AIBU to want a different Universal Credit work coach?

[QuestioningEverythingNow]

dons hard hat in advance

I have always worked and have been a solid earner but have been recently told formally (writing was arguably on the wall a few months before) that my job is being outsourced to a combination of a cheaper service centre outside the UK and AI. As I said I saw it coming but assumed I would be able to get a new job quickly or that an exit package would be offered. That has not happened.

I have been looking while still employed, but the job market has handed it's arse to me and it is clear that I will struggle to find a new role quickly. I therefore went to the Job Centre to claim UC from when my employment ends.

My AIBU is that I have NO faith in the work coach that I have been allocated.
She literally struggled to navigate the basic sign up process - not clicking in the right place, not recognising where a response was required, not seeing where answers were already answered so clicking "back" instead of "next". What should have been a 30 min ID check took almost an hour. She doesn't have great typing skills so lots of typo errors when filling in fields etc. I ended up asking her to face the screen towards me and pointing out typos, missed fields, incorrect selections from drop downs etc. No issue with it being collaborative, some people aren't great with typing on screens etc.

This is not personal - I have nothing against her. I just don't think this person is going to be helpful to me in my very urgent job hunt. I have to see her every week which I have no issue with but I just don't have much faith in how she will actually help me and I am DESPERATE - I am job-hunting almost constantly - I am so stressed - I am doing my own searches and applications, sweating my network, applying to anything (not just in my field) etc.

I have never claimed before, never thought I would have to but here I am. I have no issue with her personally but I just can't see how she is going to be helpful when she doesn't seem that capable on a basic ID check and seemed to have zero experience or awareness of my job and what roles would be suitable. My job is basic - I am an accountant, nothing at all to write home about. She kept suggesting applications to things far outside my remit and that I am not qualified for eg SEN teaching assistants, delivery driving (I don't have access to a car) etc.

Is it possible to request a different work coach? At the moment, I can't see how we will work well together.

Is that entitled given that I am seeking to claim benefits, and am fully aware that I am quite privileged that this is an option in itself, something I am very aware of. Perhaps ashamed as well.

I could be panicking/catastrophising so am braving AIBU for more balanced views.

I will attend the next appointment and be polite and engaged - I just wondered if it would be better to switch coach sooner rather than later. Is that possible? Any suggestions, shared experiences, guidance would be so appreciated.

Gosh I’m sorry I wasn’t trying to be difficult or thinking you were thick and I am sorry if my post made you think that. I was genuinely only trying to help when I was explaining a TA role and a teacher role were different and that you don’t need qualifications to be a teaching assistant (and from your response had genuinely thought I’d been helpful so sorry if not). I do understand it’s not the role you would want (and acknowledged that) but it also seemed from your initial post you were desperate and worried about finding nothing so was just trying to say it might be something you could do as a last resort.

I obviously misunderstood why in your first post you said you have been offered SEN teaching assistant jobs and then in a later post said ‘but I can’t be a SEN teacher!’ Maybe you were also offered teacher jobs that you hadn’t alluded to in the original post so sorry that I just took it to you using teaching assistant/ teacher interchangeably and that, along with the fact you’d said you weren’t qualified to be a SEN TA, a job which requires no specific qualification or experience, is all that made me think you didn’t fully understand the roles. Obviously not the case, but even if it were I can assure you that I wasn’t trying to make you look thick, I wouldn’t necessarilly expect people not in education to understand what goes on within special education (to be honest many qualified professionals in mainstream don’t have a clue about SEN). I definitely haven’t a clue about accounting!

Anyway, sorry if my posts made a stressful time more stressful, I was only trying to help with my advice but sorry if it felt otherwise. Good luck with your job search.

Go to 3 or 4 accountant job agencies, and general ones, sign up and they should start getting you interviews straight away.

Have you yourself tried signing up to any accountancy or general job agencies lately? If you had you would know that none of them have any work either

The latest official Govt stats released yesterday showed a further labour market contraction/rise in unemployment - and IMO these figures don't capture the full extent of the picture as if you are unemployed or underemployed and live with a partner and are not claiming benefits, the Govt doesn't know you're out of work.

OP - asking a question about your benefit claim. You ought to be entitled to JSA rather than UC because you've been working and that lasts for six months and doesn't have sanctions and requirements attached to it, apart from to go and sign on. You may have your reasons, but just checking you know about this.

No I haven't, maybe consider retraining.
Accountancy was always going to be a target for AI, administration, which I used to do has already gone.
Having a job which involves physical intervention is safest in these changing times.

Thank you for your message.

I appreciate it.

I am sorry if I came across rude or snappy, I think I am just finding this process frustrating and stressful.

The way you explained everything actually made a lot of sense as the interchangeable use of words can cause confusion. You also helped me try to be a bit more confident about moving outside my field.

Thanks for coming back and for the good wishes.

Thank you - I am open to re-training. I have been looking at apprenticeships and even a new degree. Have fallen out of love with accountancy after all the rejections.

What do you do now, if I may ask?

What is worse is you hardly ever get any feedback. Just one line automated email a lot of the times.

You might find something here. At start of threads there re lists of various different jobs. Mystery shopping is also good Roamler, Shepper, Field AGent ,Ipsos, Helion, Mystery Dining etc

www.mumsnet.com/talk/money-matters/4953179-earn-ps10-a-day?page=40

You will get a different one every week anyway. They will offer you working in a care home or whatever nobody wants to do.

JSA certainly does have requirements. I had to sign on for a few weeks in June whilst waiting for a new job to start and then said I still had to job search for 35 hours even though I was just waiting for a DBS to come through to start a new job !