Companies like A4e are setup primarily to get Government cash. You will notice their income is primarily from Government. Before they got their first contract they weren’t delivering services in their own right i.e. employment agency etc. – its all about having the right contacts such as Blunkett and A4e etc.

The target is getting you a job – or leeching after you get yourself a job. There is no incentive of helping you get a decent job as they receive no more money for it. This means they want you on National Minimum Wage.

Besides its the Employee Vs “Unemployed Scum” – or so they see it. Why would they take pride in seeing you develop into getting a better paid job then themselves?

Staff wont like to admit it but working for a company like A4e is pretty much a dead-end job. These employees typically rotate between different welfare-2-work employers or agencies. Regardless of this, they have a full time job which is perfect for them at the moment. There isn’t a real sense of achievement in the job, and being under pressure to reach targets, jealousy and being spiteful isn’t rare at all.

Besides, they strive on unemployment. They want you to get into the bottom end, dead end jobs on NMW where its likely you wont stick to them. This means they get another chance of making money in the future. Otherwise they might aswell give up – as in a few years their turnover could half if they tried solving unemployment.

Sadly, these providers delivering these courses over the years typically, see the same faces over and over again – around 1 in 3. They love these type – its like having a repeat customer!

if its Flexible New Deal you are refering to they have the powers of applying for sanctions directly to a decision maker. These are fixed (2 week, 4 week and 26 week) except for failing to apply for a job/turning down an employment opportunity where a full blown 6 month variable sanction is awarded.

Its messed up! This needs to be outlawed.

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yeah, I have tried to keep the sites relevant to all. Some are facts – others are experiences of mine and others. Sadly enough most of the stuff happening around Ipswich is mirrored elsewhere!

If you are interested in one of my latest blogs aimed at the Flexible New Deal (“New Deal 2.0″ lol) – you can see it at http://www.flexible-new-deal.co.uk – Thanks for commenting!

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It also makes me laugh that both the Jobcentre and A4E (when they had the New Deal contract) said you shouldn’t put up barriers that harm your chances to get work, when barriers already exist!

For example, I would like to do a Web Design distance learning course (that would give me more or less the same qualifications as a Uni degree), but they won’t fund it because a) it isn’t a recognised college and b) there are no fixed hours for learning. So its okay for me to do a basic, crappy IT course at the local college, but not okay for me to do a distance learning course that would improve my chances of getting a decent paid job exponentially? That’s just stupid!

It sometimes feels like they don’t want to help me get into a decent job. Although if I did get a decent, well-paid job I wouldn’t have to sign-on ever again!

Now I will have to go on to this Serco course (the company that now have A4E’s old contract) and do a job search with someone breathing down my neck every week. I would like to not go, just out of spite and see what they do. Apparently they have powers to stop people’s benefits without consulting the Jobcentre, which I am sure must be illegal. It just doesn’t seem right!

If they do stop my benefit, how long would they conceivably stop it for?

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I think you would get more people to your cause and more people reading your blogs, if you created a “New Deal Scandal” Facebook Group and/or a Twitter feed. I’m on both of those sites.

Is it okay to post links to your site from Twitter or Facebook? I would be more than happy to promote this website to everyone!

Even though I’m not in Ipswich (I actually live in North East Wales) the information on your website is relevant to me and others like me.

Cheers.

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it might be said there is little between the political parties’ now,the programs’ and the private sector companies he proclaims the savior of the welfare state and the treasury coffers and the unemployed are embroiled in controversy, figures that show the success rate of outcomes’ are withheld which are privately acknowledged to be bad ,this no doubt is a policy followed more and more as to keep damage limitation of other “shortcomings” and financial irregularities from public/press scrutiny.

A4e are claiming to also a “stay in it” policy towards anyone who finds employment,this looks to to be a error of judgment,given the easy disposal of staff and the hire and fire policies’ brought in by margaret thatcher in the 1980s,policies acknowledged by the CAB as mentioned to me were “employment law is one of the most unfair laws”.

hire and fire situations will always have an effect and will contribute to the welfare states numbers’ as we have seen,make no mistake employers’ are always looking for the best options’ for them and its no good the dwp/job entre plus whinging about numbers on job seekers allowance because of earlier laws.

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Insert

(6) I reserve the right to edit comments for the sole purpose of adding line breaks so comments are easier to read.

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It is either:

(1) What the most somewhat segregated (from day-2-day life in society) “elite” think is in the public’s interest (without consultation with the public)

or

(2) What they want to do anyway knowing it isn’t in the publics interest.

We need an alternative.

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