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?

@SpringBunnies is right (our setups are very similar btw! Well at my current company anyway).

OP, I'm not sure what your previous background was. But pure 'web development/ 'software engineering' is saturated. Not only is the former the entry point for practically everybody and their grandmothers, thanks to the media hype + bootcamps. But, the skillsets are different. You'd need to know things like unit tests, integration tests, design patterns, API design, exception handling etc a lot of these are learnt on the job. They are an art.

There are jobs like mine (see username) which are software engineering roles that also require a strong infrastructure background but again, 'modern' infrastructure like that I and PP have been talking about, related to those DevOps roles.

I think you can make the jump if you were previously a strong software dev. But your current skillset IMO is more valuable. having done both application development is more popular, but easier to master for most CRUD applications IMO compared to infrastructure. Of course, if you're writing code for high performance such as algorithmic trading, it's a different story.

No, it was pure web development I was/am interested in. I have very limited exposure to AWS but I reckon I could learn that relatively easily.

This has all been really helpful.

This is what I wanted from the JC. When I try to talk to family about my career I get shut down straight away with "We don't know what you are talking about, leave us alone."

DH used to let me talk at him until I figured things out for myself.

New plan;

Take the job with the NHS which does seem to be more sysadmin funnily enough, despite me not really having a great deal of experience in that area.

Get AWS cert followed by Kubernetes and try to push NHS for some exposure to Dev Ops.

And pass my driving test obvs.

I will also do the software course which is a foundation degree with the option to go on to do a full degree but as I said that is more from interest than anything else. We have no TV. I relax on an evening by doing Udemy courses

Yes, there should be far more services available.

I went into the job centre near my parent's house when I was 18 on a university break, looking for a job for the 3 month break (having had a part time job at uni).
They outright said they couldn't help me if I was in full time education, and they didn't have a board or anything with adverts, and my best bet was just looking on google or going round locally with CVs, but they wouldn't take any to give to anyone looking for employees.

The definitely aren't actual job centres - more like 'benefit hubs'.

Secondly, you could have taken the job that required the taxi. Then asked around at work if one if your colleagues would give you a lift for some petrol money. (less than the taxi

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/4464601-To-stop-giving-work-colleague-lifts-to-work

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/2503234-To-not-want-to-give-someone-a-lift-to-work

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/4663406-to-say-no-to-giving-lifts

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/_chat/4649969-expected-to-give-colleague-a-lift-every-day-not-even-asked-first

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/4345658-To-not-want-to-give-colleague-a-lift

And don’t forget looking for that moped! Will give you confidence AND independence while you’re learning to drive… then sell (or give to DD) once you e passed your test 😉

If you are interviewing for your next role, having real experience is more important than a cert but no experience. Have a look how you can gain experience in devops, site reliability engineering. (That’s what the PP @imansre nickname means. Unsure if you know the acronym).

Kubernetes is specific for docker application deployment. I’m not sure if your NHS role will give exposure to that? But look out for any automation opportunities. Things like ansible, chef, puppet. Or monitoring. But really keep an eye out for learning opportunities.

Back in the early 90's I worked out of town and wanted a job in the town where I lived. I would frequently visit the job centre on my lunch break to see what was available. Asked about a job and was told they couldn't help me as I was already employed, they were only there to help unemployed people find jobs.

@Frequency I just did my AWS Solution Architect Associate, which is quite broad. If I was in your position I would start with either SysOps Administrator Associate or Developer Associate.

I used the Stephane Maarek courses on Udemy to prepare. I am going to do Developer next. I am also interested in Kubernetes.