Anyone Been on Work Choice run by Pluss?

gardenia101

I've been referred to Work Choice, run by Pluss, which is supposed to help the disabled & those with long term health issues who have been unemployed for a while find (& then keep) employment.

I don't know anyone else who has heard of it yet, never mind been through the programme!

Having had "support" from jobcentre+ for some time, & been on other "training" courses, I'm not sure this will be any better & my initial chat was frustrating...

Can anyone give me words of encouragement about it? Thanks.

uponahill

gardenia101 wrote: »

I've been referred to Work Choice, run by Pluss, which is supposed to help the disabled & those with long term health issues who have been unemployed for a while find (& then keep) employment.

I don't know anyone else who has heard of it yet, never mind been through the programme!

Having had "support" from jobcentre+ for some time, & been on other "training" courses, I'm not sure this will be any better & my initial chat was frustrating...

Can anyone give me words of encouragement about it? Thanks.

Sounds to me like another Shawe Trust or Royal British Legion, both of which were totally useless.

Shawe Trust found me a voluntary job years ago, for 1 day a week 4 hours.
as a farm hand.

After over 2 years on this, I was working over 50 hours a week for nothing (apart from travelling expenses) and worked Christmas Day because no one else would do it - the animals had to be fed and cleaned out 24/7.

The whole experience nearly killed me and put me back years in recovery.

OneYorkshireLass

Is this the old 'Work Step' programme which used to be run by Scope?

gardenia101

OneYorkshireLass wrote: »

Is this the old 'Work Step' programme which used to be run by Scope?

No idea - will ask my advisor at my next appointment. I don't think so though, as Pluss are based in the SW & owned by 4 SW county councils (although it also operates in W. Yorks too).

From what I've on t'internet (as they couldn't provide me with info) it's all a bit vague & woolly - yet if I'm being asked to sign up for between 8-16 hours a week I'd like to understand what I'm signing up to as it is going to impact on other things I'm doing to help myself get a job, & if it is anything like the other programmes I don't think it will be that helpful (in my circumstances I mean, it may be very helpful to others & I'm not trying to mither about the whole scheme :rotfl:).

gardenia101

uponahill wrote: »

Sounds to me like another Shawe Trust or Royal British Legion, both of which were totally useless.

Shawe Trust found me a voluntary job years ago, for 1 day a week 4 hours.
as a farm hand.

After over 2 years on this, I was working over 50 hours a week for nothing (apart from travelling expenses) and worked Christmas Day because no one else would do it - the animals had to be fed and cleaned out 24/7.

The whole experience nearly killed me and put me back years in recovery.

That sounds like exploitation rather than voluntary work - shocking. I hope you have recovered from that experience now.

The mad thing for me is that I am doing voluntary work, yet they want me to give it up as my work clashes with their sessions - & what are these sessions about? Yep, to get experience in finding jobs & voluntary work....

The fact that I've done this off my own back, & am already getting the experience they deem necessary doesn't seem to matter :mad: & it feels that I have to go through loads of "stuff" that I don't think will be helpful (to me rather than anyone I mean) before I may get to the bits I do need help with (like interview technique). It doesn't yet feel like a personalised service, but another box ticking exercise for the provider.

It is soooo frustrating....

uponahill

gardenia101 wrote: »

That sounds like exploitation rather than voluntary work - shocking. I hope you have recovered from that experience now.

The mad thing for me is that I am doing voluntary work, yet they want me to give it up as my work clashes with their sessions - & what are these sessions about? Yep, to get experience in finding jobs & voluntary work....

The fact that I've done this off my own back, & am already getting the experience they deem necessary doesn't seem to matter :mad: & it feels that I have to go through loads of "stuff" that I don't think will be helpful (to me rather than anyone I mean) before I may get to the bits I do need help with (like interview technique). It doesn't yet feel like a personalised service, but another box ticking exercise for the provider.

It is soooo frustrating....

Quite a lot of voluntary positions are seen by the volunteer as exploitation.

It's all done in a 'you need to do it to get on' basis.

It is said that you are there to see what 'real life' work is all about. Nobody actually goes to work 1 day a week for 4 hours.
Consequently you won't learn that much about working life.

Errr yes I do, I already had over 20 years of continuous full time work before I became ill.

Having only worked in an office, and yes I do keep fit, you try humping bales of straw off a lorry and throwing them 10/12 feet up into the barn!
I was gored in the back of a leg and put on the ground by a large boar, trappled on by cows feet, covered in lice after cleaning out hen cabins, electrocuted by an electric fence etc etc.

Voluntary work is a means to get people there and once there are exploited with the fear that the benefits will be stopped if you don't comply.

Richie-from-the-Boro

YTS & ET were the Thatcherite 80's version of the so called exploited. Exploited they were thank God. Exploited in that case and in this case is an essential pre-requirement of gaining the skills, independence and self-esteem that comes through working. It is however the case now and then that those who generally managed to gain permanent self sustaining employment were that section of trainees who really wanted to work.

Exploited once again is a word that means different things to different people, I said in the above paragraph 'thank God'. What that means is if the employer feels s/he is getting something from the trainee in the way of labour, only then are they prepared to spend their time money and effort on training the individual. Everyone has to win or the system does not work for either party.

It is the very fact that both sides gain that stops schemes such as YTS & ET becoming a rotating laundry for unemployment statistics.

In the case of Pluss, they are very different in that they are not generic providers but have a have a very narrow and specific Customer group, that of, Mental health, Learning disabilities, Autism, Neurological, Physical disability and Sensory impairment.

wouldbeqaulitymoneysaver

Exploitation is a novel way to be re-skilled!
I would think making your coerced unhappy workers work for you for zilch would radically disincentivise them against them putting in their best efforts and gaining skills.
If you are awake to Ageism, Disablism etc then it becomes more and more pointless and not an empowering enabling renewing exercise.
Refers you to Kolayani Quote when I can find it and lets see how you argue your pretty little way out of that one!

wouldbeqaulitymoneysaver

I reckon all these Welfare to Work Schemes are much of a muchness, their bad reputations going before them where ultimately you are not likely to be helped, encouraged etc at least in a financially viable way that secures your long term future.

gardenia101

Does anyone on here have any actual experience of being on the Work Choice programme?

As my next appointment looms I'm feeling more disillusioned with it & think it will be just like all the other "help" I've been given (where I've been advised to apply for jobs as a cleaner, or catering assistant - wouldn't mind doing those jobs but the fact that I'm partially sighted means I'd struggle to see what I was cleaning/chopping :mad: or asked frequently to apply for jobs that require a driving licence doesn't give me much hope that they have a clue about anything - never mind finding a specialised job for me).

Please someone, give me some good news.....

OneYorkshireLass

The Work Step programme found me my previous job and Work Choice sounds like the same kind of programme. I was extremely lucky in having an advisor who was the best professional I had ever met. He made the jobcentre staff look like moronic robots. He listened to what I had difficulties with, and what I would really like as a job. There was the usual box ticking and form filling like any government scheme but it did feel like I was working towards something. It was far better than speaking to the jobcentre staff who would barely look at me and just asked if I had read the jobs on the computers provided and looked in the local paper (there'd be all of two jobs ever in there).

When I found a job I wanted to apply for my advisor read through my application and made good comments about what I'd written.

Probably the best thing that happened for me was the advisor accompanied me to a meeting with my new boss and spoke about how he could help once I had a contract and everyone would work together. Sadly for me, because of my new employer's policies, this did not happen but the advisor was a tower of strength for me and he was always at the end of the phone/email when I wanted to ask silly questions!

They do try and match you to jobs - moreso than jobcentre staff do - so go armed with a few examples of what you'd like, or at least a list of what really wouldn't work for you. There's no use anyone shoving you into a job that you would stuggle to keep.

Best of luck.