To think support from the Job Center should be for everyone?

[Frequency]

I had my appointment for contributions-based JSA today. I had a list of questions about support/help that would assist me in getting back into work quicker.

I was pretty much told their services are not for me and other professionals or people who have been previously successful. Their services only cover people who lack basic skills.

None of what I asked about was available to me or anyone else using their services.

I asked for;

Assistance towards paying for driving lessons as we have a lack of jobs available locally and poor public transport. Even this was only a money-off voucher with certain providers or meant having to travel to a government-approved driving school I would have taken the support.

Local or remote training that would lead to a professional certification or government certificate to verify I had the skills covered by the course - I was thinking of things like Cisco/Juniper/Solar Winds etc. They only offer functional skills. They have the government-funded skills courses on top of this but these are not run by the JC and they have no information on them.

Professional CV writing services to make sure I am using the right keywords to get through the AI scanner/past HR. They offer support with CVs but it is basic such as support with SPAG and how to use a word processor.

I understand the budget is limited but surely spending towards some of these things for people on a low-income or looking for employment would reduce the benefits bill in the long-run?

You can apply for a travel card that gives you 50% off public transport if that’s any use? The job centre gave me one when I was struggling to travel to look for work.

Do you know anyone who can teach you to drive paying for lessons? Then you can just get a few lessons when you need to brush up and learn test routes. Ask on Facebook as well for anyone training to be a driving instructor, my partner is training and gives reduced lessons for experience- he does do it for people who have their own car and insurance though. You might find someone who is willing to use theirs.

At least you have qualifications and the possibility of getting a better paid job in future, focus on the positive about that and that you have opportunities, you get a lot further in life appreciating and working with what you have rather then getting frustrated with what you can’t/don’t have.

You can apply for a travel card that gives you 50% off public transport if that’s any use? The job centre gave me one when I was struggling to travel to look for work

Thank you. I will ask about that next time I go.

The main issue with public transport isn't the funds, as such, it is the fact that it either doesn't exist or doesn't get me to where I need to be at the time I need to be there. A lot of routes to the closest major cities don't start until 7 am and don't get me there until after 8/9 am when most of the roles I am applying to want me there by 7 am.

I live in a small ex-mining town in the arse end of the NE. We don't have Uber. We have only one taxi company who are usually either fully booked, late or both and are extortionate since they have no competition. We have buses but they only reliably link us to other small towns, the routes to big cities are set up for day trippers or just happen to pass through town rather than being for commuters.

I have considered taking night shifts shelf stacking or whatever while working towards the 3-month software course and have looked at Asda, Aldi, Lidl, and Tesco in my town and neighboring towns along with McDonald's, Wetherspoons and Greggs but they have no vacancies at the moment bar a night shift supervisor role at Asda which I have applied for but my most recent supervisory experience was when I was shift lead in a care role over 5 years ago so I am not holding my breath on that one.

I was made redundant
I claimed contributions based job seekers allowance for 5 weeks

Had to sign on at job centre once a week

I updated my own CV

I used my contacts from my previous job to get a new job.

I relocated to another town for my new job a few miles distance

Can you relocate ?

Is your CV on LinkedIn ?

I have never heard of anyone getting free or reduced driving lessons from job centre. You may be able to apply for an unemployed person bus pass ?

How about doing moped or motorcycle lessons ?
Yes, I have a motorcycle & car

Do you have any friends that can do a "refer a friend" to their employer for you ?

Good 👍

My CV is on LinkedIn as in I can use their "easy apply" function with a CV I have saved but I am not sure it is visible to employers. Is that a thing? I will look into that. I did a webinar earlier today with a website called Snaphunt, I'm going to put my CV on there and do their skills tests, etc and I'm on Indeed.

I have no contacts locally due to working remotely for the last 4/5 years.

I can and would relocate but I'd need financial assistance from an employer to do so as I have no savings and what little I did have has been used on car insurance and driving lessons.

There are no buses/trains to where the jobs are. That is the issue not that I can't afford the bus.

A motorcycle would be a great idea assuming it was quicker to learn than driving a car. Getting a motorcycle has always been on my bucket list but I can't afford to buy a motorbike. I already have a car. I could probably get credit to finance one so I'll research this, thanks for the suggestion.

Imagine if they paid for everyone’s driving lessons… amazing

I don't think they offer discount on driving lessons nor have they ever.

Professional Cv writing - could Google help?

Training I'm afraid is only basic, if you want something beyond this it's on you to sort. Is OU an option? That's online.

YABU about the driving lessons. That's your responsibility. From a non driver.

Start up a taxi firm

I have absolutely zero experience of running a taxi firm nor any knowledge on how to get funding to set one up.

On the offchance you were actually trying to be helpful and not snarky can you help with any of the above and I'll give it a shot?

People are getting hung up on the driving lessons when I asked if there was support towards a number of other things.

I would have been happy for any help, even if it was just a chat about what my next steps should be but I got nothing. Just sign here and we'll see you in two weeks. When I asked what support there was available I was told none. Nada. Nothing at all unless I need help with functional skills.

Like I said, I think this is wrong. My AIBU was discussing whether or not more should be offered, not just driving lessons but literally anything, anything all whatsoever beyond nothing. Even just email support would be better than nothing.

Offering this support to people, imo, would help get people back into work quicker and thus reduce the benefist bill.

Sorry but if you’ve already been in a professional career why would you particularly need help from a job centre? Maybe do a quick Google, brush up on your CV and get out there again - you’ve already had a job (or several?) in the field so you can get another one. Wouldn’t even occur to me to use the Job Centre.

Not sure why anyone would choose to live in a remote area if they can’t drive, it’s really limiting and no, the government shouldn’t have to help you out with that!

I don't live in a remote area. I live in a chronically underfunded area. I'm actually quite close to a number of cities but none of the public transport links are reliable enough to get me to where I need to be at the time I need to be there.

I was also born here. We used to have jobs then all the factories and ship yards closed down and since then there has been no investment in jobs or infrastructure.

Have you looked at IT support roles in your local area for
Hospitals
Schools
Police
Local Government
Charities
Telecoms companies
Transport companies
www.gov.uk
Find a job
Enter postcode or town

Apply, but do not mention that you may need to leave for an emergency situation. If you need to leave, you need to leave for an emergency. This info is not relevant to any job application.

I am going to add, that lots of big companies have out sourced their IT support/networking support to cheaper countries abroad. So there is much more competition now.
You could look at cyber security jobs or compliance jobs ?

Good luck

You've had plenty of help. The next step for you would be the national careers service. They are brilliant, even moreso given they're a government project.

This tickled me as I'd love lessons but can't afford them or have the time working ft and also caring for a family member

I've looked at local NHS jobs, there are none but I have email alerts set-up. Ditto local council and the gov.uk website.

I've not checked schools or Police. I will add that to my to-do list today. I have a hospital appointment with DD shortly and plan on asking in their cafe if they have any weekend work. Schools might be worth looking at but our police station were relocated out of town to save money and I've actually no clue where it went of if I could get there, I'll look into that.

Local charities all want volunteer workers not paid workers but they would be interested in me creating websites/wordpress sites for them to go towards my portfolio if I decide to go in the software direction. I've checked with them. They have no IT support roles they need volunteers for. We don't have any national charities based here.

Cyber sercurity is an area that interests me but the certifications needed to get into that without a relevent degree are eyewateringly expensive and I have no relevent experience to fall back on in that area.

Driving lessons! Do they really do that for some people?

In the short time I was unemployed the only advice I got from the job centre was to make sure I turned up for interviews on time.

If you have a local Citizens Advice they may be interested in using your skills in a way that could keep your CV fresh. They are local but each CA office is linked to the national organisation as well. It is likely to be unpaid/ volunteer work but if you get involved with Citizens Advice paid opportunities may come up and you can probably work very flexible hours if you are offering IT expertise.

@Frequency are you Stockton? Hartlepool? Sunderland? Middlesbrough? Or smaller?

you can get a 50cc moped with only a provisional driving licence and a compulsory basic training test. I did this when I was 17 (many years ago!) while I was learning to drive… not the absolute best in wet weather but hopefully you’re going into a drier spell now? And it will help you get confidence for driving a car. Depending where you are.. it may be workable for a commute to Newcastle or similar?

If you can, it might be time then to move to one of those cities. You can’t rely on getting a fully remote job as they are hard to come by these days, and if public transport is rubbish in your area it’s either move or pay for driving lessons.

No they don't

All the job centre do is file the destitute into the lowest paying jobs, after which point they then have to top up their earnings as it's invariably not enough for even a goldfish to live on. This country really is a joke, I am certainly waiting for the punchline.

I'm in that area @ILJ28 but none of those specific places. I can reach most of those places except Sunderland, although the business parks outside of Middlesbrough and Stockton are hard to get to as there is no direct buses and the changes mean I don't make it to the place on time.

If you know the area the job I was offered was at the old Garland's building near Stockton but they wanted me to start at 6 am which would mean paying £17-20 on a taxi each day.

I will look into mopeds though, that might work if I can afford one/get one on credit.

aye I kinda 🙄'd at that too😂