| Archive for Downsizer For an ethical approach to consumption |
| LynneA |
Attention taxpayers - you're paying for scientology liteTo get the unemployed out of the jobless figures:http://goalsuk.org/unemployed/index.htm I just spent two days being told that: My attitude is wrong I have no self esteem Being unemployed is my fault Taking a career break to study makes you unemployable Ageism doesn't exist Brainwashing can be a good thing If you've got too much experience for a job, you must take a paycut and do menial work to get on the job market When I discovered that some of the people spouting this tat were not HR professionals but long term unemployed on the minimum wage, I had all the proof I needed it was a giant scam. (And the "books" cost £20 a pop. If you don't hear from me it's because I've lamped someone for telling me I'm being negative |
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| lottie |
No.2 Hardworking son was made redundant 2 months ago and is desperately seeking permanent work---I do hope no one sends him a copy of the book---or I'll be visiting him in Strangeways 
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| Shane |
Re: Attention taxpayers - you're paying for scientology lite
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| Brownbear |
I don't follow - are this lot Scientologists? Were you forced to go on their course or were you sent their book? If you were sent there by the dole office, I don't see how they can dump on you getting more education, as 'lifelong learning' is official Labour policy.
It all sounds very odd. You haven't been experimenting with wild fungi, have you? |
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| LynneA |
I missed something late on Monday. One of the women who has been forced to go to this by her job centre is a senior HR professional who was made redundant then spent a year caring for her son when he suffered a brain injury.
When she said that she had to lie about her age on her CV, the "Trainer" told her loads of women in their fifties had jobs - she should try being a supermarket cashier for instance. I asked for time to apply for a couple of jobs yesterday, but was told I had to complete induction and fill in forms first. 
It's quite amusing the way that the HR woman & I are being kept away from other course members. It's clear they're afraid of women with brains. |
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| vegplot |
It's being run by Pol Pot.
You're a free minded thinking individual aren't you? Here, have a plastic bag and some gaffer tape. |
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| Northern_Lad |
Rather sexist, don't you think. I think it's just people with minds of their own they don't like. |
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| vegplot |
Too late to save this one...
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| Jamanda |
Who is that? | ||||
| jema |
I have a friend who gets sent on this sort of course
Meanwhile they withdraw facilities that help him apply for jobs like office space/postage etc 
I can't imagine anyone with there head screwed on wanting to run such courses, people are long term unemployed for a great number of complex reasons and all these courses can really do is tell people to wipe out any expectations they might have for a decent job and go and work in MacDonalds/Tescos etc. As such I would guess only evangelical types will want to run such courses. |
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| dpack |
i always get an early bath from such things .
and full pass of the course . the peeps who run these things are easy meat |
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| vegplot |
http://goalsuk.org/motiv8/ |
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| vegplot |
Back door sponsors perhaps? |
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| dpack |
pauline ,royston vasey
nuff said |
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| marigold |
You have to remember that the point of these initiatives is to get people off benefits, it has nothing to do with helping anyone find satisfying well-paid employment appropriate to their skills and desires. Disability Employment Advice boils down to "do you want to work in Tesco or Asda?"  .
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| Brownbear |
I used to work in a supermarket for a while, between other jobs. Can't say it was much fun, but preferred it to being ordered about by the sort of people who work for the DHSS.
Rather ironic about the woman who used to work in Personnel - wonder how many she laid off to 'improve efficiency' before she fell under the axe herself. |
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| jema |
Some probably most people can take that approach, and we all know there are people who should be press ganged into work. I certainly knew quite a few people who were perpetually long term unemployed and it did them a hell of a lot of good when one thing or another did force them to get into a low paid job. But I also know people who I would hate to see pushed like that. |
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| colour it green |
thing is - not everyone can have satisfying well paid employment. it's not the end of the world to do menial work. |
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| Brownbear |
I think everyone in the country ought to work at a menial job for a year or so at the start of their careers. It would do wonders for the way people treat their inferiors in later life. |
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| marigold |
Agreed, but if you have been in well-paid employment you tend to have commitments to match, so working for much-reduced pay is an option of last resort. It's hard to job-hunt effectively whilst fully employed doing something that bores you to tears and saps your energy. |
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| colour it green |
I agree to a point, but there comes a time when you simply have to bring some money in. and from my experience, you are usually more employable in that 'better' job if you are employed now. it might be the last resort, it is still better than no job. and many people face a lifetime of the same sort of work with no route out. if a person has the ability to improve their employment situation, then they are the lucky ones. Not unlucky for having to do menial work in the interval. |
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| dpack |
i will again refer to series one league of gentlemen | ||||
| jema |
I know myself that during my short periods of unemployment (despite the wolf being if not at the door, certainly lurking in the street) I did not choose to fill the gap with any old job.
For that matter I even turned down jobs in my field as they were not what I really wanted. But that approach only works for a short time, you have to pay the bills. In my case that did once mean accepting a job that I ended up detesting
This thread though is not about people spending a month or three looking around for work in their field. It is much more about what the heck people should be doing when they cannot get work over the long term. Unfortunately plenty of people over the decades have found their profession whether it is mining or Cobol programming is pretty much gone for good, and there really may be little choice but to move on and accept that your pay prospects are going to be a hell of a lot lower. |
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| marigold |
Agree with that too - I've worked as barmaid, chambermaid, shop assistant, kitchen porter, filing clerk, mother's help... But I after that had a career in IT and excellent skills which have atrophied since I've been ill because I couldn't persuade anyone to employ me on the flexible short-hours basis that I need. The Disability Employment Advisors I saw just looked blank when I explained what I needed and it was clear that they weren't willing or able to help me negotiate with any potential employers. But they did lend me a couple of books on CV and cover-letter writing... I'm simply not physically able to work in a shop or to commit to very specific hours because of the fluctuating nature of my illness. Eventually I hope I'll be able to generate an income from some kind of self-employment, but goodness knows what as!! Obviously my situation is different to the "average" fit and healthy benefits claimant, but as someone else said the reasons for unemployment are many and varied. Speaking as a "user" of the system I'm trying to convey that the initiatives to help get people back into employment aren't as wonderful as you might believe if you were just reading about them in the press. Or if, like me you have foolishly naive ideas about what "help" means  .
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| Brownbear |
The purpose of schemes like this is to either browbeat or humiliate you into taking some job, any job, that gets you off the register. As Dpak says, Pauline at the Royston Vaisey Job Club is their archetype. | ||||
| Chez |
I think, before people go on to higher education. |
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| tahir |
Yup |
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| vegplot |
I've got an interview. For a fireman. |
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| Chez |
You are aspiring to become a fireman? Or you are interviewing a fireman for some kind of reason that you haven't yet told us? Because if it's the latter, can I come and help? |
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| vegplot |
Join the queue. Mickey (long term unemployed) has a thing about being a Fireman. Pauline (and her pens) repeatedly puts Mickey down but treats him as a teachers pet. However, he gets an interview for a job as a fireman which Pauline in her cruel sadistic way convinces Mickey he's too stupid to go for the interview. |
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| Chez |
Oh gosh, sorry - modern cultural references tend to pass me by if they're later than about 1986 . I just had a momentary image of you dressed as a fireman and it disturbed me  .
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| vegplot |
I'm not sure which way to take that. 
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| Chez |
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