Poll - JobCentre Plus 'Courses': Useful or Waste of Time?

Someone else who doesn't read the thread nor understands the point being made.

Thatchapdean wrote: »

Exactly!

It is so easy for people to say they are 'pointless' and a 'waste of time'.
Some people are not fortunate enough to have access to the internet, PC or have been unemployed for so long that doing a CV and using job search sites is totally alien to them

I had a successful job and believe I am pretty PC competent and intelligent enough. I have been to a few of the courses/sessions in the last few weeks and find them helpful. It makes you realise there are other people in a similar situation and also people who are less fortunate then yourself and need some guidance.

Yep we agree some people dont have access or the skills to write their own CV. However lots of people do and don't need someone to advise them on how to change a font. Please don't tell me the jobcentre staff are better at writing professional CVs than recruitment agents and professional CV writers.

Those people needing the help should get it, which funnily enough they can't because they send those not needing it on the course instead...

It's the arrogance and patronising people who believe 'I shouldn't be here' or 'this is pointless' who will fall and are a less attractive as a future employee.

No just I know I don't need advice on my CV, advice on how to use internet jobsites, and advice on how to make phone calls. There is plenty of advice I could do with but they cannot provide and get for myself thanks.

If it was the case you didn't 'need to be there' then why are you?

Because it's a box ticking exercise, you are sent on these courses fairly shortly after the JSAg. If I dont go I will get JSA stopped, but oddly enough I thought the idea was to help me get a job not punish me?

If it is all pointless then why haven't you found a job?

It is a tough economic environment, so getting a job is going to take longer, I think the current stats are saying 3 months for professionals (plus if you are from a professional background from CV submitting to final interviews can take 5-6 weeks as far as I can tell from my averages).

Also people need to get off their high horse about 'I've paid my taxes for years and years for this rubbish'

Erm no, the point we are making is that we have paid in our taxes, and we want some financial help during our bad times, also a bit of help on getting a job wouldnt go a miss..

No, you paid your taxes towards health,education,welfare,security to help you and those less fortunate when it arises whether you agree with it or not.

So easy to be judgemental and bitter but in the long run it doesn't get you anywhere.

Really I didn't know that. We are not judgemental and bitter about the courses existing, but don't see the point in the government putting people on courses that have no benefit. If anything it wastes taxpayers money, to external companies.

To be honest I have wondered about going self employed, and trying to get JC+ recommended teaching jobseekers skills such as Competency based questions, interviewing techniques, etc which would actually benefit people. As it is clearly a gap in the market.

There really are some people on their high horses on here,very easy to spout when you've got a job isnt it?
Wait until you've been subjected to this nonsense of "jobclub" before commenting, it really is a waste of tax payers money ironically that would be only of any use to the most useless of useless.

When I went on one of these courses (CV writing and job searching) it was fairly useless. I was told by a JCP worker that I should go because my CV was bad, although she couldn't specify in any way how it was bad other than "it's just wrong". It appeared she didn't even read it when she made this judgement.

On the course the actual material advice given regarding my CV was minimal, boilerplate in nature and, in my opinion, wrong (even with an open mind). When I tried to engage in a discussion on the one single point raised about my CV I was fobbed off with "just do what you're comfortable with".

The job search aspect was even more ropey. We were asked to come up with a list of words that described ourselves in a work context (skills, strengths etc.) and were then shown how this was not useful to use in a job search. Pointing out that if I'd been asked to come up with a list of words suitable for a job search rather than CV keywords I would have done so got me a sarcastic comment about me not running the course. Instead we were shown that googling our qualifications and desired job title would yield results (which it did somewhat) however the guy running the course couldn't seem to distinguish between google advert results and ordinary search results.

The rest of the course was filled with a fairly haphazard mix of job application procedural information like taking the initiative, covering letters, follow up letters (although not their content, despite asking) and dressing smartly. Nothing ground breaking for me personally. No rehearsal interviews or indications of good questions to prepare answers for when approaching interviews, or advice on how to prepare answers in such a way as to not sound rehearsed.

There was also the statement that the course had been set up because the guy running it had lost his job and saw the opportunity. I'd be fine with this if he could have provided something much more constructive than the lip service he paid to the undertaking, but it added insult to think that he was profiting from wasting my time.

My vote therefore is that they are not useful. But I only have experience of one. I have seen plenty of complaints about them though, which leads me to believe I'm not alone in thinking this.

Thatchapdean wrote: »

No people haven't found a job because too many either set an unrealistic target/role or cannot be 'that' bothered to find work. If you really wanted a job then you would not be picky.

Have you nothing better to do than troll?

Or is it possible that you really are that uneducated on the subject?

Sambucus_Nigra wrote: »

I didn't say it should - I was it was. It's a box ticking exercise at best.

So people need to understand this, get over it, attend, make the right noises and move on.

In other words you mean that people should be sheep and dance pointless dances. Sensible!