JCP helping skilled workers
Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 17/08/2009 - 7:50pm
I would like to ask a question/s so, if anyone can give me a straight answer please do :
I am an educated and skilled Teacher who, due to funding issues with Train 2 Gain, have found myself unemployed :( . I've had to sign at Jobcentre Plus; yet every time I attend , advisers note my qualifications, then turn around and say they cannot do anything to help me.This happens time after time. Is Job Centre Plus a joke?
I would suggest employing JSP advisers with specific subject/Vocational skills which would add value for getting people back into work. Certainly , for me, it would be productive to talk with someone who has knowledge of my skill set, someone I could refer back to, as oppossed to talk to an ex saleman... what use is that?
I've moved this comment to a new discussion topic since it clearly didn't fit with the discussion it was in.
I can offer the following suggestions for a lack of support for professionals of various kinds:
The DWP and Jobcentre Plus recognise that their support for higher skilled claimants isn't always ideal. That's why they recently set up the one day support for professionals and executives who were entering unemployment, where they paid recruiters and other organisations to provide specialist help.
Daniel
Thanks for your prompt reply - where/ how can I access said training?
I must also thank you for this wounderful website , for me, being able to keep up-to-date with eventS related to WBL,DWP events etc... fantastic.
* My skills set and qualifications are up to speed, renumerations , however, is terrible. Providers seem to think they can offer 16,000 for a highly skilled professional coff!!! coff!! I suspect unqualified CARE WORKERS' are BEING paid more than that!
If you've recently been made unemployed then you should already have been told about it. Strangely, I can't find any trace of it on the Jobcentre Plus or DirectGov websites. Worth asking at your local Jobcentre about. Likewise Programme Centre access if you could do with access to a resource centre for job search. With the labour market as it is right now, you may want to consider taking a job even if the salary isn't up to much, and working up again from there. It's not ideal, but long-term unemployment is even further from ideal. Good luck!
Hi both,
Lottie,I am in a similar situation although my company have given me a challenge to find other contracts to save my job.
If you follow the links on the JCP website to the Provider Guidance it will give you all the information you need. You will still need to be referred by a JCP advisor as it’s a variation of the Programme Centre provision.
Good luck!
Belinda
"There are hundreds of different specialisms out there. No recruitment agency can cover them all. Why should your local Jobcentre Plus?"
Although Admin Officers within Job Centre Plus normally deal with the unemployed, why would either Admin Staff or Candidate presume that Admin Officers should possess the competence needed to adopt the role Professional Careers Advisors ? Even in days gone by, the Job Club would provide a basic level of education to support i) Candidate Assessment, and ii) Job Search Strategy.
""The vast majority of long-term unemployed people are either low-skilled, or their skills are out of date (e.g. their job no longer exists)"
Not sure on what basis either JCP Admin Staff or the Long Term Unemployed should ever consider themselves "low skilled", particularly where the Long Term Unemployed are also College/University Graduate - and the realities of life are such that no job remains stagnant, and even a lowly maker of ubiquitous widgets will always have to be innovative in order to develop a better widget than the competition. Artisans would be able to rely on traditional approaches to the job.
""Most advisers spend most of their time either administrating claims or carrying out very brief customer interviews, during which an industry specialism would have minimal advantage. Furthermore, reaching a suitable level of knowledge in many professions would place the adviser so far outside of their pay scale it simply wouldn't be possible to keep hold of them"
Not sure whether, even were JCP Admin Staff to possess any useful knowledge on the subject of candidate assessment or any industry specialisation would lead to any promotion. A current issue of contention is that, within Job Centre Plus, even the lesser graded Admin Officer must remain at their current grade within JCP for a minimal period of time and are precluded from applying from any advertised vacancy open to the general populice.
"The DWP and Jobcentre Plus recognise that their support for higher skilled claimants isn't always ideal. That's why they recently set up the one day support for professionals and executives who were entering unemployment, where they paid recruiters and other organisations to provide specialist help.""
I cannot comment on this area of assistance.... although I am long term unemployed, the only options which I have in the absence of any employment is to sign on and will then be subject to New Deal Provision.
You are correct there is a provision from DWP to offer Information Advice and Guidance to unemployed Graduates Professionals and High achievers, the problem is that it was put together very quickly and not all JCP advisors are aware of it. Emplacement offer this provision and we have seen over 1800 clients during the 16 weeks the provision has been live and we are seeing a weekly increase in the number of referrals so the message is getting to the JCP advisors. One of the problems is that due to the heavy increase of unemployed and the number of new provisions around it is very difficult for the advisors to keep up. The other issue is that clients must be referred and if the advisor is not aware of the scheme how can they refer? My suggestion would be if you want this free session then ask your advisor for a referral onto the scheme, you can ask to be referred to emplacement as we have national coverage. No deliberate sales pitch meant honest!!
Is this still a live issue.