New workfare trial for school leavers.

[carernotasaint]

www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/workfare-for-school-leavers-work-30-1284204?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed

oh, there was an x-post.

And you don't really want to talk about it.

ds1 is about to embark on a gap year before taking up his place at uni. The idea is to earn some money and build up his CV. He was due to sign on next week when the child benefit and tax credits we get for him finish. he has applied for almost 100 jobs over the summer including unpaid work experience. Does he need to complete 13 weeks volunteering before he can sign on then? How he is supposed to pay us any rent or contribute to food?

Obviously I can't and wouldn't talk about people like that, but I presume you wouldn't talk about personal circumstances of people you meet either.

What do you mean by what is your reason apart from being able to get yourself a job?

If you mean why do I volunteer, I already said, I enjoy it, I learn, I find it rewarding.

I don't think people are scrounging at all, but nor do I think that people who are able to work are entitled to something for nothing. Personally, I'd rather JSA was more, but that people did something useful to society in return for it. I see where you are coming from by saying that if there is work to be done then people should be paid for it, but it just doesn't work like that.

This is slave labour pure and simple. My 17 year old twins have been applying for jobs all over the place with 10 good O levels and not even getting interviews. These workfare schemes deprive people of paid jobs as there jobs are taken by workfare placements AND employers are paid huge sums for taking these kids on.

WORKFARE seems like a desperate meassure by failed Coalition. Thay are out of legit ideas

it does seem really awful that our young people who want to work cannot get jobs. it never used to be a problem (back in the day) when i was in the same position in the 80's.

why is it so difficult to find employment?

I know six young people who went into the workfare programme, all of them 'worked' for Tesco. At the end of their placements they were let go and apparently replaced with more slaves young people on benefits.

I have a feeling this is going to be the norm unless we get these amoral bastards out. NMW vacancies will be replaced with Workfare, especially in retail.

Of those six people, one has a full time job and one is volunteering.

carernotasaint - post all the links you want! Anyone who wishes to check before clicking/deciding whether or not to read need only rest their cursor on the offending link... I would only add to comments on an earlier thread that in fact Boris doesn't want your children. It's the whole ConDem government who don't. I'm only sitting here boring you because my parents were obliged to emigrate because there were no opportunities for the under twenty-fives...

Nicholas, do you know what are the other four doing then?

Yes. One has decided that uni is for him, two are unemployed and seeking work, and the fourth has emigrated at the age of 19 because "there is no hope for us young people in this country."

So not terrible outcomes then. It's sad that two are still unemployed but they are no worse off. The other two have hopefully moved on to better things, so again, no harm done.

No harm done. No, none at all, apart from a 19 year old leaving his whole family and support network behind because there are no prospects in this country for young people. I guess he didn't fancy spending the next six years on Workfare. He hopes his life will be better in a more meretricious society.

The young man in uni will emigrate too. Either to Japan or South Korea. My guess is Japan as he is fluent in the language.

Both families are upset to lose their sons, but support the reasoning, 'cos let's face it, there's fuck all the Condemcunts are doing to help anybody who isn't already wealthy.

That would be the same with or without workfare. Unemployment would not dramatically decrease if they stopped these schemes, and what little employment could be found from scrapping workfare would be for minimum wage work that needs to be topped up with tax credits anyway.

Sometimes going abroad does offer wider opportunities. I don't think there's anything wrong with that.

You know what? You're right! We so should be subsidising Tesco with free labour paid for by the tax payer. How could I have not seen that?

These corporations make billions in profits and we give them free labour. Without Workfare these cunts would have to pay at least NMW, therefore saving the tax payer millions.

Unemployment might not dramatically decrease if Workfare schemes stopped Outraged but it would fall. Moving the unemployed from unpaid to paid work would generate a small (but necessary) multiplier effect.

One of the main reasons for persistent unemployment is occupational immobility - people lack the skills to move from one job to a vacant one. I don't see how Workfare helps to provide the skills necessary to fill vacancies. This is why I'm so cynical about it. If the government wanted a more effective way to reduce unemployment they'd be better off providing training and linking it to meaningful work experience.

We are subsidising companies all over the place with tax credits already! I don't see how this is much different tbh.

Yes, employment might fall slightly, but only in NMW jobs, and it wouldn't benefit the country or the tax pot in any way because the taxpayer would still subsidise wages via tax credits.

Workfare might not always provide the skills that lead to employment, but at the very least it gets some people up and put of the house each day, which is more than can be said for them when the highlight of their week is a trip into town to sign on. Government policies are not all about helping individuals, nor should they be, it's about helping society. It does society (and individuals) no good whatsoever to have huge numbers of people lying in bed until lunchtime every day because they have nothing better to do.

It would be great of everyone that got sent on workfare got a job out of it, but if they don't then I don't see any reason why they should be given JSA for doing next to nothing. People can apply for jobs on top of full time work, and I think the biggest benefit of workfare is that it encourages people to not expect money for nothing. I really don't understand why some people believe that this should happen.

I appreciate that some people are being sent on workfare programmes when they are willing and able to better themselves on their own. But plenty of people would do nothing except sign on and apply for a minimum number of jobs that they make no effort to actually get, and the job centre employees should have more power of discretion to target those people.

Outraged it probably would benefit the Treasury because higher levels of income would lead to higher spending, greater demand for labour, lower unemployment and therefore higher GDP. This is what I meant by a multiplier effect (think of it like a ripple effect). It wouldn't be huge but it would be something positive at least.

I think the biggest benefit of workfare is that it encourages people to not expect money for nothing. It just encourages big firms to expect employees for nothing.