Let me set the picture of how things have been.
For the last year and a half I have been on a New Deal Scheme, with a company called In-Training. Actually let me point this out, when you walk in to an In-Training place they have a nice big logo of In-Training with the slogan "Developing people for sustained employment", not very patronising is it? I'll get back to this later.
When I first arrived they told me I would be there for two years. So the sentences for being unemployed are getting longer, but thats not all, even if I found a job, I would still be with In-Training. If I found a job, signed off, and started a whole new chapter of my life, In-Training would be there to regularly check on me. They say its to ensure I have all the support I need to sustain employment. Again I will get back to this later.
Now, let me tell you what they really are about. Being unemployed is hard enough, and attending New Deal courses are tedious at best, especially in towns like where I live. Action for Employment, Working Links, Carter and Carter, In-Training. All different names, but they all hire the same, inept, useless, incompetent staff. I know many of the people there from other new deal schemes. And this goes a long way in explaining why many people are unemployed. If these places insist on hiring the same ineffective staff from other companies, what kind of chance does anyone else stand of finding work?
In-Training run a program where as each prisoner (client as they call us) has to go through a computer program, a series of questions on how confident you are in certain areas and your views on various things. From this program, they can decide what training program they can send you on. As it turns out, its bullsh!t. They are going to send you on every course they have available anyway, the program is to determine how thick you are. The answers you give simply determine how long they can keep you on each course, knowing if you will fail or not, then put you on it again, and again, and again, until you pass. Generally, keeping each individual busy while brushing that individual off.
Then you have people like me, who have been there, done that, and are simply looking for work. Now understand, New Deal is there to find people work, but they never do. ALWAYS the aim of the individual company is to keep the prisoners (sorry, clients) unemployed but busy.
I am now down to my last 6 months at In-Training. Now, anyone who has been on these programs before will know, when you are near finishing New Deal, whatever company is in charge of finding you work understand they have to make as much money out of you as possible. This was achieved by sending you out on placement for 6 months, working at a charity full time, for your dole money. This got money for New Deal, it changed the doleys status to "Employed" status, even though they werent, but for statistics its looks REALLY good for the government, and it got the prisoner a kind of parole.
However, they cannot do that now simply because, all the charity shops have closed down. Pubs are none existant, indeed many businesses have closed, simply down to lack of demand. Why pay £30 for something from a shop when you can get it for £10 online with free delivery? And to prove my point, only low budget businesses are doing well.
But I digress, my point is I am nearly done now with In-Training. I am down to my last 6 months. They cannot send me out on placement, as none exist. So they have tried a new approach. I said I would get back to you on:
"Developing people for sustained employment", now its not the case. I have to apply for any job I am physically capable of doing. It doesnt matter if I will enjoy that job or not, it doesnt matter if I will last in that job, I have to apply for it. Any job available, whether or not I have qualifications for it doesnt matter, if a Labourer job becomes available and I can operate a drill, I HAVE TO APPLY ! Generally speaking, unless im dead, I have no excuse for not going for any job available, whether or not I can do it, or have experience in it.
This you have to understand is simply to get you work and nobody, the Jobcentre, the New Deal Scheme, the government, none of these institutes give a damn if you find employment and then go bankrupt as you simply cannot afford to live. As long as you are off the dole, all is good.
To get back to this point:
When I first arrived they told me I would be there for two years. So the sentences for being unemployed are getting longer, but thats not all, even if I found a job, I would still be with In-Training. If I found a job, signed off, and started a whole new chapter of my life, In-Training would be there to regularly check on me. They say its to ensure I have all the support I need to sustain employment. Again I will get back to this later.
They dont check on you to ensure you get the support you need, they check on you so they can tell the jobcentre that they found you this work, they gave you the skills to find this work, and to ensure that they get the money they dont deserve. For example. A couple of weeks ago, when I was read the riot act as to how I have to take any job, I was asked what qualifications I have. I pointed out a maths and english test I did and how I didnt need the English exam as I passed it but my maths was poor, I then took an NVQ in Adult Numeracy and passed. My so called advisor then pointed out that, although I didnt need an English exam, I didnt have a certificate in it and so promptly put me on an english course with In-Training. I attended, and did the test to see what level I was at. Out of 50 questions, I got 49 right. Needless to say, I didnt need it. My tutor then asked why I was sent on that course, so I explained the exact conversation. Afterwards, no word of a lie here is what he said to me: "well, if you want a certificate in English you can take the test again, however you will have to get a few wrong answers in there so you can work with us towards a level 2".
Level 3 being the maximum, and my test score already being there, it wasnt necessary, but so In-Training can be shown to be improving people, it would help them make more money.
Anyway, all this BS aside. I have continued to look for work myself. I have no intention of telling In-Training if I find work, they have done nothing to help me find it. I finally have an interview with William Hill. I applied through online application and had to go through a test, if I succeeded in that I would be given another test, which I was. Apparently I was successful in that as well, and I now have a telephone interview on Monday.
I hope I get it, I hate being unemployed. Its lousy enough being reliant on a Giro each fortnight, but my biggest challenge is not getting the job, its keeping the people who will gain credit for me getting this job, not getting the credit. I will go all out to ensure these f*ckers dont claim any credit they dont deserve.
