I spent two days of my life listening to information, which didn’t dazzle me. It was hum-drum, pedestrian and kinda boring. Two days I will never get back in the whole scheme of life. I had gone on one of those training courses where I was sent by the Job Centre, prime contractor being A4E (because they devised the package) and Twin Employment carried out the training. The dull of ditch water new world order of private companies being contracted and subcontracted to create dull training that neither educates nor informs. What this process actually does inform you about is the complex nature of the contracting out of the benefits systems. Prime contractors who subcontracts with the overall employer being the state. And boy, aren’t those contracts worth millions (Jan 2012 – Twin has been named as one of the eight welfare-to-work companies who will be implementing a new £200m government programme to help families overcome barriers to employment).
Another apt description of this training would be “money for old rope”. The course was about “Finding and Getting a Job”. The information and guidance given to people was basic, nothing new, and pretty much what we (the group of us sitting in the room) knew already. How to find suitable vacancies, CVs, telephone techniques, application forms, interviews and coping with rejection. What was being explained was nothing new, I also felt my intelligence was being insulted. Everyone in the room understood their own objectives, applying for jobs, devised own CVs, applied for jobs, and certainly understood the cold depressing experience of rejection….Quite a lot!
I wondered, while sitting there staring out of the window looking at the inviting sunny sky pissed off that I can’t be out there taking pictures, whether these private companies actually believe their own right-wing rhetoric that people are empty vessels, wastrels and feckless too busy watching Jeremy Kyle to think about applying for jobs that they need two-bit training to get them going. Insult to anyone’s intelligence. People are sussed. They know what jobs to go for, they have written the CV, applied for jobs, attended job interviews. Hell, they have had jobs in the past. It isn’t about people not trying hard enough, making a tweak or two to their CVs, having an eureka moment in these training sessions where you can exclaim, “That’s where I’m going wrong”… No, the issue isn’t with the unemployed…. The issue is that… THERE ARE NO JOBS OUT THERE!
The state, aided and abetted by the private sector, haul people off to these courses with the threat of loss of benefits. Sanctions and coercion have brought these people to these training events. Unfortunately, you don’t learn anything of significance.
The trainer mentioned “recession” and “difficulties” of finding a job but no connection made with the fact that there are lots of people chasing too few jobs. Another issue (of many) is the lack of understanding about diversity, equal opportunities and diversity. I think the trainer saw it more about tick boxes experiences and not truly understanding the reasons of why equal opportunities are important and that with a recession people who experience discrimination and oppression in this society will bear the brunt of unemployment. But then this is the private sector, much of the information and exercises given were geared towards private sector jobs i.e. the so-called saviours of this recession.
If these training programmes were serious in the attempts to support people then you would explain the importance of making people aware of their rights. But again, I am living in fantasy land as this is just two-bit bare minimum “help” (hindrance?) time better spent searching for jobs on your own terms without the threat of sanction being wielded, a system that gives cover to the ConDems backing up their hideous right-wing ideology. Hey folks, it’s not about us or what’s best for us it’s about them peddling lies and rubbish.
Another thought occurred to me, are these courses/training modules accredited? Evaluated? Has there been any quality assurance, audits, peer reviews etc.? I tried searching yesterday but couldn’t find anything. Many of these contractors are vague about the courses and certainly you can’t find an in-depth detailed outline. Is this about corporate confidentiality? How many people forced on these training courses get jobs at the end? Has been research done on this? But then these private companies aren’t doing this for the good of the unemployed but for private greed… profit. It is about payment by results, how many people can you get into any old job. Certainly, and this was mentioned, the longer courses is where the money is at and where the profits are made.
The end of the training included filling out an evaluation form (with your name on top… usually they are anonymous). I expressed concerns (they possibly have my name on a file somewhere now). The course wasn’t organised properly, and too much time spent of CVs. Application process is a much more standardised, objective and fairer process than CVs. Nor was the whole of the application process explain i.e. filling out equal opportunities forms explaining where the data went. I think the trainer believed it disappeared into the ether of HR…never to be seen again. Personally I think the trainer needed to be trained on equal ops and diversity… His explanation of the sexual orientation categories on equal ops forms were bizarre to the say the least, referring to potential managers as “he” and asking me, for his records, what my “Christian name” was? I had to stop myself muttering, “FFS”!)
The second day was rushed and certainly, one of the reasons I attended this training, the part on interviews and interview skills was. No mock interview because there was no time. Buzz words were used but not explained. How do you develop confidence, for example? And so on…….
Finally, one of the final handouts was on “Keeping a Job”… (bit on “dealing with your boss” can be summarised as “be subservient”). Nothing about knowing your rights because at the end of the day it isn’t about you, you are just a cog in a wheel, it’s about behaving yourself. No mention either by A4E about it being a right to join a trade union…. Funny that.
I will be interested to know what other people have experienced on these kind of courses….
Reblogged this on defytheeconomy.
I had similar experiences during the 80s; and later after I graduated in the late 90s. These people never learn, and they are rather sinister and robotic in their approach to handling people!
This, and @izzykoksal’s tweets on Twitter, have confirmed everything I thought about these training courses. I came close to applying for a job as an A4E trainer last year sometime, so glad I didn’t – but I don’t think I’d have really fitted in with them to be honest!
I managed to wangle my way out of one of these courses held by seetec. They are really only suitable for school/college leavers and second jobbers.
If you have any advice to give on how you managed to wangle your way out of seetec it would be appreciated. After 10 solid years working in admin management i became made redundant and made a request to the job centre for retraining. What a shock I had, I was sent to a place called CDG for 3 months and had to deal with people fighting, cutting up/selling/taking drugs, alcoholics, jihadists, prostitution, death threats towards me and people with terrible self hygiene and no skills to offer society. Out of about 40 people there, I found about 3 that were normal. I found a job eventually for a year contract, but since that finished have been unable to find work.
I recently had to complete a class on “How to survive an interview” sponsored by the subcontractor (the council) and Jobfit (the prime) Point 4..Get feedback from the employer,fair enough I agreed. I stated that I had applied for 7 positions with the council conducting this class and called on 3 separate occasions for feedback..”has the position been filled? It is council policy not to comment on specific employment outcomes..OK can you see if my application has been rejected and provide me with any feedback as to why..Sorry we only reply to successful candidates” So preach one thing practice another….SSDD,
Tee-hee! There has been some research done as the government pays on results although it has not actually bothered checking the submissions against the records. This has led Plod investigating and a4e being given another contract. Allegations include having non-existent clients and several of positive outcomes when the client was thrown straight back on the rock. Have not seen anything about the government getting the money back just a few lowly managers sacked – maybe on an a4e course now
My own experience is being sent one a ‘how to bold a word’ course in IT. Been a contractor for about thirty years and the training provider missed the fact that I was the best qualified instructor in the building. Council telling one to give feedback seems par for these sorts of things.
Now I have got going a4e causes a problem common to all PFI type initiatives (initiative must be an example of the most improper use of the word) is that the companies are now in the too big to fail category. If a4e fail who is going to pick up the remainder of the contract? It will be either too short to be woth the investment or a new contract on a new scale negotiated. The supposed saving goes in civil servant, lawyers and the mysterious advisors pay. This makes it impossible to remove a contractor once in place as replacement hikes the price and the scheme is shown to be as abysmal as it is
@wayne I’m in London. I don’t think they can keep up. Went for the intial interview. Got sent on a training course, rang up to say I couldn’t make it, got a letter to re-register, went in and because I was already on there books, have not heard anything since.
1) There are enough jobs out there for every individual currently unemployed, they just have to compete for them as individuals.
http://www.channel4.com/news/job-creation-alone-will-not-solve-unemployment
“So we’re missing more than two million jobs, right? If we could only create those two million more jobs, the problem would be solved.
Wrong. In fact, in an average year – even in a recession – more than three million people who previously didn’t have a job get one. Almost as many change jobs. So although the number of job vacancies at any one time may be less than half a million, over the year probably five to six million people start a “new” job. The UK labour market is very dynamic – people are moving in and out of jobs all the time, even in the middle of a recession. Almost 300,000 people left Jobseekers’ Allowance last month, most of them to start a job; of course, at the same time, slightly more than that signed on.”
There may still be unemployed people, but these will be different individuals and (if scaring from long term unemployment is removed) this should be a saller number due to increases in aggregate demand and improvement in earch and productivity skills of the unemployed pool of labour (short term vs long term).
2) Looking back over previous recessions, the counter intuitive, evidence suggest that for those on IB or ESA the current national economic depression will not decrease their chances of moving off benefit. This is not the case for those without a disability or health condition.
http://www.iser.essex.ac.uk/files/iser_working_papers/2011-03.pdf
“The initial conclusion that disabled people‟s employment is not very sensitive to
variation in labour demand is reversed, though, when we consider differences
between regions. For the population as a whole (without interactions) regional
unemployment makes less difference to job chances than cyclical unemployment
does. This is even more true when the model with interactions is examined – nondisabled people are hardly affected by the regional economy. But disabled people are
seriously affected by long-term regional variations.
It is not easy to understand why disabled people should be so sensitive to variations in
labour demand between regions, but insensitive to variations over the trade cycle.”
In Short please do not say because there are no jobs as -
There are not enough jobs is something to worry about at the macro level, it is not a barrier for individuals in the UK due to the dynamism of the labour market. Additionally the employment chances of those on ESA are not affected as badly by economic downturn even at aggregate level than those on JSA.
Those on ESA not being affected by a recession is not a surprise as this group has the highest rate of employment of any group. Outside jobs provided for equality purposes the majority of those entitled to ESA when unemployed are self-employed.
For others moving into employment again self-employment has been key during recessions, this time the model is different and causing problems. Someone wanting to become self-employed now has to be able to start employment within three weeks of starting the DWP scheme, in other words their business not only has to be up and running but at a stage that the second tranche of investment is required. The flaw with this is that if the individual is caught they come off the unemployment figures. Starting from scratch is incredibly difficult (just realised we never asked HarpyMarx for suggestions – damn). The area we live in does not take part in the Shop Front scheme where shops are rented out short term, renting off the council is not working and yet we need six to eight weeks of office time to get the paperwork done and meet people.
The macro level is not where jobs are created, New Economics Foundation have some reasonable solutions …
You (and all of us) are incredibly lucky – A4e used to get FAR more time and use FAR less effort. The unemployed would be gathered in small rooms and just left to it. There’d be computers and newspapers, and that’s it really. 9-4 for 3 MONTHS, which was increased to 6 months and apparently 2 YEARS NON-STOP.
A4e are the true leeches of Britain, and incredible irony considering the unemployed stereotype. They’ve been above the law far too long, and they’ve hit one scandal too many. Either that or funding to them from the government’s been cut, so now they’re only down to two days (half days aren’t they?). There is a God.
Regarding the ‘staff’, really there is none (or at least before they were bumped down to two days). All the staff were people like you, unemployed and forced to go on A4e. A4e got massive bonuses (a few thousand per person) for hiring someone on their course. A4e have high staff turnover (that means a lot of people leave, the sign of a professional company…)
Someone who is the boss (though not the proper boss) in your or my area may have been unemployed a few months ago. Promotions are fast I suppose.
I didn’t completely read all you wrote but, as all us kind souls do, you gave A4e benfit of the doubt and assumed they were innocently oblivious of how bad they are. The truth is, however, that is their business plan. They get paid for doing nothing, so they do nothing, collecting bonuses by getting people temp jobs (so that they later come back, creating a delicious cycle of bonuses and profit). For whatever reason, they seem to revel in being evil. They stalk people, abuse them, harrass them, discriminate. Even their phone number ends in ’666′. Seriously.
This is nothing new unfortunately, they have been exposed many times, but 1) People don’t care, because the unemployed is probably the most discriminated-against group in the country and 2) They are part of the government, contracted by them, and a certain blind MP had their back.
Things may have fallen apart though – constant fraud investigations may have taken their toll, and the big boss lady, Emma Harrison I believe, has ‘stepped down’ and is now retiring to her 100-acre country mansion, paid for in essence by the taxpayer, the blood and tears of the unemployed, and probably her soul as well.
Lovely people.
Scratch the bit about only going down to two half-days, I’ve now been told by someone else that A4e still have their ‘work programme’, though don’t know how long it lasts, and the government is encouraging 42-week sanctions – that’s no income for nearly a year for already vulnerable people – homes and futures will be lost at best.
What a disgusting country I live in.
Going to a course on Thursday but will not go after reading this
Hi. well first of i went to a4e off and on for about six months and in the last so called training programme i spoke out about what was really going on there how it was a waste of people’s time and nobody there was getting any benefit from it, in a class full of about 30 people they all pretty much agreed what i had said to this so called trainer,anyway after about a week i received a letter for my next appointment this was back in june 2012 the day before my appointment i get a phone call telling me not to go there anymore which i thought was a bit weird as im on there books for 2 years he tells me that they will do the review over the phone every couple of weeks, ok fair enough i dont need to go there anymore Yipeeee, waited for the call’s they never came it is now mid september i receive a letter i have to go there again for an engagment session! next week?
ps will let you know how i get on.
I have been on several of these type of courses over the years, my feelings about them are mixed. On the one hand they are a useful resource if you for example have no internet or access to a telephone or printer. If you have and know how to use the aforesaid mentioned things then these courses are a complete waste of time, and a blank cheque from the government to the course provider.
Currently I have to attend A4e, I have only been unemployed for a week. I find the entire process patronising and a complete waste of time, for example today they called me in (40 minute bus journey each way) in order to have me browse the internet and apply for 3 jobs, I am more than capable of doing this from home, and would be happy to mail them my jobsearch to prove I have been doing this. A4E are box tickers, they have no real interest in supporting people they just dictate their mantra to you in order to collect the cash from the government.
In contrast a couple of years ago I attended a similar scheme but it was run by Ingeus, the contrast in support was stark, Ingeus helped me a great deal to acquire new skills and training and I always felt that my advisor genuinely wanted to help me find a job that suited me.
Im grtting sent to a4e 2day course tomorrow but after reading this i really dont want to as they are co orperate scum. But my family relies on income every month to survive
Great info. Lucky me I came across your site by accident (stumbleupon).
I have book-marked it for later!