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Loading ...Arturo Ui rather recently posted a long comment on this blog regarding an article on New Deal with the New Deal Provider TNG. I declined it as I thought it would be better as a seperate post than as a comment which would be harder to read. I have added line breaks so it is much easier to read. It is a recommend read on New Deal – Read on…
The comment is as follows:
NEW DEAL OR BUM DEAL? By Alfred Doolittle.
This report is reprinted, by kind permission of the editor, from issue no. 10 of Northern Voices, c/o 52, Todmorden Road, Burnley, Lancashire, BB10 4AH, E-mail : northernvoices@hotmail.com
I’VE just finished a 10-month sentence. Although I wasn’t an inmate in a prison or a mental institution, at times it certainly felt like it. I am one of the many thousands of undeserving poor who each year are coerced into attending one of New Labour’s spurious training schemes aimed at motivating the so-called work-shy.As a middle-aged unemployed man living in Greater Manchester, I was put on the government’s New Deal scheme at the beginning of 2008. Having a university degree, I initially saw it as an opportunity to take up the government’s offer of training and retraining to improve my job prospects. But any ideas that I may have had about training were soon dispelled after my first meeting with my New Deal advisor.
When I asked about suitable training courses, I was told that the only course available was something called ‘basic employability training’. I was then handed a leaflet.I found that a training agency called ‘TNG’ ran the course. Help was available on CV’s, job search and with basic literacy and numeracy problems. There was assistance with confidence building and self-esteem. TNG also provided what is euphemistically called ‘work experience’ placements. In the USA this has been dubbed ‘workfare’ and entails people providing compulsory free labour to a local employer or charity for which they receive their dole money plus a small training allowance which amounts to less than the minimum wage.
After several months on the New Deal ‘gateway’ which involved weekly interviews and job search, I was referred to TNG. I discovered early on that some people on the induction course had been there several times previously and had been unable to get permanent jobs. Karl, a young man in his early twenties, was attending for his third time. When I asked him what he liked about the course, he told me, ‘I’ve hated every f***ing minute of it’. He went off sick later that morning. The building where the course took place was overcrowded, poorly ventilated and foul language was endemic. At times I felt as if I had been catapulted into a linguistic sewer.
Though we were told that racism, homophobia and sexism would not be tolerated, when I asked what the policy was on swearing, a member of staff told me rather pathetically : ‘We tell them not to swear and hope they comply’.We received some mixed advice on the induction course. On one occasion the tutor told us : ‘Always smile when you’re making a phone call. Employers know if you’re not smiling’. We were told to avoid alcohol and drugs and not to carry offensive weapons. We were reminded of the importance of personal hygiene and the need to attend regularly and on time. ‘If you’re on probation’, our tutor told us, ‘we can get you a better report (pre-sentencing)’. We were told that we were required to choose a placement and that we should pick one that would look good on our c.v.such as Travel Lodge or Sports City.
It was pointed out that though ASDA would take people on placement (working for their dole money), they would not give them a permanent job. Our tutor then told us : ‘Getting a placement gets you out of here’.Inmates were given a designation. I was labelled IAPWE, denoting ‘Intensive Activity Period Work Experience’. Other tags were ETF (Environmental Task Force) and VS (Voluntary Sector). We were all given basic literacy and numeracy tests. A question on my maths paper asked : 2+2=?. The literacy paper looked as though it had been set for seven year olds.Enrolled on a course designed for people with learning difficulties, the staff tended to treat you like school kids or as retarded in some way because you were jobless.
It was almost as if one was participating in a degradation ceremony involving as series of abasements and humiliations intended to break your will in order to make you more malleable to take dead end jobs or jobs with no pay at all. As our induction tutor told us : ‘It can be hard to get a job if you’ve got unrealistic expectations’.Understandably, many people did feel resentful about being forced to work for their dole money and felt that they should be receiving a wage for their efforts. Many realised that most employers were unlikely to give them a job when in effect they were receiving regular free labour from TNG paid to them as a subsidy from the taxpayer.
Also, there was a sense that you were being punished and that, like an offender, you were being forced to do a community service order.One young man told me that he’d worked on placement through TNG for three different fencing erectors on three occasions and had never secured a paid position. Mike, a bloke in his thirties, told me that he was working four night shifts a week at ASDA for his dole money. Another man in his late 50s, who worked part-time as an optical technician, was offered a placement at Specsavers doing the same work but for his dole money
.A 19-year-old man-child, who clearly had psychological problems, was sent to work in a home for the elderly. Frequently, you would hear, ‘who’s interested in bar work or care work’. Typically, there were the Jobcentre (joke shop) jobs which staff tried to foist upon you : ‘Domestic 9 hours a week, meets Nat. Minimum Wage’. ‘Litter picker 5 hours per week, £7.50 per hour’. ‘Kitchen assistant 9-15 hours per week meets Nat. Minimum Wage’. ‘Cleaning operative 10 hours per week, £5.70 an hour’.I was to discover from a member of staff that some of the people on the course were registered sex offenders or had convictions for theft, drugs and violence. Also, that some people were classed as vulnerable adults.
On one occasion, I witnessed a fight between two men and though a member of staff intervened to remove one of the men from the building, later in the day he was seen sauntering around the building trying to provoke other people. A man in his fifties also told me that he’d intervened to stop a youth verbally abusing a black member of staff and that the youth had sceamed at him ; ‘shut the f*** up, smack head, or I’ll f***ing bury you’. It was hardly surprising that some people left the course (and signed-off) unable to stand it any longer.
I was also told that TNG received £100 per week for every person on their course (13 week/26 week) and that every person who completed a 13 week placement was classed according to government targets, as having obtained a permanent job even though they had been receiving their dole money throughout. Yet, when a placement was successfully completed, TNG got extra money.During a ‘consultation exercise’ which took place within the building, inmates were asked to put forward suggestions that they wanted to make about how the course might be improved. There were some interesting suggestions. Some comedians asked for pole dancers and better-looking women.
Some complained of overcrowding and why nobody on the staff was showing them how to work the computers. Others asked why they were only being offered ‘placements’ and not jobs. At the end of the session, the manager informed us that she would invite the army in to see if any of us wanted to join up.After several weeks, I went over the wall and caught the midnight express. My way out of this veritable shit-hole was to take a placement at a local sanctuary for distressed animals. Most days I took dogs for a walk but some days they took me for a walk. Though I didn’t secure a situation, I did lose some weight and I found the English collies delightful.
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A ea who dealt with me one signing brought up a job in perth of all places which unless you have a car isnt easy to get to there is only one bus in the morning at 850am and nothing else if you travel by train the fare is £14 for a return and you have to change at Dundee which means a 30 minute wait which is well in excess of the one and half travelling time stipulated also the train back taking it you finished at five means you wouldnt get back to cupar until at least 7pm
who could stand the stress of that besides which it would have to be a hell of a good job paying at least £7.50 an hour to justify applying for it besides which even if someone from cupar did apply for a job in perth chances are the job would be offered to someone living in perth so whats the bloody point?
as far as the jobcentre are concerned its a job and does not matter one bit if at the end of the day you are only left with a couple of quid in your pocket as far as they are concerned your off benefit and they get their bonus at the end of the month dont forget also that if you rent from the council they will rocket your rent and council tax payments up plus youve money for food and untility bills to pay plus travel expenses but as far as am concerned i have never worked outwith cupar in all my working life and am not starting now at the age of 51
my present job is outside cupar but its only a couple of miles and use the car and in the summer can cycle it so therefore it isnt causing me excessive travel expenses and (i feel this is important) if i work locally i spend locally in local shops thereby supporting the local community whereas if i worked outwith cupar i would have to buy what i needed in the town i work in as the shops will be closed by the time i get home
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ian some of the comments are interesting and may well represent someone at the job centres views’.
however the jobseekers agreement is a legal document between two parties’.as we know it sets out the number of hours typically 39 hours a week the type of work sort and any related information regarding jobseeking,it does not give someone the right to “make it up as their going along” which appears to look as if this is the case here and is i suspect widely elsewhere ,public transport particularly rail is beyond the jobseeker due to low benefit levels and the rules are it is one hour from the front door travel time one and a half hours for new deal,even despite leeway the hours of this vacancy are not covered by public transport. the job centre are well rehearsed with excuses i will give them that.
also in this case of this vacancy the address details seem to be incorrect on further investigation this will lead to a delay in the application if it received at all,no doubt with comeback on me if its my fault,this is far from being resolved and i feel i have posted enough relating to job centre plus and its activities’.
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Some of the most widely used excuses i’ve heard used to exceed the 1.5 hour rule is “the company might provide transport” or “you might get to know a colleague who lives near you” and the silliest one yet – “apply for it anyway, you might not get it”.
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oh yes there the ones i heard with the 6.30am start and the bus leaving at 7.53am,i also got “perhaps they supply transport”,last week when pointing out the hours’. perhaps they will be flexible on that,they would need to be very flexible.
i have overheard that one too,go for the job anyway you might not get it.
i have had enough of their stupidity,its an insult to someones intelligence to have to sit there and listen to these made up stories,i strongly suspect its to do with targets,however these tactics expose the jobseeker to a possibility of sanctions through no fault of their own.being bullied/vacancies being printed/submitted for, the reality of this is someone being “set up” or “fall guy”.
it has also to be expected that these targets have a lot to do with the false figures these new deal providers repeatedly show,stupid situations cause people to do stupid things,all this will be taken out on the vulnerable jobseeker.
the best advice is to get the gp involved here and explain the situation,the stress of targets should not fall on the vulnerable jobseeker on what is poverty benefits, with the prospect of having these effected to even lower levels for being a “victim” of all this.
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ken what about this then the bully ea put me forward for a factory labourer job in glenrothes which was advertised by an employment agency the ea wouldnt tell me where in glenrothes the job was situated nor how long it was for the job description stated counterbalance fll and health and safety cert desirable my jsag stated sendentry work only no heavy lifting due to arthritis when i queried whether heavy lifting was involved the ea said most probably not
when i phoned the employment agency the contact was interviewing for the job and was told i would get phoned back which they didnt when i phoned next day the vacancy was filled i asked how long the job was for and told it could be two weeks or two months when i asked about the fll and h&s certs i was told i wouldnt be considered if i didnt have these certs when i asked about heavy lifting i was told yes heavy lifting was involved when i said i had arthritis and cant lift anything heavy was told i wouldnt have been considered i told agency i had been put forward for the job by the jobcentre and had no option and suggested they change the job description to say must have cbfll and h&s cert heavy lifting involved must be psychically fit needless to say the job was readvertised three weeks later and the suggestions i made were done
the agency said the jobcentre should have also told me where in glenrothes the job was the description stated which industrial estate the premises were on when it was readvertised
thats what really gets me with these jc ea’s they put you forward for these crap jobs but i bet if they were unemployed themselves they wouldnt apply for them they only want the longtermed unemployed who they treat like something they stepped in and think these type of jobs are all the unemployed are suitable for
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I agree. Also, they rarely take into account your knowledge / experience when putting you forward for jobs.
I’ve been put forward for jobs which require exp. of programming languages i’ve not even heard of!
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A fair amount of jobs use discretion as whether someone is good enough to be taught a new skill etc.
Programmers etc. however are hired on a project related basis therefore if they want you to have experience you will need it!
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my experience of employment agencies are not very good,recently i was told i wasn’t suitable for the vacancy,about 2 months later a email asking about work,i replied then a surprise i was told i was expected at an induction,the surprise being no one bothered to tell me this was happening.when queried no reply was received.i strongly suspect this was the vacancy for which they said earlier i was not suitable for.
a number of these agency vacancies have started to appear over recent months,and to be honest they are not worth bothering with,you dont know how long these are going to last,the people you are dealing with only have their own interests,and to all purposes they are users’,the short work offered isnt viable unless its for several months.
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re the factory labourer job in glenrothes i was put forward for the same vacancy was readvertised three weeks later
these type of jobs arent worth the hassle the jc staff only put people forward in order to get their bonus every month
thats probably why my idiot ndpa now drives a 52 plate alfa romeo a big step up from the r reg ford mondeo he had they must be paying him too much!
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chris the job centre use to say that to me as well we arent bothered if you dont get it as long as you apply for it what i used to do was ensure my cv listed my new deal placements and also posted the letter secong class two days before the closing date as with the way royal mail is now the letter wouldnt arrive until after the closing date therefore wouldnt be considered but even if an idiot from the jc did phone to check the application had been sent in they would be told yes even if the challenged as to how it arrived after the closing date just say dont blame me blame royal mail also post the letter in a postbox which does not get emptied until 530pm that delays it even further after all the jc dont know which postbox you posted it in do they?
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After my last complaint about TNG, I got a letter saying that they had done everything to improve the situation while I was there and that I wasn’t participating in certain things – I’d like to know what I turned down! I know I said I had a problem with their computers and their network system that I felt compromised me as a user, but as for refusing to participate – I had to get THEM to do stuff! I’ll be keeping the letter for sure and when I see my advisor in the new year, I’ll let him/her/it know the full bloody truth.
What I need is proper training for my skills, not TNGs approach to doing things where I’d be sat going stir crazy and at severe risk of becoming depressed and on medication for it – which would happen if I ended up back there… its not worth me becoming ill and unfit to work if I end up at TNG again.
And I’ve since discovered that my placement actually didn’t exist as far as paperwork was concerned. So thanks TNG, keep up the fraudulent claims!!
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the medication goes with the territory,as for the computers i found a lot of other peoples personal details were still on them,the age of the age and the condition of the computers’ were terrible,a lot of people starting havent used them before this meant other participants were being asked to help and the tutors nowhere to be seen.
to be honest the whole thing (new deal) is cheesey and not very good,lightweight except for the bullying.any complaints is put down to being “anti” and an excuse to be thrown off or benefits stopped.
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i think all goverment courses are the biggest scams its just making the figures look good.
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how , under the freedom of information act is it possible to obtain exact figures for the number of people who obtained permanent jobs as a result of tng ‘ s efforts ? i feel these figures should be in the public domain .
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Hi Bryan.
You will find it extremely difficult. They should be public domain I totally agree but none are.
There is two elements to it:
(a) New Deal contracts have a section stating certain shared information between the Provider and Jobcentre Plus may have to be diclosed under FoI Act
and
(b) Jobcentre Plus/DWP will not disclose such figures easily under the FoI Act claiming an exemption (although the clause exists to allow it) stating the information was shared in confidence.
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