It won’t work because the program is designed by people who have absolutely no experience, or idea of what it is like to be unemployed. There is also this culture that has been developed to reward people for not working and not seeking work. At the same time, this government has raised the retirement age where, especially for women, there was a fantastic opportunity to trade unemployment benefits for pensions. So, an older worker taking retirement could create a job opportunity for an unemployed younger person. Ever since the introduction of the old Labour Market programs in the ’80′s the last people anybody has considered are the unemployed. Once again, this latest “scheme” has been imposed upon the unemployed rather than embraced by them. That is because nobody has bothered to ask them!

I really hope it works! After 2 years of job seeking, and 800 applications, 790 got no replies! I have lots of good knowledge and experience as a Training Manager, but at 55, little real chance of finding work.The JCP have not helped with anything.I have just reached the 6 month period at the JCP and as they are not interested other than to get me off their books, I will soon be moving into a cardboard box.Yes I have tried all the recommended solutions, they don’t work.I have paid a fortune to re-train, it didn’t work because I ran out of money and the self employed option I was following was a scam by a certain driving school of a colour I won’t mention.
Unless Father Christmas and the Tooth Fairy are real……..I don’t see how anyone can find me a job when there are none out there..

Until I was forty six I, had never been out of work in my life now in my fifties I have found it impossible to obtain work applying for a spectrum of different occupations some I would have been compatible with many I was not. Each and everyone has a responsibility to work and make your contribution to society and the community life does not owe you a job but it does owe you a living. I am long term unemployed and have made hundreds of applications via phone/e-mail/phone to obtain a post and like so many other persons on this forum have been interviewed to no success at fifty five I am burnt out with it all, the posts that come up with a sustainable salary have several hundred people applying for them so you get knocked out on competitiveness of course age also comes into it.

You then look at alternative work low paid demeaning work with no prospects let alone a living, in bygone days you would take these jobs feeling assured at some point a better paid position would come along, now thats not the case you are stuck with it for perhaps years we now have the concept that everyone as an alternative to this, will work in the volunteering sector and work for nothing at considerable expense and hardship to ones self this is for the dignity of saying you are employed good for the character! when I met my local M.P and discussed these issues with him he commented if a job pays a pound more than benefit you should be made to take the job wrong! you do not expect whilst on benefits to have a quality of life as the state is keeping you but by going out to work you should by all accounts be able to pay your way with domestic bills but also have a quality of life from this, when Cameron says he will make work pay he does not mean he will improve living standards no! what he means he will strip the benefits system so that one will have no other option but to work for nothing to survive of course excluding the chosen few as always.

I totally agree with comments made on this forum about the work programme I have now been with two providers taken additional qualifications and gained to my credit certification for various trades, but at the end of the day I have still ended up unemployed.
The reality of the real situation is there is no manufacturing base here and we are not producing anything (or very little) we have no power industry or textile based industry the banks are funding everything and as a result they are calling the shots it will take years to improve if it ever does employers are not allowed to discriminate on age and of course we all know they find another way around it once you are a mature person they don’t want you. to conclude my heart goes out to all those persons whom are single in the south mortgages are tight you can’t afford houses of flats as a tenant why? because the wages are so low and have not kept pace with the cost of living and please remember anyone who argues this we now have the most expensive petrol in the world of which the government is responsible in taxation partly we have one of most expensive transport networks in Europe all of which is required to obtain work as there is no work in the community one must be prepared to travel to neighbouring districts which must reflect in the wage one earns.

England is now run by the chosen few for the chosen few if you have assets and wealth dispite everything its still one of the best places in the world you can live, but if you are on the lower runs of the ladder look out! big issues and problems coming your way fast
and to all those unemployed how many times have you heard persons comment if I, were unemployed I would do this,that,anything but of course they are refering they have been or if they were, they never are!

I worked for 20 years for private training companies and we all worked hard to help people into work. People appreciated our help and use of our facilities as opposed to the Job Centres who are useless.I have worked on ALL the various Govt schemes that successive Govts have introduced and then re-named and introduced again and again..None have really worked because jobs paying a reasonable amount are so hard to get. The tv programme ” Fairy Jobmother ” magically produces jobs for everyone who appears on it as an inducement to the unemployed that  there ARE
jobs there just waiting for them. The jobs market has contracted  – as we all know – because private companies are NOT creating new jobs and the public sector is under attack. On top of that foreign workers have been encouraged into the Country. The Work Programme is not really much of a different scheme except that training providers will have to wait 2 years for their money. But there appears to be less help on offer for the job hunters with money being so tight. I know I do not paint a happy picture but it is essential to keep on trying but until a scheme of training and job creation is introduced it is just ” p-ssing in the wind ” and a waste of taxpayers money.

As usual. Someone using the ‘taxpayers are paying for it line’ presumably an employee or employer.

I have noticed that the many of the people commenting on this forum have spent years upon years working in their industry and being paid. I am certain that they would tell you that aside from paying NI, they also had to pay tax too, therefore are these people not entitled to draw an income out of the system - given the fact that they have worked their behind off for years paying into it.  Thus they were former taxpayers too and no one is really paying for them. And you know what even if the taxpayer weren’t so called paying for these people, the government will still come up with an excuse to levy a tax one way or another.

It never cease to amaze me how people make sweeping generalisations on the unemployed such as they have never worked and paid taxes, they are being stubborn headed and unrealistic by not taking any job that comes along and so forth.

Go and look over many of the comments that people have written here.  I am sure that you will find that some people still are experiencing difficulty in even finding a job that is very different to theirs and pays much lower their previous form of employment.

As the old saying goes, you only know what it is like for someone when you have spent some time in their shoes

This will be my one and only comment
(unless I change my mind!) as someone who works on the Work Programme
as an Adviser and I will try to condense my points into bullets to
address a number of points. Before I start I would add that as
someone who has worked with thousands of the long term unemployed
this discussion is not because I don’t understand your plight. I
don’t expect many people to agree with what I say, I don’t expect
people to like what I’m saying. This is not meant to be an attack on
people if you feel offended can it mean that I’ve hit a little too
close to the heart? This is simply my view of it:1 Despite
what many people may say or believe age is not as big a factor in
finding work as most think. When asked whether age is the reason why
people are out of work I get an equal number of people in all groups
who believe this is the case teens, 20′s, 30′s, 40′s, 50′s, 60′s all
say it is the reason they are out of work. What I would say is
that people who believe their age is the reason they are out of work
are much more likely to not find work. For those who are in the
older age groups who feel it is their age that holds them back look
at the stats for those 18-24 out of work and look at those for
graduates then look at those for those in other age groups and
re-evaluate. You’ve never seen anyone your age working in a
particular company, do you know of anyone who has applied for that
company in your age bracket? Please note age laws were brought in to
protect younger age groups because they, and not the older age
groups, were being discriminated against. For those in younger age
groups look at what experience you have, if you don’t have enough
volunteer and if your answer to this is “Why should I work for
nothing?” then think “Why would an employer employ me?”

2 As someone who used to work in
Housing and Council Tax Benefit, and I know this is a generalisation,
99% of people are better off financially in work. Get a
calculation done for what you would receive if you worked 16/30/40
hours at minimum wage. Most people receive some help with rent or
council tax at 16 hours. Many people who work 16 or 30 hours can
receive Working Tax Credits which make a big difference to your
income. Also the Tax Allowances have greatly increased (the amount
you have to earn before paying tax) possibly the best thing to come
out of the Coalition. If you start a job which will last for over 5
weeks, is over 16 hours a week and you have been out of work for 26
weeks or more without any gaps you should get an extra four weeks
“run-on” of Housing and Council Tax Benefit. Some will also get a
jobgrant as well. Those who are least likely to be better off are
those who have the interest on their mortgage paid through receiving
JSA. If you’ve had a calculation and you are only say £10 or £20
better off and this means you aren’t looking at these hours then
people will question how much you really want that job. If you aren’t
better off and this is stopping you from applying for jobs think is
this the only reason I want to work?

3 Following on from this anyone who
feels that the reason they are out of work is due to an immigrant
workforce this rings major alarm bells with an adviser. Apart from
being a racist/xenophobic/ignorant stand point, think about this
logically. Firstly the sector of society most likely to be in
employment is White British and by quite a large stretch to the
point where certain employers, despite it being illegal ask
specifically for White British employees from recruitment agencies.
Apart from racism/xenophobia this can logically be due to
communication issues; if your English is better than anothers you
have a better chance of being employed. For those who say that
Foreigners are willing to work for cheaper wages and longer hours I
have one question: “Why aren’t you?” Minimum Wage at £6.08 an
hour is one of the highest in the world if you aren’t prepared to
work at this wage after more than a year out of work then you have no
right to blame those who are willing to work for this. We have
similar things where I work, people complain about foreigners lining
up outside of recruitment agencies. If you think this is how they are
finding work then why aren’t you doing it? If its because of short
term contracts and issues with signing on and off then again people
have to ask do you really want work? Part time, temporary and work
through recruitment agencies leads to more permanent contracts by
doing this work you show you are more willing to work. I’ve had
eleven jobs, ten were temporary and this one is permanent they all
gave me extra skills, extra things on my CV and led onto different
work and better pay. Also I see a lot of people say the work offered
is unsuitable, fair enough you have a medical condition which
prevents you from doing certain kinds of work, otherwise is it
unsuitable or would you rather not do it? Think of some roles as a
stepping stone to other roles. You want Admin work, do eight months
filing and (speaking from experience) you are more likely to get an
admin role. Yes its boring but its worth it.

4 Nowadays certain professions require
certain
certificates/qualifications/cards etc. If you don’t have these you
won’t get the job. So you may feel this is a money making scam, it
may be unfair because you know how to drive a fork lift, you’ve
worked in security or as a labourer before or you have extensive IT
experience. To be blunt, so what? If that’s what they need that’s
what they need. You can moan about it or can go pay for it and start
work again. If you can’t pay for it then look at other kinds of work
so you can then pay for it. You wouldn’t expect to get a driving job
if you don’t have a driving license. I know its brutal but you aren’t
going to change this so look for other kinds of work. To go on a
tangent about the many IT related jobseekers, you can use a computer,
so what? I worked in IT five years ago and I wouldn’t dream of
applying for an IT role now, there are people with higher skills,
better qualifications and more recent experience. Its a pipe dream
apply for another job earn money pay for qualifications and network
to find a basic IT role. This goes for work in general if haven’t
found what you want to do then look at other work. Its a cliché but
its easier to find work when you are in work. Aim to find work, any
work, then aim a little higher once you’ve achieved this. Any work is
better than having to sign on surely, based on the comments here
about the Work Programme, JCP etc.

5
Finding a job is hard, very hard. But there are never, I repeat
never, any points when there are no jobs. So there aren’t loads of
jobs, are you going to give up? Again if there aren’t jobs in your
sector think of transferable skills you have, go get experience in
another sector, or do a course (many are free when on benefits e.g.
certain areas CSCS Cards, Digital Tachograph Cards, English, Maths,
Basic IT, Food Hygiene, Care Courses etc.). If your reasoning is I’ve
worked all my life why should I change then the obvious answer is if
your out work then you haven’t worked all your life. It may be harder
to find work now but that doesn’t mean you can hide behind easy
excuses. Contact employers direct because 70% of jobs are not
advertised. Do things which make you stand out. When I ask clients
what they do to find work the most common answers are look at the job
points, look in the paper, ask family and friends and look on the
internet. If this is not working then, if you want work, do more.
Contact employers direct, ring them, speak to managers, do work
trials, send speculative letters, drop in CV’s etc. This is
how I get most people jobs. I
also get a common response of I applied for this job but never heard
back. If they don’t contact you, contact them.
Its worth doing this in general to pick yourself out of the crowd,
ring everyone you apply with to make yourself stand out. Not all will
give you an answer but some will which gives you ideas for what you
need to change. Knowledge is Power.

6 And
I know this brutal again but is it the world’s fault or is it yours.
You had lots of interviews but never got a job, your CV is good (you
had what they were looking for) but you didn’t come across well. You
have no responses to your CV, your CV needs improving or lacks
experience or skills, or you are going for the wrong jobs. There are
logical solutions to this. You’ve been on many Welfare to Work
schemes and hated every one and not participated because you feel you
know what you’re doing. Is it me or is this straightforward? There
are logical problem solving resolutions you can take. If what you are
doing isn’t working you need to change if you honestly want work. OK
you’re highly intelligent, you’re educated, you have extensive
experience, you know how to jobsearch, then logically why are you out
of work? Its difficult to admit but there must be something more you
can do or something you’re doing wrong/can change. Is it your
attitude?Your destiny is in your hands not that of the adviser you
see. If I have someone who has every excuse under the sun then it
makes it very difficult for me to get them into work. If I see a role
going then do I offer it to the person who is motivated or the person
who blames everyone else for their own situation. Its a no brainer.
Act the victim and you will be the victim, how long is up
to you, not anyone else.

7
Lack of transport. Trains, buses, wheels to work schemes or the
option of moving. You can’t find work in your area, then move. OK you
can’t move for whatever reason, how long do you need to be out of
work to consider this? Its your life, if you want to bore people for
the next ten years saying there is no manufacturing work in your area
that’s up to you. That’s because times have changed and will continue
to do so. Move with them or be left behind.

8
It’s not fair. OK you feel its not fair that this is
happening. What are your
choices? Attend the Work Programme get the help and advice of people
who are trained and employed to get people into work or don’t. If you
don’t you will lose your Jobseekers Allowance. Everyone knows this,
its up to you what you choose to do, so don’t blame your adviser.
Welfare to Work Programme’s are only likely to get stricter and some
people will end up working for their JSA for six months or more. Can
you complain? Yes. Will the general public sympathise? No. That’s
because those who work pay for your benefits. This means they pay for
you to live. They therefore expect people who don’t put the effort in
to not receive the benefits of our welfare state. For those who don’t
think our welfare state is generous do some research into other
countries welfare states. Unfortunately there are obvious
consequences if you bite the hand that feeds. If I could give anyone
on benefits one lasting piece of advice it would be this: find any
way to get off benefits now, it will only get harder and stricter. It
might sound harsh but you have been warned.

9 A
personal note. I’ve been quite
brutally honest and maybe a little insulting to many in this
rhetoric. This is probably the most difficult yet most effective part
of my job. This is why very few people would enjoy the job of an
adviser, you have to tell people where they are going wrong and most
people’s reaction is to put the defenses up and count on any number
of excuses to ignore their own responsibility. An effective adviser
is involved in conflict every day. With the long term unemployed
something has to change in order for them to find work. They are
referred to the Work Programme because what they have done is not
working. Advisers are paid to help people find work, if you are
looking for work then they will only be on your side. Most advisers I
know took on their role to help people and that is where they get the
most job satisfaction on the whole. Seeing people progress is
something which makes advisers get up in the morning. The average day
involves dealing with an awful lot of negativity, resentment or
apathy. As an adviser people will blame you day in day out. It will
be your fault they didn’t attend appointments. It will be your fault
they were sanctioned because they haven’t applied for anything in
three months. They will swear at you. They will threaten you. You
will solve problems for them and get no gratitude or appreciation.
You can deal with this. You are a strong minded individual and you
will know deep down that you are making a difference whatever anyone
says. When that one person a month says thank you for whatever you
have done that day, whether it be amend a CV, giving interview
feedback, giving them the brutal truth or giving them a confidence
boost it will the means by which you can keep going for the next
month or so. I would therefore say to anyone on the Work Programme
have a frank discussion with your adviser, think about where they are
coming from and why they work in this sector. If they can help you
(I promise you) they will.

10
I’m expecting a large amount of backlash for what I’ve said. I hope
I’ve been brutally honest. I don’t expect people to like what I’ve
said, I’d rather it provoked discussion or a change of heart. Thank
you for taking the time to read this information,
which I will admit got a little out of hand in terms of word count.