Preparedness for when

nuatha

charlies-aunt wrote: »

As an ex-civil servant - .In my latest incarnation, I am now on t'other side as a Welfare Benefits Adviser for a charity...and I find my bit of insider knowledge is a wonderful thing...

Does that make you a gamekeeper turned poacher?

MrsLurcherwalker wrote: »

BROOMSTICK I'm not sure I'm an optimist and I certainly don't wear rose tinted glasses to see this world, I see it warts and all. What I do have is the confidence and reassurance gained from actually knowing how it worked in bygone times and the skills from those times so I know we would still have a reasonable life if the world as we experience it these days was changed and gone for some reason. It doesn't terrify me as a thought like it did years ago. There really is a lot to be said for actually doing things on a practical level like your forebears did, it can be learned, and it gives a certain measure of peace of mind.

I find your resilience and general attitude a real inspiration. You always seem to be able to find the words that offer real support and present doable options. I do know that I'm far more optimistic about outlooks directly as a result of reading your posts.

I hope the building idiocy has taken a turn for the better, and you have a wonderful weekend (though I can't imagine you wouldn't enjoy having Zebra and parents, no matter what the builders had left you with)

Cheapskate

I went into our job centre over a year ago, to ask some vague query - and was intercepted just inside by a VERY burly security type who asked what I wanted. Now, I appreciate that they often get troublesome peeps in there, but I'm 5'4" of chubby, mumsy-dressed female. I explained why, but also said I wanted to look at the jobs boards (shows how long it was since my last visit!), and he said, quite seriously, that job searches were only for people on benefits, not for people just looking for a new job - my gast was truly flabbered, I tell ya!

I have worked for my local council, and it's a thankless task these days, you who still work there have my sincere admiration!:beer:

A xo

Karmacat

I just remembered, I used to do mystery shops at jobcentres, and it was the only place where, when I talked to a member of staff, I had to announce that I was a mystery shopper. And then, during the questions I had to ask, we both spoke from scripts. Apart from one woman at a centre some way along the coast, who totally let rip about how appalling she found the whole situation :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl: and my shopping form is in plain sight, and I'm taking notes. Can't win!

Cheapskate, that sounds really toxic. Like you with the jobs board but on a bigger scale, if you don't go in there (like I don't these days) you just don't know, because the propaganda doesn't mention this kind of stuff, and the victims are the powerless ones. Very sobering, all this.

Frugalsod

Karmacat wrote: »

Thanks for your posts, you guys. I've been self employed forever, and I'd no knowledge of how broken the system is, despite a friend of mine working at a jobcentre (she's a union rep, so maybe her energy is focussed on how to get round this kind of craziness too) ... but this is a real eye opener.

That is a big part of the problem. Not everyone has experience of what things are like at the job centre and so when they are told that the unemployed are shirkers they have no comprehension of the rings that they have to jump through at every stage. So the electorate vote for benefit cuts not realising the other changes that will be applied as well and so when they lose their jobs as many will during the next recession they will discover what they voted for.

moneyistooshorttomention

Cheapskate wrote: »

I went into our job centre over a year ago, to ask some vague query - and was intercepted just inside by a VERY burly security type who asked what I wanted. Now, I appreciate that they often get troublesome peeps in there, but I'm 5'4" of chubby, mumsy-dressed female. I explained why, but also said I wanted to look at the jobs boards (shows how long it was since my last visit!), and he said, quite seriously, that job searches were only for people on benefits, not for people just looking for a new job - my gast was truly flabbered, I tell ya!


A xo

Besides being a ridiculous policy, its also so easy to get round that I wonder why they bother. More problematic if you don't have an unemployed friend. However, for anyone who does have an unemployed friend then its just a matter of asking said friend to make a note of vacancies you would be interested in (ie as well as the notes they are making for themselves of vacancies they are interested in).

Bit of a problem if the friend is after the same type of job as you are and isn't the worlds most unselfish person....but I expect a fair number of us would have someone suitable to do this looking on the boards for us.

(Errrm...I'm assuming they still physically have job boards up in jobcentres - or is my knowledge out of date on that and those boards have gone?)

At the pure Jobsworth Level though...I would imagine that every vacancy there would also be advertised in other venues as well (ie the various jobsearch sites), so they couldn't prevent you finding out about them anyway...so howzat for a pointless exercise to have a Heavy hanging around barring the way?

EDIT; I may do a little research exercise myself. I'm not after a job, but I might just pop into/attempt to pop into jobcentre to see what happens.....

[Deleted User]

Can you actually be barred from entering a Job Centre, given it is a public building?

GreyQueen

Bedsit_Bob wrote: »

Can you actually be barred from entering a Job Centre, given it is a public building?

Perhaps not. But would you be prepared to try and shove your way in past a burly and hostile security guard? Would a smallish woman even think to try? And if a scuffle ensues, and the Police are called, what then?

We have barred some people from our municipal building, on a time limited and frequently reviewed basis, because they have persistantly abused and assaulted staff and/ or vandalised the premises. It's a last resort.

Karmacat

When I was mystery shopping them, I found that the jobs were all on the computer terminals that are spread throughout the room. And there were notices on the screens that made me think you could access those listings from your home computer too.

It wasn't the current system, but I just googled and found this: https://www.gov.uk/jobsearch

[Deleted User]

GreyQueen wrote: »

But would you be prepared to try and shove your way in past a burly and hostile security guard?

Given my height and build, I could easily do so, but I doubt it would be necessary.

I'd simply go to my MP, and the press, and inform them I was being denied access to a public building.

We have barred some people from our municipal building, on a time limited and frequently reviewed basis, because they have persistently abused and assaulted staff and/ or vandalised the premises. It's a last resort.

That's a somewhat different situation, to a blanket ban on respectable, law abiding people.

moneyistooshorttomention

Karmacat wrote: »

When I was mystery shopping them, I found that the jobs were all on the computer terminals that are spread throughout the room. And there were notices on the screens that made me think you could access those listings from your home computer too.

It wasn't the current system, but I just googled and found this: https://www.gov.uk/jobsearch

I've just put in for my type of work, ie office work (2 posts within 20 miles):eek: and shopwork (1 post within 20 miles). I don't know about office work, but, as far as I know there are currently several part-time jobs available in shops within walking distance from my home (never mind having to travel up to 20 miles for them).

Going by that, then I think it looks like there are only very few of the vacancies available on that website.

EDIT; Just checked my home city and there are quite a few jobs on the other hand (but don't know what proportion of available ones are there). Mind...there might be another factor at play here and some jobs are "going on the grapevine" in present location, as this is a welsh-speaking area.....so there might be an additional "qualification" deemed necessary........