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Loading ...I have just received an email from someone who was kind enough to attach the email conversation with A4e’s Emma Harrison. Well, until she decided not to bother replying.
Initial email:
I attended A4e at your offices about 5 years ago. I have to say it was one of the worst experinces I had encountered. The basic facilities were poor (no soap in the toilets, dirty cups etc).
Overcrowding was always a problem. Some, though thankfully not all members of staff were downright rude and unprofessional. When I complained to the job centre, I was told I was “out of order”. And this info was supposed to be confidential!!!
The IT facilities were wholly inadequate. 4 very slow PC’s for 30 odd people and only 2 had an internet (dial up) connection. ‘Clients’ were required to phone for vacancies and to arrange work experience. One problem: there was just one solitary phone again for 30 odd people.
The reading material provided by A4e was particularly interesting as it consisted of 2 week old newspapers and 2 year old telephone directories and Yellow Pages. Yep, really great for applying to jobs!
I ended up as doing A4e’s job for them. I took it upon myself to try and arrange work experience and ended up helping others to construct their CV’s as no A4e staff member could be bothered to show them how to use a computer!!!
To think that I was told at the beginning of my time at A4e I would be there for a ‘couple of weeks’ only as I’d easily get work experience. I was at A4e for the whole sorry 13 weeks.
What irks, no angers me is that A4e advertises ‘courses’ or did when I was there. I was supposed to be attending a ‘media and design course’. The course did not exist! None of them did. Most just sat around telling jokes and smoking spliff outside.
When I mentioned this to my New Deal advisor here response was “oh it looks like they’re (A4e) getting money for things they’re not providing”. Unbeleivable!!!!!!
This is out and out FRAUD! Fraud sanctioned by a corrupt New Labour govt under their New Deal.
I was in two minds as to whether to send this to you. I don’t expect a reply, though as the saying goes, “stranger things have happened”. I do hope for the people you claim you are helping sake that A4e has improved massivley since I was there.
Emma’s Response:
Cheers for the email – sorry what we do does not suit you – the bare facts are that a whopping number of people get jobs with the support of the people at A4e. Many of the staff were once clients – and they are very passionate and capable.
We are not always perfect – but we do our damndest – even for people who absolutely don’t want to take part and only want to stand and knock the efforts of others. (Hey – it takes all sorts).
I suspect that there is little I can say to change your mind – but if you ever want to spend a day working alongside one of our tutors – and then coming up with suggestions on how they can help the people who are looking for work be even more successful then I will arrange it.
All the best
Emma
Client’s reply:
Emma,
I really think you have misunderstood what I wrote. I am not knocking others as you suggest. my experiences are REAL. The one good thing I’d say is that not all of your staff were bad.
A couple were fine and knew about haow bad things were.Indeed one of them even convened a meeting for all the attendees at A4e to let him know just how bad things were. At least he tried and showed some initiative and gumption!!
Why not do a Google or Yahoo search on A4e and you’ll see a constant thread running through like the lettering down a stick of Blackpool rock! Surely a good businessman/woman listens to complaints as well as praise.
As for clients becoming A4e staff…what level of training do they get? I do hope they recieve better training than some members of staf at the Leeds Regent St. office where I attended esp with regards to customer service.Can you even begin to understand why I made a large number of complaints to the Employment Service about your company and why I still have nothing good to say about A4e?
To view Emma Harrisons latest response and the New Deal participant’s final response please follow the below link:
New Deal training fraud
If political parties are looking for painless cuts in public spending, New Deal fraudulent training courses should be their top priority.
If a training course was worth attending, there would be a waiting list. It speaks volumes that it requires these courses to be made mandatory with the loss of benefit if you refuse to attend.
Humiliating and degrading treatment, breach of Human Rights Act?
Government data shows New Deal to be a failure. New Deal inmates know why it is a failure. Why is no one listening? Why no investigation by the National Audit Office? Why no investigation by the Public Accounts Committee? Or has public service in this country become so tainted and corrupted that no one gives a damn?
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2009/10/439070.html
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new deal has constantly failed to deliver results,criticism has been simmering for sometime as to its viability in delivering any objectives objectives’
this was a story dating back to 2007.
Brown’s New Deal on jobs a ‘woeful failure’
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1551465/Browns-New-Deal-on-jobs-a-woeful-failure.html
these stories are not a good start to what would be someones working life,new deal has been dogged with controversy.
many including myself have gone through it and are still unemployed looking back thinking what was that all about.a complete waste of time being placed on a placement that had noting to do with previous work history.
being classed as a volunteer when was anything but,double standards rife between new deal and other volunteers,dire facilities donated museum equipment at the center a hostile environment by staff as well as other users evidence of drug ties formed between themselves,of course there was other people that were no way associated with this behavior and left as bewildered as me.
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if the facilities at a4e were as bad as you say perhaps a phone call to enviromental health would have sorted the problem as the inspectors would have come down on them like a ton of bricks for not providing proper facilities in the toilets and clean cups it is also obvious that a4e do not have a cleaner strange when every other business employs one
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Let’s hope claimants on the Flexible New Deal kick up a fuss if they are confronted with the same conditions they experienced on the old New Deal.
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As an an ex – employee of A4E (action for employment) I have found most of the articals sent in by ex-customers have been pritty much spot on. I started work for A4E some years ago.
I have been asked to tell lies in court as one of the clients had been treated unfairley and with recist comments. as I had been delivering courses and this learner had been in my groups and I was black, they said it would look good for us and make him look the fool. I was asked to say that he would never participate nor would he even communicate with staff and he had been treated very well. (NOT A CHANCE). i was then asked if I would write a statement to that effect. NOT A CHANCE. Time sheets and job out comes had all been doctored so as to claim the outcome for jobs.
Time sheets signed by staff due to learners not being in centre, dates changed and placements forged so as to get payments. Promissed boneses as we hit a massive target beating all other offices in the country. Only to be told the weeks before Xmas that the money will be put back into the company to go to pay for our office in Iran?.
I myself manage in induction each week seventy two(72) learners in one room for a week trying to complete cv,s ?
No support not much resources.? Mishall street had no runing water not toilets unsafe floors and no refreshments for our clients?managers getting big boneses for doing nothing and clients being punished with sanctions for missing one day ? come on there is more very much more!
infact lots more. wacth this space.
I am going to have my say as I am nolonger employed by them I can tell all! do you want to know more? I’ll tell you.
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We would be very interested in hearing more. You are not the first ex- a4e employee to raise such severe concerns which is indeed very worrying.
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I am a lone parent of 3 children. I went to A4E for an induction and spent the day filling out forms. An appointment was made for me to see a Customer Mentor for the following week. This appointment was putting the details onto their database. No job searches was made but I had my CV as I needed help with it and they were going to make changes to it. Two members of staff read my CV said that although it was long and needed changing they were very impressed. They gave my CV to their manager and I was offered an interview for the following week with A4E for the job role of Customer Mentor. I did not want to cut my options short in case I did not get the job so I asked for another appointment with my mentor to do some job searches.
I returned to the office two days later to do some job searches but this did not happen as both customer mentors told me that they were absolutely certain I would get this job as they were very short-staffed and I had “the charisma, energy and enthusiasm that the office needed!” and my mentor told me that they would amend my CV. I was very pleased with these comments and made arrangements for my three-year old son to settle into a new nursery and to start full-time.
I came to the offices two hours before the interview took place to go over my new CV but my mentor told me that she had not yet done this but it is okay. The interview went very well and I was asked when I would be able to start work. I explained that my youngest son will be starting full-time nursery by the following Monday. I was then told that I would be contacted by the end of the week with an date for the second interview where I would be meeting another manager.
By the end of the week I had not yet heard anything so I rang my mentor and told him that I could not wait for this job alone as the nursery fees are £160 per week and I could not afford to pay that being on benefits and could I come in to apply for these other jobs. So again I went to A4E offices expecting to do job searches, but both mentors again told me not to worry, I must be patient as they are short-staffed, but it is good news for me and that I should be expecting a letter in the post for a 2nd interview.
I returned again to the offices on the following Monday and asked my mentor if I could apply for these other jobs just in case I didn’t get the role of Customer Mentor. Again their reply, don’t worry, there is a new manager who is settling in and he will contact me by telephone later on in the day to come in for the 2nd interview. I returned home, anxious as I had paid nursery fees that morning.
On Tuesday I telephoned my mentor and she said that I will be called later on that day. No call came through. I returned again to the offices on Friday and asked to do some job searches with my mentor and again the response was that there is no need because the new manager will be calling me but as he is still busy settling in, if he does not call, come to the office on Monday 12th September and dress smartly and be prepared for the interview.
Monday came, I was at the offices, waiting for my interview, a bit more anxious now as I had borrowed money to pay for the 2nd week of nursery. Two hours after waiting, my mentor called me into the office and told me that they could not offer me the job now as it has to be offered to internal staff before being offered externally. She then told me to come back the following Monday to do some job searches for me.
I left their offices dejected, deflated and in tears. On my way home I cried on the bus and felt so alone and like I had been lead on. I had recieved no help or support from A4E. I felt the pinch of spending £1 on the bus journey (for which A4E were supposed to help with travel costs) and I panicked at what I was going to feed my children for the rest of the week. I sat on the bus trying hard to fight back my tears and the feeling of wanting to get sick. I got off the bus and walked around dropped my CV to anywhere I could think of.
I am still without a job, but convinced there is something better out there for me.
IMPROVING PEOPLES LIVES, A4E has done anything but…
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i would take legal advise as to the possibility of claiming the child care costs from a4e as they seem to have led you up the garden path as regards this job also the fact they wouldnt allow you to do jobsearch and apply for other jobs seems strange also suggest you speak to your ndpa about this as well as you were keeping yourself in the right by stating you wanted to do jobsearch but they refused to let you might be worth asking ndpa if it is possible to claim the child care costs back from a4e as they gave the impression that the job was more or less yours
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I thought New Deal covered the costs of Childcare!
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BREE: As AJ suggested, don’t just accept this shoddy treatment from A4e.
I would also like to suggest you contact your MP too.
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