To think it's really difficult to get a job

[Derrymare]

Just that really
My partner is looking and has applied for so many jobs but there are so many people after the same job.
He is only been offered warehouse jobs through agencies involving heavy lifting and he has joint issues so not really suitable and they are just minimum wage.

Which all involve lifting

I think picker packer type jobs may be feasible but he needs to improve his English alongside that. No qualifications or experience for those are needed.

You are kidding!
Everyone I know has vacancies of all types & skills levels.
Where abouts are you?

Anywhere near Milton Keynes? There's a dance shoe company specifically recruiting shoemakers. There's also a packing/dispatch role.

See here

www.cv-library.co.uk/job/213003914/Experienced-Leather-Worker

Leather worker job in West Midlands

Hi,

This company are recruiting customer service nationwide.
Fairly easy computer work mainly.
Inductions weekly for a lot of depots.
evricareer.com/Careers/2022%20Multipage%20Microsite-1995/Search%20Jobs?SiteID=3680#

Even if it just gives a job until Christmas, gives a break from lifting and could help get another job, whilst simply being in employment.

I never before believed that employers prefer to pick people in work but to many things happened this year to make me change my mind, when I've been in jobs this year, I have been more desirable (then when I have been out of work) this year.

@Derrymare i would have thought that would be a pretty high skilled job, would he want to do it again?

It depends where you are in the country of course but there are a lot of very high end shoemakers in the midlands and the north of England that could be worth looking into. There are a few dotted around the country as well. If I could make shoes- I’d focus on that tbh. if it’s not an option maybe some other sort of skilled craft involving leather or similar?

@Derrymare yes, jobs like this! Don’t let those skills go to waste if he can help it. He might want to avoid because of the physical nature of the job but they probably have pretty good standards in terms or ergonomics etc, definitely better than unskilled jobs.

For someone with joint issues?

I think this is the fundamental problem. There are loads of vacancies for hard physical, often unrewarding work for very little pay, with demanding/unreasonable bosses and very few employment rights. Most carework still has no sick pay, for example.

Real jobs you could find fulfilment from and raise a family on, not so much.

@Derrymare another example of good jobs for his skill set, there are a lot of them in Northampton especially. Click on the link- looks like very good conditions and scope to develop a career. He’ll pick the language up quickly enough once he gets a job.
Shoe maker job

Thank you all

It's kind of an odd time. On the one hand there appear to be loads of vacancies everywhere. At the same time, when my late teens have gone out to look for work, they also found mostly warehouse jobs, and the jobs in things like retail were extremely over-subscribed, so over 100 people applying for a job in Holland and Barratt (not on LinkedIn, number of CVs submitted). Both applied for over 20 jobs before getting something which is above min wage for their age, but would not be for an older person (£9-11 an hour seems to be the going rate for unskilled work round here). Persistence is key, and I agree with everyone- get him to apply for the practice, and think outside the box as he won't be the first pick for things like your standard retail job as there's lots of people milling about with retail experience, use his skills if possible. Or take something, anything, to get something in the UK on his CV.

@Derrymare : in your situation I would write up a brief CV of his shoemaking experience and email/post it to every shoe repair business within a reasonable traveling time of your home

What are his skills/qualifications/experience? Does he have any? The UK workforce needs skilled labour.

Does he speak, read and write english fluently?

Is this the man who illegally overstayed his visa for years and years, and you’ve been supporting him entirely for nearly a decade? If so, he has been out of the workforce for a very long time, and employers will naturally be nervous about taking him on, given he has no legal work history since coming to this country.

He needs to improve his written English very quickly if he wants a job with which he can support himself and contribute properly to your shared life - and he should have been doing that all the time that you fought for him to be able to stay in the country. He has had a long time without working in which he could have been doing this one basic thing to improve his life chances in the UK, and I am astonished he hasn’t done that.

Timpsons do sound like the ideal employers to take him on, but I would have thought that good written English would still be necessary.

@AloysiusBear if you read the thread you’ll see he is a shoemaker, which is highly skilled trade, relatively rare in the UK and one that goes back centuries in Pakistan. Depending on OP’s partner’s level of mastery, complete fluency in English is unlikely to be a significant issue is securing such a role, however the industry is comparatively small in the UK so it may take a bit more time to find something suitable.

Thanks @PorkPieAndAPickledOnion

When is the last time he actually worked? How has he managed to live with no work OP?

On Wednesday I went into three big chain retailers (The Range, a garden centre, and a craft chain) and all three had prominent advertisements seeking staff and managers, each had a desk, information and application forms at the exit.

Retail might not be someones target career longterm, but it's an opportunity to develop a range of transferable work skills that will always be in demand .

There's very little demand for shoemakers in the UK. Few people wear handmade shoes and the types of shoes we wear arent easily repairable. Chains like timpsons use machines etc but will take on school leavers on minimum wage & train them to do the basic level of work they do, mainly resoling/heeling dress shoes. Its a declining industry, long term he would be better retraining and upskilling to get more secure work.

People will say its easy because there are lots of vacancies but the job vacancies and applicants dont match. Whether its location, skills, qualifications or ability.
As you say, joint issues which arent a disability still rule out a lot of work.
Lots of carer jobs, but the reason you see scandal after scandal of poor care is because some people arent suited to care but end up doing it.
Keep going, something will come up and sometimes its better to take a slightly unsuitable job and search from there

My inexperienced 19 year old son got a job easily through an agency. In a factory a few pounds over minimum wage. The workforce was apparently made up of a significant number of non-British speakers (just mentioning to show there was work available to overseas people). It wasn’t heavy lifting but fairly dull/repetitive.

16 year old DD has very easily found a slightly above minimum wage job in a high street store. She had interviews (and job offers) from the three she applied for.

So definitely lower paid work available.

It really depends on so much. If you’ve e got skills and experience in a skills shortage industry it’s really not an issue getting a job. Especially if you already have one and might just be looking for promotion or a pay rise.

OTOH, at the more precarious ends of job market, it’s really tough. There are a lot of underemployed people and what’s on offer is not great.

but you can’t just magic up skills and years of experience in an instant. There are loads of training schemes available to get skills that will lead to entry level jobs in industries with lots of scope for career development though. Maybe there’s something in the government skills boot camp scheme that would work for him: www.gov.uk/guidance/find-a-skills-bootcamp

Do you have any pics of some of the shoes he made ? I live in Northampton which was the shoe-making capital of the world at one point. There are still factories here, but nothing like how it was in the past! Maybe he could make and sell his crafted footwear ? There must be a market for good quality hand-crafted leather goods. I knew a woman in Spain who supported herself and her two young sons making leather goods (eg, bags, wallets, belts, etc) and selling them at markets and fairs. I think she took a short course at a local college to learn how to do it.

Hospitality is where I’d start. Get him to go in to places with his cv. And target the non English places. Unfortunately racism is rife in many places.
Also worth paying a professional careers advisor to talk through and advise on cv and applications.
We did this years ago for my husband due to similar situation. Definitely paid off.