Restart Scheme Coming Soon!

MoodyMand45

My Job-coach told me a new scheme is coming called Restart which starts with a three way call on my phone inside the job Centre between her, me and someone else unknown.

She said they hope it will give one on one support and not be just another failed work program. She told me to be ready and throw all of my barriers to work at the person on the call including and reference problems or licenses as they could get funding to do them.

I have read the usual literature on the Gov website about it involving the usual Work Trials, Academies, Interview Practice and matching people with local employers and She claims they have to get half a million people in work by June.

Anyone heard anything, June seems like a tight deadline for them to succeed with this!

NedS

The Restart programme has been running for a while, but I suspect that you have only just become eligible for it due to the amount of time you have been unemployed. It exists to provide you with the support that your Work Coach is unable to provide (due to the time limitations imposed upon them). They will have a budget to help you with things which may be barriers to you entering employment. They will no doubt perform an assessment of your requirements with you once the referral meeting (your 3-way meeting) has been conducted, and go from there. My advise would be to approach it positively as they are there to help.

Robbie64

It seems like the DWP have gone full circle as there was a Restart scheme in the 1980s (I think it began in April 1986) before being abandoned in the 1990s as a waste of money. Back then it was run by the Deaprtment Of Employment rather than the old DHSS.

sammyjammy

Robbie64 said:

It seems like the DWP have gone full circle as there was a Restart scheme in the 1980s (I think it began in April 1986) before being abandoned in the 1990s as a waste of money. Back then it was run by the Deaprtment Of Employment rather than the old DHSS.

The old Restart was not a scheme/programme it was just meetings with advisors (now Work Coaches) when you hit the 6 month unemployed mark, you would then get referred to relevant programmes etc. from there.

tomtom256

Robbie64 said:

It seems like the DWP have gone full circle as there was a Restart scheme in the 1980s (I think it began in April 1986) before being abandoned in the 1990s as a waste of money. Back then it was run by the Deaprtment Of Employment rather than the old DHSS.

It's what they always seem to do, but just give it a new name.
Kickstart was effectively YTS of old. Restart is effectively a new and improved outsourced version of the old Restart scheme.

Robbie64

tomtom256 said:

Robbie64 said:

It seems like the DWP have gone full circle as there was a Restart scheme in the 1980s (I think it began in April 1986) before being abandoned in the 1990s as a waste of money. Back then it was run by the Deaprtment Of Employment rather than the old DHSS.

It's what they always seem to do, but just give it a new name.
Kickstart was effectively YTS of old. Restart is effectively a new and improved outsourced version of the old Restart scheme.

And YTS was simply a revamped version of the long forgotten Youth Opportunities Programme (YOP). YOP was launched by the Labour Government in 1978 and was replaced by YTS in 1983. I was on a YOP scheme. I actually quite enjoyed it as I was working in a solicitors office and spent half of every day taking case files and urgent letters to other solicitors, barristers chambers etc so spent lots of time travelling on buses around the north east (there weren't many solicitors firms who were part of the DX system in 1981). The only let down was the meagre wages of £23.50 a week though it was better than what 16 and 17 year olds got on Supplementary Benefit (£15.25 a week if I recall). And I got a free bus pass!

Robbie64

sammyjammy said:

Robbie64 said:

It seems like the DWP have gone full circle as there was a Restart scheme in the 1980s (I think it began in April 1986) before being abandoned in the 1990s as a waste of money. Back then it was run by the Deaprtment Of Employment rather than the old DHSS.

The old Restart was not a scheme/programme it was just meetings with advisors (now Work Coaches) when you hit the 6 month unemployed mark, you would then get referred to relevant programmes etc. from there.

Ah right, I didn't realise. I worked for the DHSS / DSS / Benefits Agency so had very little contact with the JobCentre which ran the Restart scheme. I think Restart in part replaced the Unemployment Review Officers job who did work for the DHSS (if you were unemployed after 6 months of only claiming SuppBen you got called in to the office to see the URO to discuss your work prospects and basically the URO would try to hound a claimant off benefits).

sammyjammy

Robbie64 said:

sammyjammy said:

Robbie64 said:

It seems like the DWP have gone full circle as there was a Restart scheme in the 1980s (I think it began in April 1986) before being abandoned in the 1990s as a waste of money. Back then it was run by the Deaprtment Of Employment rather than the old DHSS.

The old Restart was not a scheme/programme it was just meetings with advisors (now Work Coaches) when you hit the 6 month unemployed mark, you would then get referred to relevant programmes etc. from there.

Ah right, I didn't realise. I worked for the DHSS / DSS / Benefits Agency so had very little contact with the JobCentre which ran the Restart scheme. I think Restart in part replaced the Unemployment Review Officers job who did work for the DHSS (if you were unemployed after 6 months of only claiming SuppBen you got called in to the office to see the URO to discuss your work prospects and basically the URO would try to hound a claimant off benefits).

Sounds like it, I've worked for DWP and its predecessors since 1991 and it certainly turns a circle!

Spender£

This scheme will be just more of the same that never works, from what i understand Work Experience forms part of it which is just another way for employers to get free labour.
The fact that it will be enforced by sanctions and is mandatory shows that you are not being advised but told what they want to you do to satisfy their tick box exercise.
If you step out of line you will be sanctioned!
Makes you wonder if a record number of people are in work why the need for more wasting of money on this.
I attended many failed schemes while unemployed on JSA in the past, so glad i escaped and got lucky by finding a job on my own.

MoodyMand45

Spender£ said:

This scheme will be just more of the same that never works, from what i understand Work Experience forms part of it which is just another way for employers to get free labour.
The fact that it will be enforced by sanctions and is mandatory shows that you are not being advised but told what they want to you do to satisfy their tick box exercise.
If you step out of line you will be sanctioned!
Makes you wonder if a record number of people are in work why the need for more wasting of money on this.
I attended many failed schemes while unemployed on JSA in the past, so glad i escaped and got lucky by finding a job on my own.

I suspected this as well but trying to remain optimistic... i don't thing work experience is mandatory anymore unless that has been changed?

JonVarnas

The companies that are involved in this are the same ones who were involved with the failed Work Programme, and the Flexible New Deal before that...and the New Deal before that. The government always regurgitates these schemes and they scarcely work.