclock30 wrote: »

Your not a provider in disguise are you?

Ha! Ha! Ha! No I'm not a provider in disguise! Wish I was - bet the salary is heaps better than my college bursary! Seriously, though, it's not a job I could ever do - I simply don't have the patience. Whilst I was attending, I reckon only about 30% of the folk made full use of the resources available. The rest were clearly resentful at having to be there at all and treated the staff like dirt, preferring to spend the time playing with their mobiles, chewing gum and discussing the previous evening's antics in the pub! Like most things in life, you only get out of it what you put in, I suppose.

heathertheblether

Reverbe wrote: »

heather I have had experience with Skills Training also and to be fair providers cna be good if you actually need help with interview techniques or CV's etc. Where they fail and fail utterly is when the candidate does not need any help.Then you get shanghaied into all kinds of schemes and half baked ideas so they can get money for you by claiming they have helped you.

I DID need the help and got it (as I have already said), but lined myself up with a college course instead of going down the jobs route (yet again!). Who knows what might have happened if I hadn't done this - yikes! There was no mention of any schemes while I was attending, but perhaps this was because I wasn't there long enough and that pleasure was still to come!!

donnajunkie

heathertheblether wrote: »

Hi all!

I have been on the Work Programme for two months, but have just "signed off" as I have a place at college beginning next week. I found the staff very professional, interested and keen to help in any way (if you WANT to be helped - many do not in my neck of the woods lol!). I have been to several really useful workshops they have run, like creating a CV with impact, interview techniques and confidence building. They are never off the phone arranging interviews for their clients and then take the trouble to do a mock interview with you to iron out any difficulties and give you the best possible chance of success. Maybe I was just lucky, but I really enjoyed attending and at no time was there any mention of attending work experience or anything similar.

you didnt get a job out of it though did you.

heathertheblether

No, I haven't gained employment from my time with the work programme. Obviously, I have no way of knowing whether or not I would have been successful in securing a job, had I continued with them. In the current economic climate, probably not. This is a very high unemployment area (mind you, where isn't these days?) and jobs are few and far between for unqualified folk (like me! ). That is why I have opted for college to try and get another string or two to my bow!!!! I doubt it will make any REAL difference to my chances, but nothing ventured, nothing gained!

Reverbe

spoke to a lad today at charity shop i started volunteering at and he said his service provider seatec? have sent him there for a month doing 30 hrs a week and not even getting fares etc.. is this for real?? can they really make you work a full time week at cost to you with no job prospect at the end of it and then still argue you have to jobsearch in your own time in the evenings?? This lad is a labourer by trade .. why have they sent him to a charity retail outlet??

heathertheblether

Gosh, how awful for the poor guy. Jobseekers Allowance isn't enough for day to day basics, never mind forking out a fortune on bus fares. Charities often refund volunteers' expenses - would they consider covering his fares? I know nobody wants to ask cash-strapped charities for this sort of thing, but it might be an option. The only (very small) positive I can see coming out of this for the chap is that it is something new to add to his CV and a lot of employers look favourably upon the prospective employee having done voluntary work (albeit slave labour masquerading as such). At least, they would do if there were actually any jobs out there to apply for in the first place :mad:

donnajunkie

heathertheblether wrote: »

No, I haven't gained employment from my time with the work programme. Obviously, I have no way of knowing whether or not I would have been successful in securing a job, had I continued with them. In the current economic climate, probably not. This is a very high unemployment area (mind you, where isn't these days?) and jobs are few and far between for unqualified folk (like me! ). That is why I have opted for college to try and get another string or two to my bow!!!! I doubt it will make any REAL difference to my chances, but nothing ventured, nothing gained!

i just made that point because ultimately the purpose of these courses is to get people a job and that is mainly what they are judged on.

donnajunkie

Reverbe wrote: »

spoke to a lad today at charity shop i started volunteering at and he said his service provider seatec? have sent him there for a month doing 30 hrs a week and not even getting fares etc.. is this for real?? can they really make you work a full time week at cost to you with no job prospect at the end of it and then still argue you have to jobsearch in your own time in the evenings?? This lad is a labourer by trade .. why have they sent him to a charity retail outlet??

i am yet to see a provider around here send someone on placement and refuse to pay travel expenses. although that was on previous schemes. have they actually said we dont pay travel or have they just conveniently not offered? i bet they pocket any money that isnt claimed. i would keep all tickets and turn up after work on friday and say i am here to claim travel.