Matching jobs to the jobless
Are British workers unwilling to do some British jobs?
Business Secretary Lord Mandelson's assertion that foreign nationals are helping to fill vacancies which locals are "either not available to fill or are unwilling to fill" has caused some controversy.
He argues that there are some half a million vacancies in the UK - which shows, he claims, that "there are jobs available for British nationals despite the circulation of workers that has resulted from EU enlargement".
So what do the latest (Q4 2008) data tell us?
I have been wandering around the official labour market stats on the website of the Office for National Statistics to try to get some answers.
Firstly, a quick overview of Britain in terms of vacancies notified to job centres.
Yes, there are jobs out there - more than 193,000 having been notified to Jobcentre Plus. More interesting, perhaps, is the relationship between those job vacancies and people claiming Jobseekers' Allowance (JSA).
If we take the East Midlands, for example, we can see that in some parts of the region there are 22 JSA claimants chasing every job. In other parts, it is as low as two unemployed people per vacancy.
The areas in dark blue are West Lindsey (22.6) and East Lindsey (19.9) - the places which saw the angry protests over British jobs for British workers in January.
But the large pale area just to the west of them is Newark and Sherwood, where there are just 1.8 JSA claimants for each notified vacancy.
I imagine some might ask why jobseekers in Lindsey do not travel the few miles to Newark in pursuit of work.
The story is even more stark in London.
In the borough of Hackney, 32 people are apparently chasing every job - but in Westminster, it is just three.
You can check out the situation in your local area in this spreadsheet [56Kb MS Excel format].
There are some places in the country where there are more jobs than jobseekers. Using a different database, but working from the same official statistics, I took a close look at the story in Brighton.
The economic consultancy Gavurin has created what it calls a recession map. You can register to use the system here.
Going down to ward level, one can see that there are three parts of Brighton that each has between 90 and 660 vacancies.
In fact, it turns out that the middle of the three yellow areas is called Brighton and Hove 027. In this small part of the city, there are 657 vacancies, mostly "customer service" jobs. However, there are only 317 people claiming JSA in the ward - the largest group aged between 20 and 24.
I cannot be sure, but I wonder whether many of the claimants are former students who would rather claim the dole than stack shelves in the local supermarket.
Obviously, there are all sorts of issues around the way vacancies and jobseekers are counted. The City of London is a case in point: on paper, there are three jobs for every unemployed person in the area, but that is because very few people actually live within the Corporation's boundaries.
I would be grateful for any thoughts you might have on what the wide variations in JSA:vacancy rates tell us about the willingness of British workers to fill half a million British job vacancies.
I'm 
~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~36~RS~)
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You've not included population density. Is it any wonder that parts of the country have few people chasing jobs when few people live there?
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It is the old problem of the jobs being in one place and the people to do them in another, inadequate skill sets, insufficient training, low wages, poor motivation, high taxes on minimum wages and generous welfare to those who can get to qualify.
This is the same sorry old story we have had in previous recessions. By the way are allowed to say it is a recession? I think `downturn' is a euphenism.
The simple reality is that our economy has been in poor shape for a very long time and part of this is a dysfunctional labour market. This economic bust is a huge bubble gone very bad: the problems that preceded it are still there just writ larger. The so-called education system has also failed yet another generation as even in the good times we have had high unemployment amongst the less qualified school leavers.
It is critical that we once again develop a motivated workforce that understands that in order to get paid some work has to be done as well. This does not fit in with the perception of many youngsters whose entire ambition is to be famous. We may scorn this but what else have the poor souls got to look forward to?
The minimum wage has failed as for many it is now the maximum wage and income tax starts after 30 hours are worked. How can you expect people to be positive when they are prevented from pulling themselves up by the bootstraps?
I am hearing from my colleagues in HR that when a job is advertised they get hundreds of applicants: most of them unsuitable. Yet this just shows there are people keen to work if they get the opportunity.
I think the government is living on another planet. it is not just a case of fitting a person to a vacancy. It goes a whole lot deeper than that and in the current climate companies can be choosy. If you have a skill you will eventually find a job. The problem is how long is eventually and where is it located? If you haven't a marketable skill then you must get one and soon.
Lastly, companies got out of the habit advertising at Job Centres. This is a mistake. I have picked up many good staff there in recessions; some are still with me from the last time. The good ones are the ones that don't stop looking for work.
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High rent, high living costs (fuel, heating, tax, food, road tax, fuel tax, lack of decent public transport etc) and employers paying low wages that it is almost impossible to support yourself without working every hour of every day.
Over the top HSE requirement for employees/employers increasing the cost for both. I know people who have years of experience, but they do not have the pages of government/HSE approved paperwork thus they are unable to get a job with their skills and stuck with the option of such low pay that only a teenager living at home could afford to live on.
I think that single people and couples with children (especially young children) are worst hit.
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A bit harsh on the students (if they are), Mark - customer service does not just refer to stacking shelves, it more likely refers to actual customer service roles in companies - generally not bad pay for minimal work - as a graduate however I've found companies unwilling to hire grads and rather have gone for people of a similar age but with experience in the role, ie people who left school at 16 or 18
As for the stacking shelves bit, obviously I can only use my own personal experience but I got a job in a supermarket over christmas, as I often do (albeit with stingy hours because of the recession) - they were unwilling to hire me beyond that and would rather be short-staffed at the moment (I know some of the line managers quite well) - and would much rather take a 16 year old who could be relied on for a couple of years work, and who can be paid half as much than a 23 year old who was over-qualified and likely to be out the moment he got a better offer
Then there's temping, the rate of jobs coming into the office is now a trickle from what is was a year ago, I got one month's work after a few weeks of hassling them last year
Why not have a proper look at what the jobs are, and what skills they require - 'customer service' is very vague
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There is always a disparity between the range of vacancies and the number of unemployed able to fill them.
The thing to remember is that the number of JSA claimants include those termed as 'hard to help'. Typicall with chronic drug or alcohol abuse problems or other health issues that in themselves does not qualify the individual for sickness or incapacity benefits.
There is then a group who, like me, need to achieve a minimum salary level in order to make it practical and sensible to come back into full time employment. This is not an excuse but a practical reality. The difference in benefits and additional help if returning to work would require a minimum salary of at least £30k a year before tax to ensure that we are no worse off than we are currently. That may seem a lot to some ppl but at 50 years of age and facing having to rebuild pension etc it doesn't go far.
I figure that the overall spread of vacancies means that salary levels as an average fall well below this figure thus making it more difficult for those with family and financial commitments to make a downward transition.
For the record I am returning to self employment through the new deal scheme, which makes a lot more sense. It is only a shame that this opportunity is not made available at a much earlier point in the process. Aside from getting those who could be productive for the economy into work more quickly, there is a likelyhood of creating further employment opportunities
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the thing is people have got mortgages and need to pay them .employment agencies cant garuantee a stable wage for people .so people are disillusioned about going for these vacancies.these are up to 50 percent of jobs on the jobcentreplus website. with the other disgrace that is jobcentre plus there is jobs you cant apply if your not on new deal.is this not some kind of discrimination.we want to know?
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Perhaps if employers raised the wages that they pay immigrant workers to an acceptable level British people might start taking up those vacancies that are apparently there.
Immigrant workers come here, earn a wage, and then spend it in their own countries where goods such as clothing, electronics etc. are often cheaper, therefore they can live on low wages because they have more to spend on living costs.
A British person buys goods here in the UK because they don't have the luxury of having, for arguments sake I'll say Polish relatives, who can bring stuff over for them.
And many immigrant workers will work all the hours their chosen god of their chosen faith sends for peanuts because where they come from they are in fact rich people.
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The big question is: how flexible is the labour market? Is it more or less flexible than in the past, and will that affect the speed of economic recovery?
I've written an article on this topic which references Mark's posting, and I have some reasonably optimistic conclusions.
Article is at:
http://www.knowingandmaking.com/2009/03/recovery-and-labour-market-flexibility.html
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Mark Easton:
Are British workers unwilling to do some British jobs?
I think that statement is totally not true...British Workers want to work for a living wage....
~Dennis Junior~
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I think it certainly helps to highlight just how shockingly bad our public transport system is. I know in the past I have had people apply to work for me only to discover it was unrealistic for them to use Public Transport as it just did not run early enough to get to the place of work, while if they where to keep a car they would need a higher wage to maintain it.
It is just one of a whole plethora of obstacles that stop people working which no-one seems willing to spend money on to overcome, despite being willing to waste millions on trivialities.
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I am 47 years old,I live in central London, I was widowed last June and had to return to the Job market after being absent for eight years. I realised that I had no hope of returning to my orginal type of work (clerk) as my applications for that type of work was never even answered. I decided to try for "Room attendant" although I had no experience I applied anyway...nothing. My three sons worked for the same company as printers, eight months ago two were made redundant, one decided to do a secruity course via Jobseekers, he has been waiting six months for the result of his exam, he has to pay £240 for a "Badge" even if he hasn't passed. My other son who was made redundant has applied for every job he can see, shelf staker,Turf accountants, warehouseman. My son who is still employed by the print company has now been told that they will be working a four day week from next month. All my sons have worked since they left school ( one even had a job after school for two years). They are all hardworking, they worked for poor wages in return for experience. I resent it when I hear that every British person on the dole is lazy and there are jobs out there.Honestly they are getting less and less. My friend owns a Bar and when she advertised for barstaff she had 145 applicants in 12 hours.
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Before the ressesion that we are now in thre were 61 jobs for every 100 working age people in the wirral. Now it is even less.
there are many jobs being advertised as 16- 20 hours per week great its a part time job but when its broken down into one and a half hours every morning and 2 hours in the same day in the evening it becomes a pointless job unless you live next door as the cost of getting to work and back outways the cost of working. We now live and work with to mant jobs and not enough wages to support familys.
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From personal experience, the issue is more about qualifications and experience than willingness to work. In July 06 I graduated with a BA in animation and was already aware that my chances of falling into a relevant job straight away were slim. As it turned out, I was on the dole for over a year as I applied to every job I thought I could do (and plenty I was sure I couldn't) within a 30 mile radius.
I applied for everything from toilet cleaner to shelf stacker and rarely got replies, much less interviews. When I decided to follow up a lot of these jobs and ask why I was being rejected, I received several very candid responses in the vein of either "You are vastly overqualified and we can't be bothered to train you up when you'll leave the moment something more suited comes along" or "We require several years experience in toilet cleaning/shelf stacking and as you spent so much time trying to better yourself in education, you lack this experience"
I'm aware there probably are plenty of lazy bums out there, but I am loath to suggest that is the sole reason
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Surely, using the governments own logic, Mark, there should not be any vacancies.
After all if Immigrant labour is needed to fill these vacancies that Brits wont take up, and we have had recently a large influx of EU workers into the country, supported by business and the government to fill these vacancies there isnt a problem.
That is of course unless the job vacancies are so poor that not even Eastern Europeans will do them.
That cant be the case of course, because this government never,ever massages the figures do they.
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This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the House Rules.
If you live in certain places,Bransholme in Hull for instance, you can find it extremely difficult to get jobs. Is this sort of thing factored in when wondering why people don't get a job only a few miles away?
In the LIndsey area, public transport was a joke when I lived there. Is acess to public transport factored in?
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Most of the areas in Brighton showing low job availability are primarily residential, so that's not a surprise!
Most available jobs along the South Coast are quite badly paid, although it is not the cheapest area in terms of living costs. Workers with "skills and bills" tend to commute to London, leaving local employers with a pool of low-skilled jobseekers who are totally unmotivated to get off benefits for the poor wages on offer.
Catch 22 really, unless employers are somehow encouraged to move out of central London and spread wealth and jobs into the regions. I'd love not to waste four hours a day going to and from work, but I can earn 5 times a local salary in the capital.
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I am an experienced engineer and have been unemployed a couple of times in the past. I have always claimed whatever allowances I can but have always tried hard to find alternative work at a similar skill level and level of remuneration as I have been used to.
I would have been quite willing to take unskilled and lower paid work on the understanding that this would be a temporary measure until I could find a job that pays enough to cover the mortgage and would allow me time off to attend interviews. However, few bosses will take on such casual labour except in very buoyant conditions.
My solution was to spend 15-20 hours per week doing voluntary unpaid conservation work, while spending the rest of the time hunting for jobs on the internet and attending interviews. I was glad of the activity, the opportunity to learn, the fresh air, and the feeling that I was contributing something towards my local community, and a feeling that I had given fair exchange for my JSA.
I'm sure that it would be far easier for people to return to work if the government were to link modest welfare payments with
temporary, flexible and worthwhile employment opportunities of this nature.
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How long have the 'unfilled vacancies' stood unfilled?
If a job came in, was subject to admin, advertised, applied for, subject to selection then was filled, then notified as filled... there will be a period of X days when it is unfilled - regardless of the degree of frenzied demand.
In this instance 'unfilled vacancies' would be proportionate to number of vacancies advertised. The other variable woud be the efficiency of the process for filling and administering vacancies.
'Unfilled vacancies' in a situation of high demand might be not be a good proxy measure of demand/apathy/refusal to work.
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I try to keep the number of people I employ down to a minimum for two main reasons:
(1) Employers NI at 13% of all earnings over about £5k. It is actually a reason to offshore work since it is effectively a tax on British-based workers.
(2) Employment rights. In my view we have gone way over the top. It makes more sense to employ part-time workers since I have had full-time people work well for 3 months and when the probationary period is over they suddenly become lazy.
I believe that entitlement to a job is not ongoing it is continuously earned. If someone is under-performing in the belief that they can't be sacked I don't want to have to go through endless stages of disciplinary procedure and then employment tribunals to sort this out - and Gof forbid that they should be some form of minority that can claim discrmination!
Basically, if I discover that they were the wrong material to start with, that I made a mistake in employing them then I want to be able to sort it out and get someone in that WILL actually do the work, preferably before I go bust.
Also... you get stuck with other employment scams such as the woman who didn't want a family when you interview her who is suddenly a victim of the immaculate conception not long afterwards - or at least long enough afterwards to have the right to maternity pay. I'm sorry but I don't see it as being for me to fund someone else's family planning - or lack of it.
It may be "non-PC" to say these things nowadays but tehy are my opinion - how many people actually put themselves in the position of a small to medium business owner? If it were YOUR money on the line, how would you see it?
Until people realise that they need LESS rights not more, Britain wil be stuck in a culture where employers cannot tell those who want to work from those that want a free (8 hour) lunch.
There will always be concerns over possible exploitation of workers but going to the extremes we have gone, and then taxing employers for employing them (in a global village environment)... it's just nuts.
The best people I have employed are British workers on a contract basis - they work really well because, since they have no employment rights, the way they keep their job is to justify their paycheck.
I don't exploit them, I value them. Some of them travel from far away and I tend to lose them after two years because HMRC in tgheir infinite wisdom have decreed that that is the arbitrary time after which they can no longer claim travel expenses. Since they had no way to know if the contract would continue... how could they move house to live nearby? That would be a silly level of personal risk.
Government needs to be a lot smarter in employment law - start again would be a good idea. Why is employment taxed so much more highly than other ways of working?
Older workers seem better in many ways. They are generally better educated and traditional values seems to make for a better work ethic. They do however, tend to have a few more genuine health problems - although that does not equate to greater absenteeism since the younger crowd seem to be away due to alcohol-related reasons.
Also, I tend to prefer the contract-basis route for teh above reasons which means they don't get paid if they're not there, so they do tend to struggle in and get the job done.
The above is purely my own opinion based on my own experience.
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From my experience most jobs advertised in the job centres are for part-time work or for a very low skill level (labourers, bar staff).
I do feel there has been a major problem in te jobs market due to the high number of graduates. Many employers can't differentiate between a tough degree and an easy one making shortlists of potential employees problematic.
In the jobs market you now find that jobs that 15 years ago only needed willingness now require A-levels / GNVQ's, jobs that used to require A-levels now need a degree and jobs that required a degree now need a Masters.
It's a major disincentive for new grads to find the only jobs they can get after spending 3 years working hard and studying, racking up massive debts are ones that a generation ago school leavers could get.
I still get the odd rouge email for graduate vacancies (I graduated in 2000) and in the past decade requirements have gone up and wages have fallen.
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Perhaps this is because the jobs are not ones which the candidates are considered suitable to fill?
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Thanks for the spreadsheet, this is really interesting.
I'm currently in an IT contract, and will be finishing in a couple of months.
I'm painfully aware of the fact that I need to find work, and would be happy to take on shelf-filling or admin if it will keep me out of the way of the benefits guys.
The problem is that as a graduate I'm often viewed with suspicion when I apply for any low-level jobs. They'd rather take on someone who's just left school and would be willing to stay for the duration.
Another issue is that many of the jobs advertised are part time. I need to pay rent and save for a deposit on my own place!
Those leaving University are often overlooked in favour of those with 'experience' as well, even for simple admin jobs. My girlfriend is perfectly capable of using Microsoft Office, filing and answering the phone, but lacked the magical 'Office Experience' required for a role.
I've found that this bias against graduates, who have bills to pay like everyone else, is quite common.
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@chris911t - do you pay your British contract workers a wage they can live on, rather than just making ends meet?
My view is that if you pay someone a wage that they can live on they will do a better job, if you pay a person a wage that they only just make ends meet on they'll just not bother doing their jobs, take time off for complaints such as alcohol induced illness and look for better paid work elsewhere in the meantime.
British people on the whole are not lazy, there is a hardcore, call them chavs if you will, that give the majority of unemployed people and those employed a bad name, but if you can't afford to live on the wages offered then what is the point in working your ass off for an employer to keep said job?
Part of the reason we are in the economical/social state we are in is because wages have become so low in many cases that people cannot afford to live and therefore barely scrape by and have to seek credit/loans and other means of making money legal or not, but then I guess that's what happens when migrant workers start filling up many aspects of the employment market and our jobs get "outsourced"...
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having worked in a Jobcentre for over 20 years I could say an awful lot on this subject but I could get myself into trouble.
All I will say is yes there are people on working age benefits who could or should be looking for work but don't really want to work and come up with excuse after excuse,hide behind a health problem (when just because they can't do the job they did before doesn't mean they can't do something else) or hide behind the need to be at home for their kids (even when they are at school and affordable childcare is available in holidays). However this is changing for these customer groups and they are going to have to look for work.
Jobseekers all have jobseekers agreements and they should be willing to travel up to 60 minutes to get to work, this increases to 90 minutes after 13 weeks on benefits.Some people don't like this especially those with children
Public transport has a big part to play in this for many people - 60 minutes in London probably wouldn't get you very far but 60 minutes in Yorkshire would get you a lot further.
Yes the unemployment register is rising, but we do still get jobs to advertise, yes there are more people applying for these jobs but remember only about a third of Jobs are advertised - the rest go through spec approaches.
The method of applying for jobs has changed over the years - from bog standard name address, school, qualifications, work history and reason why you want the job or phonecalls to competency applications, interview panels,tests and internet applications. Many of the people we are seeing have never applied for a job in this way, they have been in work so long and it is totally different. So many people will look at a competency application form with dispair and throw it in the bin. People need to be asking for help with this.
Some Employers can take over a month to go the the process of advertising, sifting, interviewing - then for some jobs you need a CRB check which can take another 8 weeks.........
What we are also seeing over the past months is more and more executives signing on. These people seem more keen to travel to get to work.Years ago the Jobcentre had executive Jobclubs but they were axed as the need for them declined and the unemployment register went down, these need to come back now.
To the person that mentioned New Deal - if you are still around on the site - people can ask for early entry onto New Deal.
To those looking for work - ask your Jobcentre for help and financial advice - staff can and should do "better off calculations" to show what help you can get from Tax Credits, housing and council tax and they will tell you if you qualify for any other in work benefits. Flexible New Deal will be introduced in April and this will bring new support to Jobseekers and support for Employers including an allowance to train new staff .
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The maps don't show what the jobs are or what they pay. I was made redundant about 5 years ago, and although there were plenty of jobs on minimum wage I couldn't afford to take one. When you go from earning 35,000 a year as a graduate engineer in the paper industry, you have outgoings that match this. All the time I was claiming JSA I was desperately trying to find work at a similar wage. My mortgage and loan repayments were paid by insurance premia that would only last as long as I claimed JSA.
Once I got a job, however pitiful the wage, all this would have stopped, leaving me to foot the bills on a fraction of my previous wage. I was basically paralysed into staying on JSA for longer because of this, and I'm sure many people who find themselves in this position are the same. Taking a low-paid job would have been the worst move for myself and my family. Eventually (after 9 months) I had to accept a lower paid job as my industry had collapsed and there were no jobs at my previous wage.
So don't assume that people who aren't taking these jobs are lazy or feckless - there are often very good reasons why they can't take the job. Only single immigrant workers willing to live together in a cheap house, with no family to support, can consider some vacancies.
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To say that there are half a million jobs 'available' for UK workers ignores a basic employer requirement, namely, that anyone wishing to take up one of these posts should have the knowledge, skills, and experience that the job requires. All too often this is not the case, and especially so in the more highly skilled / professional positions, where people's skills swiftly become out-of-date.
What is needed is appropriate training, for example adult 'apprenticeships', where employers can train people up to their requirements. Of course, this costs money!
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@ 20
Yes contract workers do have rights. Better check that out.
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@comicstumble - I feel I must comment on your post as an employed person, user of public transport and a person who did spend some time as an unemployed person.
Do you actually use public transport or are you paid a nice healthy salary that you can afford to own/run a car on?
I commute 16 miles between Braintree, Essex, UK and Colchester, Essex, UK using 1 bus to get from my house to town, a train to Witham, Essex, UK, then another train to Colchester from Witham and then yet another bus from Colchester rail station to get to the office where I work, I leave my house at 17:00 and I get to work at just before 19:00 so I'm there on time for when my shift starts, I can't get there any earlier as I use the quickest method of travel for the money I can afford, I can't cycle due to suffering a broken knee 3 years ago and I can't walk to the office from the station at Colchester because it's a 45 minute walk away.
I work 12hr shifts on a 3 on 3 off basis 19:00 to 07:00 and it takes me 2hrs each way in travelling, you do the math and tell me how much time I get to sleep/rest/look after any health issues I may have (I suffer from chronic Asthma/Eczema btw)?
My point? Are you seriously telling me that if I was to be made unemployed the Job Centre would expect me to be willing to look for work with such demanding hours or worse, again?
If I was to refuse a job because I feel it is not viable due to travel times vs the hours I work and get between time at work then that is my right and I shouldn't be penalised for it and the distance I am expected to travel to work should not increase and make the situation worse no matter what the period of unemployment is either!
This government (and the Tories before them) have it all wrong when it comes to getting the bone idle parts of society we have in the UK off their arses and into work.
All their "measures" do is hurt those of us who legitemately want to work!
Europeans don't have to put up with that sort of treatment why should we?!
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In East Kilbride Scotland the electronics industry has disappeared with 2550 jobs gone by this April from only 4 factories. The town can't soak up this number and the job centre are running interviews back to back week in, with sign on times down to under 1 minute. There have neen no comments from the 7 Msp's that represent us and what jobs are available the employers prefer imigrants because they can bully them. I am highly qualified but unemployed so the job centre asked me to be a minimum wage carer but the employers think i'm over qualified not surprised. How do agencies survive in these times we lost all of ours.
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The Lindsey Oil Refinery is in Killingholme in North Lincolnshire, in the Yorkshire & the Humber region.
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I have observed that some jobs, advertised by local councils have the requirement that the applicant must already work for them.
It would be interesting to know why.
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Lots of interesting comment here. Having been put out on the cobbles myself some 33 years ago those of you looking for work have my deepest sympathy. It is frightening when income is zero and the bills are the same as ever if not rising. Sealing the letter-box up is not a solution either.
Many have commented on the insufficient experience/over-qualified conundrum. I was getting that stuffed in my face in 1970 after graduation. Nothing changes!
Message 25 cosmictumble
What an interesting and informative post.
Are you telling me that after three months on the dole the applicant (or should I say supplicant) has to consider a 90 minute journey to work? What about global warming? What about the unreliability of public transport outside the centre of conurbations? What about when the local authority fails to grit the roads when icey and prevents even keen people like me who live ten miles from work getting to my desk? Surely, the rules have to be ameliorated?
I agree that Job Clubs are good. I know in the last recession our local Chamber of Commerce linked up the Job Club encouraging prospective employers to meet the Job Club members on a semi-social basis. This worked very well indeed for everyone.
Lastly, as a general point, the old adage that you need a job to get a job applies. I know we live in times of falling wages - this has been apparent to me for a number of years even before the downturn (slump) started - but if you have a job you appear more attractive to a prospective employer. In the last recession a friend of mine found himself out of work. He had been a senior manager. He foolishly refused all offers of inferior employment. Eventually the job market moved on and he became unemployable. So be careful.
Good luck everyone. I am glad I am now looking to the end of my working life (I hope).
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as I said in my last post jobseekers are expected to travel to work - depending on your quality of local transport depends on how far you can travel in the expected timescales. Most people want jobs close to their home - of course we do but as we all know not everyone is lucky enough to be able to do this.
Do you feel when the Government introduced JSA they should have said people claiming JSA had to travel "x" number of miles to get to work? would that have been fairer to people? I would be interested to know. When jobseekers agreements are drawn up with customers I have never heard anyone object -this could be because in just over an hour people can get into the nearest city by bus and there is one bus an hour.
In the nearest city it can take well over an hour to get from one side to another and change of bus may be required too.
I know how frustrating public transport is - as a single dad of 2 I used to leave my house at 6.45 am to get my kids to nursery over the other side of Town to get me to work on time.There was no bus from the nursery to where I worked so I walked for 20 minutes. We would get home gone six every night. I had a mortgage, nursery fees, travel costs,bills and so on just like everyone else. By the time this had been paid I had £15 pw spare. I could have taken the easy option and left work and claimed income supoport and many a time I considered it...but I didn't pure grit and determination kept me going knowing things would get better when they left nursery and I didn't have the fees to pay.I had the guilt of the early starts, leaving them in childcare - it wasn't what had been planned when they were born but luckily they loved nursery.Not only did I have to manage my health around work I also had to manage that of my kids . It was very hard work but things improved as I knew they would eventually.
My kids are now in their teens, well adjusted,hard working at school and very appreciative of what they have and how hard we have worked as a family to keep going.
As for global warming I'm afraid food on the table,roof over the head and so on came before any thought I ever had on global warming when I was trying to keep my family together. I would suggest this would be the case for most people.
I can say if you were on JSA and refused a job because you had to travel an hour on public transport to get there because of global warming, your JSA would be probably be stopped.
I agree with the comment made that it is easier to get a job when you are in work and by refusing something because it isn't what you have done before, or at the same level you can make it more difficult for your future.
Sometimes we all have to do things that we don't want to or don't agree with and see the negative side of things. Sometimes you have to look beyond this as I did (and I am sure many other people do) grit your teeth and get on with it and always look for ways to move forward.
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hello.
where exactly are these 500000 jobs of which you speak?
and where are all these jobs that according to the myth " us brits wont do "
Firstly I doubt there are that many vacancies as a very carefull study of the vacancys in Job Centre Plus do not excist at all! What does excist are lots of so called vacncies by Agencies. I have complained to the Job Centre at what i see is nothing but a con. The agencies are merly attempting to top up thier books there is no job at the end of the day.
Also I would like to know why a fully qualified and ecperience Bus driver like myself who is unemployed but sees his job going to workers from abroad particuly Poles! These people are comming here and taking work I can do! yet I am told by the Job Centre to consider re-training.
Why should i consider retraining when i already have a skill which is in demand but is taken by migrant workers??
I attended an interview recently in Nottingham to work for National Express Coaches, the canteen was full of foriegn drivers and i was even interviewed by a Pole whos englsih was abissmal! A polish HR Manager?.
I am sick and tired of the way the unemployed are treated here, and this excuse migrant workers are doing work " us brits wont do " is rubbish!
As for Job centre plus a complete an utter waste of space, full of glossy pamphlets with lots of utter useless information but of course it looks good! as in britain its all about Presentation but very little substance or depth very similar to a cat walk model.
If they care to give migrant workers jobs I am able to do and more than qualified, so be it, but i will not seek to work, and nor will i consider training! I will stay out of work. As for training schemes, what worth are they? there worth is solely to reduce the unemployment figures for six months, for after completeing such courses there are no actual obs to go to.
Furthermore the LEP scheme is a sham! apparently employers are paid up to £2000 to take a person of the unemployment register whos been out of work for six months or more. Work trials? what are they? a good way of employers geting labour for nothing .
This goverment and those before them have not given a hoot about the unemployed. the training schemes are useless and the whole thing is just a Pr exersise to massage the figures. and im talking from experience! not what i read or hear in the media!
I am seething to know they are importing workers to do work i can do and im left on the scrap heap and offered " training "
Its an utter disgrace.
and finaly. The true figure for those out of work is far higher than stated and i do consider that part-time work can be considered as a proper job either, the jobless figure is far far higher.
regards.
one lazy englishman as seen on Kilroy!
a cheating, scrounger, never worked in his life, and watches tv all day.
NOT!
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Employers and agencies refuse to use their brains and realise that you can only get experience by working
This leads to a very large number of young jobless people
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These statistics are way out. There are not only JSA claimants chasing job vacancies, but also milllions of unemployed people who don't show up in the figures because they have temporarily been forced off of JSA and forced to attend compulsory so-called "training" courses such as 'New Deal'. These people are not included in the jobless figures. As for matching unemployed people to job vacancies, it is an absolute frace. The Jobcentre told me I MUST apply for 'Admin.' vacancies, even though I have absolutely NO experience of Admin. Last week I was given a vacancy and TOLD to apply for it. It was at a Garden Centre situated many miles away, at least 1 hour travel, paid Min.Wage (so unfeasible) and required previous experience, specifically of plants, and also customer service skills - I have none of those skills or experience, and no transport, therefore how am I to apply for the vacancy? It is nonsense. Mandelson should be on the Dole, see how he likes it.
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Our obsession with academic qualifications and pressurising our children to be ambitious has produced a workforce where too many people are overqualified for the jobs available.
Employers prefer unqualified but motivated staff who are happy in their work to graduates who do the job unenthusiastically because they think they should be doing something better. This is why they prefer to employ immigrants.
We need to rethink our approach to education. What is the point of sending 50% of children to university if only 5% of jobs require a degree?
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"Lord" Mandelson, the Government, and their minions at the Jobcentre, are living in cloud-cuckoo-land, they are on a different planet. What does Mandelson know? He has been too busy swanning about on his billionaire friend's yacht! All job vacancies specify that they require people with relevant experience. You cannot apply for jobs if you have no recent work experience, and/or numerous other qualifying factors, such as a driving licence, forklift truck licence, customer service skills, etc. etc. If you are the wrong side of 40, with no recent work history, no vocational skills, no current references, you are stuffed. I was recently forced to attend New Deal, on a course entitled "Agriculture", even though I live in an inner-city and there are no Agricultural vacancies in this area. It actually turned out that there was no "agriculture' involved on the course whatsoever. A typical session called 'Machine Maintenance' involved sitting in a room staring at a drawing of a lawnmower for 3 hours. There were no machines at the "training" centre. It was a joke. New Deal is a complete and utter waste of time and public money. I would advise anyone sent on New Deal to complain to their MP. It took me one hour to get to the "training" centre, and one & half hours to get home, 5 days a week. There was no proper training at all. Lots of tea was drunk, and lots of fags were smoked, to relieve the boredom. Some days they had us sweeping up leaves & fag-ends in the yard, just to keep us occupied. During the 3 months New Deal, I was only ever given 3 vacancies to apply for, by the Employment Link Officer, whose job it is to find suitable vacnacies for the "trainees". One was as a part-time car park attendant in another city, min. wage. and a 7.00am start. Another was for a temporary packer of Chrostmas cakes at a bakery situated many miles away, min. wage, and very awkward shifts - plus it transpired that the employer only wanted people who had worked within the last 6 months, so it exluded all those on New Deal! But the last job they found for me was even better - temporary Santa Claus in a department store!
Also, whilst on New Deal, I was required to complete a Basic Skills Maths & English Test, twice, and was then asked to do it again at A4e. I did not need to do this as I already have O-Levels in Maths & English and am in fact educated to Degree level. What a waste of time. Why don't these places acknowledge nationally recognised academic qualifications? If they ever send me again I shall refuse and get my Benefits cut. I would rather starve than repeat the experience.
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hello again.
Ive posted once on this blogg and id like to comment again.
I am not sure how long this blogg has ben running but i am
concerned to see that despite there being some 3 million plus
out of work that this topic has only recieved as of today only
39 yes 39 comments! is the apathy in this country that bad?
or has this blogg been hyjacked by a goverment official who
does not want to much aired on this subject? and thus expose
the the lies behind the spin about jobs available and the so
called help to " get people back to work "
One poster has in fact highlighted the absolute waste of time
New Deal actually is! and unless it seems you are either a
high flyer or a degree holder there is not much help at all
to be had from Job Centre Plus at all.
As i mentioned a detailed look in any job centre will reveal
lots of glossy pamphlets offering all sorts of words but lack
any real meaning or substance. The New Deal and other schemes
are being used as no more than ensuring the unemployment
figures can be massaged to suit the needs of the time.
and this socalled LEP partnership scheme, just what is it
exactly, well it seeems amoungst other things, that its to
encourage employers to take on people who have been out of work
for six months or more. The incentive for the employer I
understand is up to £2000 per jobseeker he takes on. Hmmmmmm
interesting indeed. Should he/she take you on you then can
possibly feel youve cracked it, got a job and all is rosy in
the garden and life returns to normal. This is of course not
so at all! what proberbly happens is this;
The employer gets his £2000 he keeps the person on provided
they are not useless etc but when it comes up to the two
year rule, in respect of cliaming unfair/contructive
dissmisssal the employer lays you off! and then the cycle
begins again. No reason is needed or given should you loose
your job within two years, no redundancy payout, nothing at
all as all these basic rights were eroded by M Thatcher and
successive goverments including this shambolic New Labour
both under M Blair and now G Brown
As far as job seeking is concerned the latest gimmick i read
in a newspaper was that all jobseekers will be entitled to
£300 to buy a new suit etc for Interviews, erm parden me,
what is the point in being suited and booted when there are
in fact no interviews to go for? and if they are they are
far to over subscribed as if anyone has noticed, including
any goverment minister, UNEMPLOYMENT is in fact RISING!
On the matter of being suited and booted, apparently as the
saying goes " first impressions count " which could imply
many employers are that stupid they judge a persons worth on
the style of his suit and shoes and tie. I agree when
attending an interview one should make the effort to be
prsentable, as in neat and tidy apearence etc but wats
this obsession still with wearing a suit and tie
particulary if you are going for a job as a labourer or
truck driver or most other work that actually will not
require to be of smart appearence tidy yes but not suited
and booted to dig holes? or carry bricks? etc.
the fact is there are not enough jobs to go round this is
not helped by the fact migrant workers are still comming here
and doing work " us brits " can do but cant do because these
jobs are being taken by others not from these shores.
Anyone bothring to read my last post will see i highlighted
my own position that of being a fully licencesed qualified
PSV manual Licence Holder. My work is apparently in demand!
yet ive not been successfull in getting work I am qualified to
do as not only are these jobs being taken by migrants the
Bus Companies are continually to Train new drivers! under the
Lep Scheme!!!! despite all the adverts saying they want
" qualified " drivers. The Job Centre Plus answer to me is
" retrain " " new deal " etc etc but why should i have to
consider retraining when according to most of the national
Bus Operators they are short of " qualified " drivers? and
I am unemployed and " qualified " to drive the Bus?
One the subject of Bus Drivers and Bus Operators are any of
them able to explain why they have such a high turnover of
Staff? people come and people go? why is it that people find
such work not to thier liking? or could it be, as in my case
I enjoyed the work. the people i met the passengers i carried
but and hers the but, I would not be treated like some sack
of ( you know what ) by my supervisors, managers etc and told
them so! and for sticking up for myself i was deemed a
" trouble maker " and must be fired? I worked for one well
known Operator, those in charge treated me with no respect at
all, spoke to me as if i was some schoolboy and i was not
going to stand for any of it! I was required to show respect
to my passengers, the company etc and i as a matter of course
expected the same in return. i was given none and certain
individuals made my life unbearable and they were not members
of the public or school children, they were those in charge!
I have little time for these " schemes " these politicians
keep comming up with to " help the unemployed back to work "
just like the " suited and booted " they are no more than
a PR and Presentation Exersise in place purely to fiddle the
figures but just like the " suited and booted " it looks good
so it must be good?
and one final point:
You have to wait six months before you can qualify for any
of these PR Stunts unless that is you are:
Homeless
Drug Addict
Convict
Released Prisoner
Alcoholic
As i dont fit into any of the above catagories I am left to
basicly rot! while some ( homeless excluded ) who have had
a life of crime etc etc can jump the que? so am i mising the
point? in so far as I should now after 55 years turn to a
life of Crime? become a drug abuser? or Alcoholic in order
for me to be a worthwhile member of the community? i can say
this, i am within inches of being homeless and should after
the efforts i have made become so, i will indeed need to
resort to CRIME to survive so the Goverment can then add
another criminal to thier statistics .
This guy is past careing!
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One the Subject of Job Seekers Allowance:
I am not sure as to wether anyone has really bothered to really look at this so called benifit and how/why it is awarded.
let me enlighten some:
The Job Seekers Allowance replaced Unemployment Benifit and in keeping with all things related to PR and presentation the former looks and sounds a lot better then the latter
The Job Seekers Allowance is and i quote " the ammount the law says you
need to live on "
note the words " live on "
some are entitled of course to other benefits, such as rent and council tax etc being as i dont qualify i receive Job Seekers Allowance only.
This is to provide food heat etc the very basics of life, contrary to what some might have heard from Kilroy Silk or other such early morning TV Trash bashing the Unemployed.
Seeking Work etc is aditional expenditure? and unless you live in a city or town blessed with a decent transport system you cant just walk to the Job Centre or Walk to an Interview specially if u happen to live in a rural community and thus rely totally on your car.
Hang on a mo there is a PR stunt called something like travel cost to interview scheme, but it has to be out of a certain radius for you to qualify and furthermore you have to submit any form before you attend an interview. so imagine the following; oh and you have to have a letter confirming its an real interview which could take up to a week to arrive.
as part of your contract to qualify for JSA you make speculative calls to a potential employers and he/she says yes we have a vacancy can you come for an interview , perhaps straight away, particuly if they are desperate to fill the vacancy. You then say erm no i am sorry I cant as i dont have the fuel in my car, and i would have to wait until the Job Centre gives me the cost of the fare/fuel upfront! and could you please confirm in writing before i attend the interview that is a possible job offer? I can just imagine the reaction of the Employer bang goes that chance of the job then!
getting back to " the ammount the law says you need to live on " its well known that you cant actually in this inclusive Country " live on " £60 45 per week if so then it would be the statutory minimum wage ( proberbly in the pipeline soon as well)
however what i would like to know is this;
were is the money comming from to actually " seek " work its actually comming from the ammount of money the " law says you need to live on " it does not say this money is what you need to put fuel in your car or pay for rail/bus fares for these things are aditional costs and not required for you to either survive or " live on " however in order to
keep within the rules governing " activly seeking work " should you do so any expenses for such activity will have to come out of your money given to " live on " so erm thats the food gone then! or some other sacrifice has to be made so you can attend an interview to stand any chance of getting the job.
In my book the Goverment is actually breaking the Law here. as in fact there is no money to " seek work at all " and they are forceing many unemployed to use money needed to " live on " to pay for transport costs etc etc.
has anyone challenged this on appeal after having thier benefit stopped because of some scruffy employment advisor has deemed you have not taken steps to gain employment? I bet not, as of course knowing this goverment like its predecesors they have conveniently taken away legal representation via legal aid to make a proper challenge on this law regarding Job Seekers Allowance.
and the adhoc way its administrated.
However dont take notice of what i say, carry on believeing, aided and abeted by the Media and a lot of Employers that " us brits wont work " we are lazy, we smoke and drink all day, we do nothing but watch telly, we fiddle the system, we have lots of children, we moonlight, we are scroungers, spongers, we stay in bed all day, we have no desire to work,
we are unreliable,we are uneducated, sorry i cant think of anymore insults however they all must be true because Kilroy Silk had some airhead on his shows saying it was true and bragging about how easy it was to get by without working, laughing at the system! on TV and a few politicians were watching and decided to make some changes. Unfortunately these changes tared us all with the same brush! each case is not and never has been dealt with on its individual merits. i think its called Reactionary
Politics and it continues apace with other matters such as Drinking,
Smoking, Driving, and a host of other activities were a mindless few are seen as representative of the whole country and as such we are all made to suffer dearly.
For those who have never experienced unemployment before prepare yourself for the shock of your life, particuly if you are single, with no children, not a junkie, or alcoholic, or convicted criminal you are going to be amazed what " help " is on offer. NOT!!!!!!
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Mandelson has never done a days work in his life, he and his ilk are parasites. They would do well to remember that they are public servants, they are supposed to work for US - not the other way around. The JSA system is immoral. It forces unemployed workers to jump through hoops in order to claim the money to which they are already entitled. It is OUR money to begin with! This country became wealthy roughly between the 16th and 20th Centuries, not only via the exploitation associated with Colonialism, but also upon the backs of the Working Class - previous generations of my own family, who worked themselves into an early grave, doing the most dreadful jobs under dire circumstances, down coal mines and in textile mills and foundaries, inbetween fighting in wars for this country, and now they tell me I have no inherent right to claim State Benefits? The Government owes us all a living. It is time to share out the wealth. Take it off spongers like Mandelson and redistribute it equally among the masses.
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sorry Mr Mandelson you are totally wrong! and so are those advising you.
many of these vacancies of which you speak are
1 Part Time Only
2 Dont Actually exist at all
Many are also advertised on behalf of Employment Agencies, who after being given details and cvs and the like will then say words such as
" thank you we will keep your details on file and should anything suitable turn up we will be in touch " and this is the response for a position as advertised on the Job Centre Plus Data Base, which i use daily and see the same Agencies advertising the same jobs! going back weeks! but under a different REF No of course, in keeping with making it appear there are lots of jobs available.
20 hours per week? sometimes even less! may i respectfully suggest this Data Base is given a revamp, remove all the Part Time work, much of which is only suitable for women who drop the kids of in the mornings and need some " pocket money "
The figures are a complete sham, also id like to suggest that Employers be required to reply to all applicants? or at least acknowledge reciept! of an application, to say they " haven't got time " tuff! make time, like we have to when making the application and furnishing all sorts of private information to complete strangers! why does an employer who has not even offered you a position nor interview require your Bank Details? and other sensitive information which could of course be being used for Identity Theft? ( i heard somewhere we should be carefull who we give such information to )
I also see another very disturbing trend as well which is ON LINE APPLICATIONS ONLY????? excuse me but again we the umemployed are then sending sensative information over the internet to an individual we have never seen or spoken to, asking for information such as.
bank and sort code
copy of driving licence ( including the counterpart)
other proof of identity
pass port sized photographs
Surely such information should only be requested and provided on being offered the position?
also this new trend of having CBR checks carried out. I agree that for some positions they are indeed very important checks ( pity half the migrant workers legal and otherwise successive goverments have let in escape such checks ) however i have to ask why should a company such as BT who are needing call centre staff need to know about any speeding offences or construction and use offences you have on your driving licence having been subjected to a CBR check myself ( which i am more than happy to do )
i am concerned to note my previous driving convictions are revealed for a position which does not require i drive and thus bare no relevence at all to the position i am applying for.
my concern is this;
In the UK it is now very easy to find yourself criminalised for the slightest of things and this is placed on record/database, this information is then given to Employers and others who then consider any risk factors in offering you employment and as i say for some positions rightly so! but with Insurers fearfull of risk may well be saying to Employers who have public liabilty cover that persons with any convictions are not to be considered for the position applied for. This would be fine if every worker entering the UK to work from other shores have the same stringent data bases and checks but they do not!
so perhaps the real reason many " brits " are out of work and " unemployable " has nothing to with the fact we are lazy or such ,the reason we need to fill the so called " skills gap" with migrants is because many of us have some minor offence on record, and employers are not allowed to take the risk. However taking on a migrant worker who cant be checked for one reason or another is fine?
there are indeed many factors now as to why a person is long term unemployed and its not just down to rising unemployment either.
well ive got my few points over and i apologise to the editor for taking up so much space in my previous posts on his blogg.
Anyone reading between the lines of what ive said and revealed would judge that i am indeed a very angry and bitter man and im sick and tired of hearing successive goverments/ministers and think tanks and lobby groups saying they
" care " they care when it suits! nothing more, for years they have been spouting the same rubbish. Trying to find ways to abolish unemployment benefit and make us all work for a pittance, they are being helped by the influx of foreign labour to ensure that not only will many of us wake up to find we have no house or job but are speeding up the creation of a definate UNDERCLASS and many will find themselves very poor indeed.
So much for the " inclusive Britain " were " everyone has a stake "
what a lot of tripe that is! i never believed then and i dont believe it now. Pity the Fool who is taken in by such rubbish you are in for a very rude awakening.
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Lies lies and statistics!
Policy driven data.
The numbers include a lot of jobs that are not real employment opportunties, look at any general search on Job Centre Plus and you will find a high number of 'sales' posts that are self employed door to door canvassing, a lot of one week temporary jobs, jobs for those with CSCS cards.
At the other extreme there are skilled jobs for experienced Web Designers, Social WOrkers, Teachers, Nurses etc. whihc would not previously ahd been put via the JOb Centre database.
Skilled trades people in the middle range are applying at 200 plus to an average vacancy, not 10! Two "no spcecific skills" jobs were closed within hours of appearing on a board due to the number of phone calls.
Some people who have been made redundant are applying for anything they cold reasonably do, evena t hlaf previous earnings, but some have not even managed to get one interview!
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As if we needed any proof that the plight of the unemployed and the general state of things in the uk are not taken that seriously we need look no further than the importance the BBC put on this subject.
The main have your say offers a disscussion on Unemployment, its for want of better word, headline news on the BBC for Two Days only, to then be demoted to second choice news in favour of the death of a celebrity whom many of us never knew saw in person or had any contact with at all.
The death though sad in my view is not priority news at all and i think its an absolute scandal, that millions are loosing thier jobs and thousands loosing thier jobs and what is priority? another passing of a Celebrity!
In truth therefore we can all conclude unemploment and its affect on the nation is of no importance at all, its given a few headlines and a few pages on the internet. But is then soon confined to the recycle bin and replaced by articles of little importance to most in the uk.
No one is really interested in unemployment until of course they are affected by it, until they are, they cocoon themselves in a comfort zone and only whine. whinge and moan when they feel for themselves the affects of being unemployed.
absolute SCANDAL if you ask me and these patronising debates we have on unemployment serve no purpose at all.
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You question whether some of the problem is graduates preferring to go on the dole than stack shelves. I wonder though, whether the reverse is true, whether supermarkets or other unskilled jobs will refuse to take on the over-qualified knowing full well that they may leave as soon as the right job comes up? Besides which, most managers hate having underlings who have more qualifications than them, particularly in those low paid and low skilled jobs such as warehouse work, shelf stacking etc.
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The New Deal or Raw Deal as it became known is largely a scam in 3 main ways. Firstly, it merely acts as a method of massaging the jobless figures. This is getting harder to do now those figures are shooting upwards. Secondly, it is a money making excercise for 'training' providers. This makes them see clients as walking pound signs rather than real people. Thirdly, the whole system is open to abuse. Some of you will be aware of recent headlines in The Guardian and Observer concerning at least two companies commiting fraud unnder the New Deal involving the forging of clients signatures. Not to mention a peice on Channel 4 News concerning the same topic. Indeed, BBC Radio 5 Live did a lengthy program a few months back on a regular slot hosted by Donal McIntyre. In fact, it was myself who emailed McIntyre's show and suggested they look into this topic.
I myself attended a well known 'training' provider under New Deal 5 years ago. They have recently been in the headlines due to incidences of fraud. 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). I can gloss over this as I always bought my own drinks.
Overcrowding was always a problem though. The general idea was to have a constant flow of bodies in and out due to work experience and training. Not suprisingly, this did not often go to plan.
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 the training provider 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 the training providers 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 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 there I would be there for a 'couple of weeks' only as I'd easily get work experience. I was at the traing provider for the whole sorry 13 weeks.
What annoys me is that this training provider 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 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.
In addition to non-existent jobs placed by employment agencies, I have often seen one company advertising in the local press, a fly-by-night 'marketing' company. I know as I had an 'interview' with them. They have an ad saying something like "20 eager, enthusiastic people needed to work for marketing company. Phone Zoe on 0113 123456". They then have another similar ad saying "Recession, what recession? 20 people needed by new marketing company. Phone Susan on 0113 654321". Now as the ads are for the same company, is this counted as 2 vacancies or 40? How exactly are these 500,000 vacancies counted?
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The point made about managers not wishing to have people more-qualified than them working beneath is a good one. They feel threatened by their presence. As well as this, some people who I have had contact with have previously worked in good jobs, though when they applied for a few 'less taxing' roles they were told they were "over-qualified". Employers are reluctant to take on well educated people if they believe they will jump ship as soon as they find something that matches their skills better.
Job Vacancies in Sheffield
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In the two years following EU enlargement in 2004 1,000,000 guest workers came to the UK with jobs to go to. 600,000 came from the new EU states and some 400,000 were Poles.
I live in rural North Yorkshire where local employers had to use agencies to get help because local adverts did not deliver. At that time a Pole could earn 5 to 6 times more than he or she could earn in Poland for the same work. Many Poles were doctors and graduates but they were eager to come here and face many challenges to earn money to send home. "Get on your bike heros" is an appropriate phrase to describe them. They did not take our jobs but rather they did the work that we were encouraged from doing by our "being better off on benefits".
We face a world where we can so easily fail and be rewarded for failing whilst Poles face a world where even their girl-guides were killed because they could read and write and may lead an uprising.
We should not tempt people from working with benefits nor disincentifise them from working with taxation. Work is good. Having one in six of your neighbours better off than you by not working is bad and you will surely join them. You did not win the war. Your grand-parents did. And they did it by working.
Regards,
David Lilley
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I havc previously worked as a "Branch Administrator " for an Employment Agency in Oldham, wher I witnessed first hand the underhanded employment practices of companies refusing to even accept candidates from anywhere but Poland,
I quote one employer saying to me when I called him for his requirements one Friday for the next " I dont want english, Black or Aisian, I want Polish, they work like Dog's. He also went on to say he wanted females and good looking ones. When I raised the issue with my director, she said so give him what he wants. I did not stay with the company fo rmoral issuers, and was refused jobseekers for "making myself unemployed, I complained to the job center about the behaviour of the relevant people and nothing was done, this was in 2005. I can see nothing has changed.
N.B. i have changed the wording in the quotation to avoide offending any one. But it has to be said, those in responsible positions for employing people and placing candidates arent always "Moral " people.
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The sad fact is employers are using foriegn workers because they are cheaper to hire. You have mass migration within Europe, with loads of them coming to the UK earning the wage and sending it back home.
They spend very little in the UK economy so the retailers have started to whine about falling sales. The the short term gain has now been compltely blown away by other problems created.On top of that contract working has stopped many workers buying homes, how can you go to a mortgage company and say I want a loan but I am on a six month contact? No mortgage lender will touch you with a barge pole, hence the rise of the private landlord,the pimps that live on the backs of ordinary workers.
If you are single and willing to be mobile you will find work contracting, I did it for the best part of 5yrs. But that life style is no good for a family man. It is another reason why couples are splitting up,the whole situation is a mess. You have agencies sat in the middle between employers and employees which makes the communication terrible and puts another layer of pimps into the structure. The employers are charged high fees by these agencies but they claim it as a tax deductible expense. The whole system is a joke, but it has to be said the chickens have now started to come home to roost with the slump because everybody has stopped consuming!
Employers need to start recruiting directly again and remove the middle men, the agents act as gate keepers and it puts them in a very strong position. They only look at paper qualifications not experience!, basically you have got graduates hiring graduates. What these companies need to sort out this mess is seasoned experienced people who can do it fast! before more companies fold!
The old adage action speaks louder than words, if you want people to be mobile you need a good stock of affordable housing with the rents tightly regulated to stop migrant workers paying over the odds for rentals. I was lucky I got out of the UK and now live in Canada,I saw this lot coming and put plans in place to bail out.
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Mark Easton:
I am very happy and hopeful that this entire idea of matching jobs to the jobless will actually worked...
=Dennis Junior=
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