(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
Loading ...Unofficial Jobcentre Plus & Unemployment Survey
Please spend 10 minutes or so answering the questions so we can gather a better understanding of unemployment and how the Government is handling the issue.
Instead of the usual tick box, checkbox and rating systems, we have decided to allow you to answer in your own words. There is also an opportunity to rate each area out of 10. We will allow answers by comments to the article so to show they are not distorted in any way. Questions are simplified for easy understanding without requiring the concentration of an examination!
New Deal Scandal is running this survey because no one else offers such an impartial indepth open survey not limited by closed questions or tickbox selections which can be interpreted in many different ways. Your views are really important to us and will help shape the future of welfare. There are 12 questions in total.
The questions are as follows:
1. Job searching
Obviously the biggest element when you are unemployed is to seek employment. Also, to claim Jobseekers Allowance you need to be “Actively Seeking Employment”. The following 5 questions are about how you find the task of looking and applying for job and ways the Government intends to help and how effectively such measures are.
1.1 Labour Market System
This is the central job database used for the Jobcentre Website and Directgov search site, the job points and by Jobcentre Plus staff. As this is the main place to seek jobs from a Jobseekers Allowance point of view the effectiveness of such service holds major importance. The question is left very open to allow you to express your views.
What do you think of the online and JobPoint systems?
Suggestive Hints:
- Ease of use
- Functionality including search features
- Quality of jobs
- Availability
- Presentation
Please rate out of 10 (lowest is 1, highest is 10)
What do you think of the jobs?
Suggestive Hints:
- Quantity
- Types (lack of specialist?)
- Immoral jobs
- New Deal jobs/Work Trials
- Agency ads
- Ad contents (well written, badly written etc.)
- Fake jobs(?)
- Require call to jobcentre to find out about them
Please rate out of 10 (lowest is 1, highest is 10)
What do you think about advisers handing out jobs under Jobseeker Directions?
Suggestive Hints:
- Sanctions
- Forced to apply for potentially unsuitable jobs
Please rate out of 10 (lowest is 1, highest is 10)
1.2 Job market
What do you think about the number of jobs available locally compared to demand?
Suggestive Hints:
- Too many people going for same jobs
- Over-inflated job market
- Too many unsuitable jobs
- Fake jobs (i.e. agency ads etc.)
Please rate out of 10 (lowest is 1, highest is 10)
1.3 Other methods
Do you find other methods to seek employment as more effective?
Suggestive Hints:
- Methods (i.e. newspaper, other websites, shop windows)
- Writing to/ringing employer
- Agencies
Please rate out of 10 (lowest is 1, highest is 10)
2.Success
Questions under this section extend from the past – unemployed means any unemployment since when Jobcentre Plus was created. You can answer if you have secured a job since as it still remains relevant. Please state rough dates too. If you have had no success please skip the questions with “n/a” and rate them as 5.
2.1 Short term jobs
Since becoming unemployed have you ever secured a part time job or fulltime job that lasted under a couple of months?
Please specify rough details – i.e. nature of job, hours
If so… was this as a direct result of the Jobcentre Plus services or by your own motivation?
JCP services such as Labour Market System (jobcentre/directgov website and jobpoints) and jobseeker directions from an adviser
Please rate out of 10 (lowest is 1, highest is 10)
2.2 Sustainable jobs
Since becoming unemployed have you ever secured a part time job (18+ hours) or fulltime job that lasted or was suspected to last over 6 months?
Please specify rough details – i.e. nature of job, hours
If so… was this as a direct result of the Jobcentre Plus services or by your own motivation?
JCP services such as Labour Market System (jobcentre/directgov website and jobpoints) and jobseeker directions from an adviser
Please rate out of 10 (lowest is 1, highest is 10)
3. Agencies
Please specify your experiences with employment agencies? (if applicable)
Please rate out of 10 (lowest is 1, highest is 10) – If not applicable rate as 5.
4. Sanctions
Please describe your opinion on sanctions issued by Jobcentre Plus?
Please include details if you have ever been sanctioned and a rough idea of length for what offense
Please rate out of 10 (lowest is 1, highest is 10)
5. New Deal, Flexible New Deal and Employment/Training Courses
What are your experiences of New Deal and other compulsory training programmes for jobseekers?
Please explain whether it was a good or bad experience, whether it improved your employability or not, did the work experience help you, did you get any work experience, how were you treated, was it worth taxpayers money, did you gain any qualifications, were you lied to or tricked into the course, overcrowding etc.
Please rate out of 10 (lowest is 1, highest is 10)
Thank you for your co-operation. Below is a template you may copy and paste for ease of use.
[What do you think of the online and JobPoint systems?][(rating here)/10]
[What do you think of the jobs?][(rating here)/10]
[What do you think about advisers handing out jobs under Jobseeker Directions?][(rating here)/10]
[What do you think about the number of jobs available locally compared to demand?][(rating here)/10]
[Do you find other methods to seek employment as more effective?][(rating here)/10]
[Since becoming unemployed have you ever secured a part time job or fulltime job that lasted under a couple of months?]
[If so... was this as a direct result of the Jobcentre Plus services or by your own motivation?][(rating here)/10]
[Since becoming unemployed have you ever secured a part time job (18+ hours) or fulltime job that lasted or was suspected to last over 6 months?]
[If so... was this as a direct result of the Jobcentre Plus services or by your own motivation?][(rating here)/10]
[Please specify your experiences with employment agencies? (if applicable)][(rating here)/10]
[Please describe your opinion on sanctions issued by Jobcentre Plus?][(rating here)/10]
[What are your experiences of New Deal and other compulsory training programmes for jobseekers?][(rating here)/10]
The rating system is aimed at rating the assistance of any Government department (including DWP) and its contractors and subcontractors (i.e. New Deal Providers) except the agency question where it refers to the regulation of such agencies and the performance of such agencies. A low number is poor, a high number is a positive score.
[What do you think of the online and JobPoint systems?][3/10]
I dislike the Jobcentre Plus provided services not only because of the poor backend system (Labour Market System) but because of the following reasons: the system works on a timeout session although the page has a get variable specifying the job (i.e. viewVacancy.do?selectedVacancy=1&ref=PAP/10823) you are redirected to the start if it time out, unlike other job websites the jobs dont show up in search engines and the location matching is very poor.
[What do you think of the jobs?][2/10]
There always seem to be jobs on there. Had no success from any. A lot of agency jobs and “ring jobseekers direct” which really takes away the point of the system.
[What do you think about advisers handing out jobs under Jobseeker Directions?][(1)/10]
Pointless. Advisers at the jobcentre should be focusing on setting goals etc. and letting the jobseeker get on with it.
[What do you think about the number of jobs available locally compared to demand?][6/10]
Due to the credit crunch there isn’t all that much jobs going so my score and answer reflects that. I genuinely think the number of jobs that exist are over-inflated.
[Do you find other methods to seek employment as more effective?][7/10]
All my success has been mostly in jobs from the newspaper. I have never received a single interview from the LMS jobs but many when I apply via different methods – same effort – different results: why?
[Since becoming unemployed have you ever secured a part time job or fulltime job that lasted under a couple of months?]
Yes, continued to sign on while declaring work (thus received no benefit for such weeks).
[If so... was this as a direct result of the Jobcentre Plus services or by your own motivation?][1/10]
My own motivation – shop window advertisement.
[Since becoming unemployed have you ever secured a part time job (18+ hours) or fulltime job that lasted or was suspected to last over 6 months?]
Yes.
[If so... was this as a direct result of the Jobcentre Plus services or by your own motivation?][3/10]
Was with a company who liked my work on New Deal Placement so I have rated it rather high. I had to find the placement though (because YMCA Training refused to and wanted me to go with ETF in the winter months) and already had a contact I knew there from many years before due to previous work history there. I guess I could say the mandatory course stuck me in a good position, however, it was down to my own initiative of negotiating the placement and was the CEO contact I knew which gave me such an opportunity.
[Please specify your experiences with employment agencies? (if applicable)][1/10]
Not interested in me at all. Just increasing their client count. never contacts me. I can’t be ringing their office 5 times a week at my own expense for a potential unsustainable job when they claim there are no jobs.
[Please describe your opinion on sanctions issued by Jobcentre Plus?][1/10]
I believe this is unlawful. Withhelding monies people are entitled to (i.e. matching the criteria) because of an incident that occurred numerous benefit weeks ago is plain wrong.
[What are your experiences of New Deal and other compulsory training programmes for jobseekers?][0/10]
YMCA Training and the biggest and shittest organisation I am aware of.
Total Score: 25/100
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how do you fill in your questionaire
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Simply add your answers to a new comment or alternatively send to flexiblenewdeal@live.co.uk
Thank you for your interest!
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