Who Will Job Centres Help?

Paul_Varjak

I went into the local job centre today and was told that they do not help people look for work if they are already employed. They said they only help those on benefits. I pointed out that I am on Tax Credits, but that did not persuade them.

They said they can only offer help via the JobSeekers Direct number and the JobCentre website.

Surely that cannot be correct?

Conor_3

Welcome to the new Job Centre where they have to do even less work than they already did thanks to these new terminals they have. Despite having a 50% cut in workload, they still won't help. Worst part is that the times I've gone in, I've been the sole visitor.

Zazen999

define 'help'?

ukdickie31

Jobcentre Plus website

Jobcentre Plus

Who we are


Jobcentre Plus is a government agency supporting people of working age from welfare into work, and helping employers to fill their vacancies. We are part of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and play a major role in supporting the Department’s aim to ‘promote opportunity and independence for all through modern, customer-focused services’.
Our aims

Our key objectives are to:

• Increase the effective supply of labour by promoting work as the best form of welfare and helping unemployed and economically inactive people move into employment
• Work towards parity of outcomes for ethnic minority customers
• Pay customers the correct benefit at the right time and protect the benefit system from fraud, error and abuse
• Provide high-quality and demand-led services to employers, which help fill job vacancies quickly and effectively with well-prepared and motivated employees
• Help people facing the greatest barriers to employment to compete effectively in the labour market and move into and remain in work
• Improve continuously the quality, accessibility and delivery of services to all customers
• Ensure that people receiving working age benefits fulfil their responsibilities while providing appropriate help and support for those without work
• Increase Jobcentre Plus’ overall productivity, efficiency and effectiveness

and


Apply for a job by telephone

You can speak to one of our advisers who can also access all our vacancies. This telephone job-matching service can help you find a permanent, temporary, full-time or part-time job. We can tell you about vacancies in your local area and beyond. If you're interested in a job, we can tell you how to apply, send you an application form and, whenever possible, ring the employer to arrange an interview.
Call 0845 6060 234. Or, if you are deaf, hard of hearing or have speech difficulties, call our textphone on 0845 6055 255.
If you speak Welsh, call us on 0845 6067 890. Or, if you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have speech difficulties, call our textphone 0845 6044 022.
Lines are open between 8am and 6pm Monday to Friday, and 9am and 1pm Saturdays.
Please read the current information regarding Call Charges.






Not intending to just cut and Paste, however the above will explain the reason for the answer you were given. Priority customers are those on working age benefits who need to be supported back into employment.

C_Ronaldo

What is you wnat help with,

red_devil

they only advise unemployed people cos the government want them off the books and back into work.

Horace

Jobcentres help unemployed and disabled unemployed folks (like me) back into work:j . You dont have to physically go into the Jobcentres to look for a job either - you can access their website at home/work and look for jobs. If you want a job in the NHS, you are usually directed the relevant hospital website so that you can apply.

If you are already employed and want another job regardless of whether or not you get tax credit, why do what other people do and look for jobs via newspapers, websites such as totaljobs and monster jobs?

kdean

Conor wrote: »

Welcome to the new Job Centre where they have to do even less work than they already did thanks to these new terminals they have. Despite having a 50% cut in workload, they still won't help. Worst part is that the times I've gone in, I've been the sole visitor.

My mum works for the Job Centre in North London and she has certainly not had a 50% cut in workload, they have got rid of a load of staff and she is currently doing 2 peoples jobs at the moment and very rarely does less than 10 hours a day. Please do not judge all of their staff by your experiences as some of them really do want to help people.

To the OP I don't know what help you want but surely if you can navigate this site you should be able to use the Job Centre one too, jobs that are advertised are not just for unemployed people they are open to everyone. Those on benefits also have to look for themselves they also have to show that they have been looking for work, what ads they have responded to and where they have looked. That is what the staff is there for, making sure those on JSA are looking for work and not just taking the money and doing nothing. They will help those that genuinely need it. They also have to fill in a tremendous amount of paperwork because it is a government agency.

Strapped

If you want "help", try your local careers centre (yes they help adults too). If you want to be patronised and offered no help whatsoever, as you have discovered, visit the jobcentre.

Westy58

The government has made very clear to JobcentrePlus what it wants them to do.

JobcentrePlus staff are there to help those who cannot help themselves. For those who can help themselves the Website and Jobseeker Direct are provided.

ninamarie1970

First post........Hi everyone.
Funnily enough I was thinking this very same question !!
This morning I paid £1.30 to park so I could go in the 'Job Centre Plus'
I wanted advice with filling in a job application form as I havent worked since 1993 and its all a bit blurry now .
The woman looked at me like I had asked her what was the meaning of life...............and said they dont deal with stuff like that there !!!!
Came home and had to ring Next Step.............I can see somebody next week who will help me.................the application has to be by in by 14th Feb !!!
And they say they want people to get off benefits and back to work.
Anyway am going to have a bash at doing it myself.
So any hints and tips on the skills I have learned in the past 13 years as a mother so they will at least consider me for the job as an Admin Assistant at a college would be fabulous.
cheers
nina