I had my first review last week with my job adviser. I sat down on the chair at the cubicle where of course there is no privacy for my review and where other jobseekrs looking up jobs on the computers could hear everything I said. My job advister asked me how my job searching was going and I told her it was going OK. She asked me what it was I wanted to work at so I reminded her what I was interested in.
In all fairness I'm sure its not easy trying to remember each job seekers job interests when the job advisers could be seeing up to five or eight different people a day. She asked if I had a C.V. and I told her I showed her my C.V. on the first day and that she photo copied it so she then checked her computer and went into my profile and found my C.V.
She never said anything about my C.V. so that C.V. course "Gateway" was a waste of time as I already said and makes you wonder why I had to do it in the first place. She noticed I had a certain qualification in something and thought if I did a train the trainer course I could then teach about that something. The thing is the qualification I got was a course I was made to do and while it looks great on my C.V. I have no interest in doing it again or even teaching it. Never the less she had a look at the Fas website to see if there were any train the trainer courses coming up, luckily for me one had only started the week before which was a full time course that ran to December and was in the evening time.
I said that I had no interest in doing it and not only that but the course was in the evening time which I couldn't do as I have other commitments on in the evening time. Most evening Fas courses start at 7pm and finish at 10pm at night. I told her I had no problem doing the course if it was a day course 9-5 sort of thing but I wasn't doing an evening course. She said that was OK and the course was something to think about and if there was another one coming up I might have to do that. I therefore didn't have to point out the fact that on my personal progression plan I had said "Days" for my work pattern so a Fas course is no different, if it is on in the evening time then good luck to them as I won't be able to do it. Even unemployed people do have a life.
I don't see the point in doing a Fas course anyway as just like the C.V. course it is a waste of time as at the end of the course all you get is a piece of paper with your name on it and thats it. There is no job at the end of it and the whole point of Jobpath is to get you a job but if your made to do a Fas course in a course that you have absolutely no interest in doing then its not going to lead to a job, its that simple.
Back to my review. I have to say that my job adviser is a nice lady who does treat me with respect and is easy to talk to, the same can't be say for some of the other job advisers in there. She told me to look at getting working work experience in the work that I was interested in doing. I did go the next day to a business establishment that specializes in the type of work that I am interested in doing and they did tell me they are not taking on anyone for work experience at the minute. They took my details and asked me how long I was on Jobpath for and when I started. They said as I'm on it for a year there is a possibility that they might be able to give me work experience before then, so all I can do on that front is wait and see if they get back to me. At least I can tell my job adviser this the next time I see her for my next review.
Monday 5 December 2016
Donegal Signing On Continues To Fall, The Real Reason Why
So the Irish government made another announcement about the signing on numbers falling again in Donegal. It is nothing but government spin, created to make the rest of the people in Ireland believe that there are now more people in employment.
It is all lies and all about massaging the unemployment figures. I will tell you how the Irish government massage the unemployment figures.
The government force unemployed people onto government schemes. If a unemployed person doesn't do said scheme they get their dole cut.
Now about schemes and programmes the government use to massage said numbers.
One such scheme is a Community Employment Scheme
This is where you are made do work in the community for a extra €22.50 a week. So say a person was getting €188 a week or less, then they will get the minimum CE weekly rate of €210.50 (that is €188 plus €22.50). If their actual weekly social welfare payment (including dependents) was €188.01 or more, then they will get the equivalent rate plus €22.50.
One thing to note is that in the budget in October 2015 the extra €20 a person got for doing a CE scheme went up a miserable €2.50 making it now €22.50. The government TDs and government ministers are on nearly €3,000 a week plus they get traveling expenses but all a unemployed person gets for doing a CE scheme is €22.50 extra. Before the rise of €2.50 in last years budget all a person got for doing a CE scheme in 2015 was €20. If you did a scheme in 2014, 2013, 2012 all the way back to when the euro came in, in 2002 all you got was €20 extra. Inflation went up, prices went up, fuel went up, electricity, the cost of living as a whole went up but all a person got since 2002 for doing a CE scheme was €20 extra of whatever their dole was.
Now back to how the government massage said numbers. If a unemployed person ends up doing a CE scheme then they are taken off the live register while they are on the CE scheme but yet they still get government money that is paid by FÁS now called Solas. That money is paid every week into their bank account. So not only are they still getting government money and not paying taxes but the Irish government class them as being in employment as they are no longer on the live register, all so the Irish government can say there are more people working when really that is not the case at all.
Its the same with, Tús, Gateway, Rural Social Scheme, JobBridge, Back to Education Allowance or Springboard and now Jobpath.
Only the thing about Jobpath is a unemployed person on it gets nothing extra, no €20. Travel expenses are only paid when you have to see your job adviser, so every week you have to come in to look up jobs on their computers you don't get paid travel expenses, only when you have to see your job adviser.. Seetec/People1st will not pay travel expenses either if you use a taxi, so if you live out in the arse whole of nowhere where there is no public transport which is mostly the case here in Donegal and you have no other way of traveling but to use a taxi then you will be out of pocket, its that simple.
As you know I am already on Jobpath. I got a letter in to say I no longer have to sign on while on Jobpath that is also why the unemployment figures are down. Nothing to do with more people working like the Irish government would want you believe but everything to do with being forced into schemes and government programmes run by a private company and taken off the live register while on them.
http://www.thejournal.ie/readme/tus-work-scheme-live-register-1619850-Aug2014/
Below I have copy and pasted the news article about the number of people in Donegal signing on falling and the link to the site it was on.
http://www.donegalnow.com/news/number-of-donegal-people-signing-on-social-welfare-continues-to-fall/115613
The number of Donegal people signing on social welfare continues to fall.
The downward trend in the figures continued from last month; 15,843 were on the live register last month, down 122 on July and down 2116 in August 2015.
The biggest drop was Letterkenny with the number on the live register falling to below 5,000 with 186 fewer people signing on.
In Ballybofey, the number was down 27 month to month, and in Killybegs 23 less people signed on. The number also fell by 21 in Donegal Town and stayed the same in Dungloe at 1,718.
However, the number rose by one in Dunfanaghy while the largest increase was recorded in Inishowen with 46 people joining the register.
It is all lies and all about massaging the unemployment figures. I will tell you how the Irish government massage the unemployment figures.
The government force unemployed people onto government schemes. If a unemployed person doesn't do said scheme they get their dole cut.
Now about schemes and programmes the government use to massage said numbers.
One such scheme is a Community Employment Scheme
This is where you are made do work in the community for a extra €22.50 a week. So say a person was getting €188 a week or less, then they will get the minimum CE weekly rate of €210.50 (that is €188 plus €22.50). If their actual weekly social welfare payment (including dependents) was €188.01 or more, then they will get the equivalent rate plus €22.50.
One thing to note is that in the budget in October 2015 the extra €20 a person got for doing a CE scheme went up a miserable €2.50 making it now €22.50. The government TDs and government ministers are on nearly €3,000 a week plus they get traveling expenses but all a unemployed person gets for doing a CE scheme is €22.50 extra. Before the rise of €2.50 in last years budget all a person got for doing a CE scheme in 2015 was €20. If you did a scheme in 2014, 2013, 2012 all the way back to when the euro came in, in 2002 all you got was €20 extra. Inflation went up, prices went up, fuel went up, electricity, the cost of living as a whole went up but all a person got since 2002 for doing a CE scheme was €20 extra of whatever their dole was.
Now back to how the government massage said numbers. If a unemployed person ends up doing a CE scheme then they are taken off the live register while they are on the CE scheme but yet they still get government money that is paid by FÁS now called Solas. That money is paid every week into their bank account. So not only are they still getting government money and not paying taxes but the Irish government class them as being in employment as they are no longer on the live register, all so the Irish government can say there are more people working when really that is not the case at all.
Its the same with, Tús, Gateway, Rural Social Scheme, JobBridge, Back to Education Allowance or Springboard and now Jobpath.
Only the thing about Jobpath is a unemployed person on it gets nothing extra, no €20. Travel expenses are only paid when you have to see your job adviser, so every week you have to come in to look up jobs on their computers you don't get paid travel expenses, only when you have to see your job adviser.. Seetec/People1st will not pay travel expenses either if you use a taxi, so if you live out in the arse whole of nowhere where there is no public transport which is mostly the case here in Donegal and you have no other way of traveling but to use a taxi then you will be out of pocket, its that simple.
As you know I am already on Jobpath. I got a letter in to say I no longer have to sign on while on Jobpath that is also why the unemployment figures are down. Nothing to do with more people working like the Irish government would want you believe but everything to do with being forced into schemes and government programmes run by a private company and taken off the live register while on them.
http://www.thejournal.ie/readme/tus-work-scheme-live-register-1619850-Aug2014/
Below I have copy and pasted the news article about the number of people in Donegal signing on falling and the link to the site it was on.
http://www.donegalnow.com/news/number-of-donegal-people-signing-on-social-welfare-continues-to-fall/115613
The number of Donegal people signing on social welfare continues to fall.
The downward trend in the figures continued from last month; 15,843 were on the live register last month, down 122 on July and down 2116 in August 2015.
The biggest drop was Letterkenny with the number on the live register falling to below 5,000 with 186 fewer people signing on.
In Ballybofey, the number was down 27 month to month, and in Killybegs 23 less people signed on. The number also fell by 21 in Donegal Town and stayed the same in Dungloe at 1,718.
However, the number rose by one in Dunfanaghy while the largest increase was recorded in Inishowen with 46 people joining the register.
Job Searching on People1st Computers
Job searching is where we have to go into the People1st building to log onto the People1st computers every week for one and half hours to look for jobs. There are 15 computers for job searching in the People1st building. My first job search did not get off to a good start.
Below is a photo similar to the cubicles inside the People1st building and the computers that are used for jobseeking are just beside these desks. The job advisers desks are that close to the computers it means if they are talking to another jobseeker anyone can hear everything the jobseeker and job adviser say! As I said in a previous post there is no privacy at all!
Once you log into a People1st computer the Seetec page asks for an email address, you can't search for jobs on the Seetec page unless you log in with a email address. I asked about this and was told I would learn all about it in the Gateway course, I was also told I might have to do a basic computer course just so I could learn how to set up a email address, now I have been using computers long before half of these people even knew what a computer was so for them to say I might have to do a basic computer course just to set up a email address was taking the piss altogether.
I also asked my job adviser about a email address and was told "I'll get one set up for you after the course" She never bothered setting one up for me after the course, I had to set one up myself on their shitty slow computer. I wasted my time as after I had set one up and typed it into the Seetec page it said to check my emails and to click confirm on the link that they sent, I did that and then it took me back to their page and asked me to LOG in. I typed in my user name & password that Seetec give me, guess what? It said wrong password or username, so I typed my email address and password, same thing. I gave up in the end. There is a picture of the page we were given about "Update Email" at the bottom of this page.
I told another job adviser I couldn't search for jobs as it was asking for an email address and I couldn't get it to work, his reply "Oh you don't need a email address to search for jobs, that is just for our own People1st/Seetec page, you can still search for jobs using google and typing in the jobs pages list" To say I was very fucked off by this stage would be a understatement.
Now about the job searching, they only have computer monitors and keyboards, no towers as its an all in one computer but you can plug a USB pen into the side of the computer monitor. Their computers have no anti-virus or anti-malware programs so it would not be safe to plug a USB pen into their computers. Their computers are all HP Pro One 400 all running on Windows 7 and is also the same computers the job advisers use.
They have a notice up on the wall above the computers saying if you want to use a USB pen you have to have it scanned first at reception, it should be the other way round as mentioned above, they have no anti-virus or anti-malware programs on their computers. They also have laptops you can borrow at reception to use beside a desk near the job searching computers.
One last thing I should mention is that after my job searching I went to the bathroom before I left. Now this was my first time in the toilets in the People1st building. In the men's toilets there are two cubicles and two piss basins. In the one of the men's cubicles there was no toilet paper. There was also no hand wash in the hand wash dispenser or no soap.
Below is a photo similar to the cubicles inside the People1st building and the computers that are used for jobseeking are just beside these desks. The job advisers desks are that close to the computers it means if they are talking to another jobseeker anyone can hear everything the jobseeker and job adviser say! As I said in a previous post there is no privacy at all!
I also asked my job adviser about a email address and was told "I'll get one set up for you after the course" She never bothered setting one up for me after the course, I had to set one up myself on their shitty slow computer. I wasted my time as after I had set one up and typed it into the Seetec page it said to check my emails and to click confirm on the link that they sent, I did that and then it took me back to their page and asked me to LOG in. I typed in my user name & password that Seetec give me, guess what? It said wrong password or username, so I typed my email address and password, same thing. I gave up in the end. There is a picture of the page we were given about "Update Email" at the bottom of this page.
I told another job adviser I couldn't search for jobs as it was asking for an email address and I couldn't get it to work, his reply "Oh you don't need a email address to search for jobs, that is just for our own People1st/Seetec page, you can still search for jobs using google and typing in the jobs pages list" To say I was very fucked off by this stage would be a understatement.
They have a notice up on the wall above the computers saying if you want to use a USB pen you have to have it scanned first at reception, it should be the other way round as mentioned above, they have no anti-virus or anti-malware programs on their computers. They also have laptops you can borrow at reception to use beside a desk near the job searching computers.
One last thing I should mention is that after my job searching I went to the bathroom before I left. Now this was my first time in the toilets in the People1st building. In the men's toilets there are two cubicles and two piss basins. In the one of the men's cubicles there was no toilet paper. There was also no hand wash in the hand wash dispenser or no soap.
Friday 2 December 2016
C.V. Course aka Gateway
I attended the C.V. course that I was put on. I arrived on time and before it was due to start. I signed my name in the tower of misery sign in book, the woman at reception asked for my name and when I told her she checked it and then said "Your here for the Gateway course"
Yes gateway is what they were calling this C.V. course. I really do think that the Irish government pay someone up in Dublin to sit in a office and come up with all these names, Jobclub, Pathways To Employment, JobBridge, Jobplus, Intreo, Springboard, Tús, Gateway scheme and now Gateway course, is there any I forgot? It never ceases to amaze me how they can come up with all these colorful names.
The woman at reception told me to take a seat in the room where "Gateway" was to take place and it just so happens it was the same room where the group session last week took place.
I counted 25 chairs and the room was half empty. I sat down and looked at my watch to see the time and it was 9:50am and waited for the course to begin. Other jobseekers who were on the same course arrived, in the end there was about 7 or 8 seats that were empty from jobseekers not turning up. 10am came and I was waiting patiently for the course to begin. I looked at my watch again, 10:05am, it should start now any minute I thought and watched the door hoping someone would come in and close the door and start the course. Velma* arrived to start the course. I looked at my watch, 10:13am was the time on it, I had been sitting in this room for 23 minutes and now, only now was the course starting.
Before the course began Velma* had to take a roll call. All our names which were on three A4 papers were called and they marked our name when you said "here". It was the same as school only here we weren't going to learn anything new.
Velma* also had the audacity to say to the receptionist not to let in anybody else if they arrived more than 10 minutes late. No mention of the fact that she started the course 13 minutes late, the cheek.
The C.V. course covered the same stuff as Jobclub & Pathways To Employment, all we did was sit in a chair for three hours watching that flat screen TV the laptop was hooked up to with the job adviser clicking the mouse to move onto the next picture when they were ready to move to the next bit. A break from 11:15am to 11:30am some people went for a smoke others for a quick cup of tea, and the rest of us just stayed sitting in our chairs bored waiting on the next part of misery hour to begin.
The course was broken into four parts and therefore had to be taught by four different people, three who also happened to be job advisers,
Velma* Talked about C.V.'s (She didn't move her hands much this time)
Nora* Talked about cover letters and how we should tailor them to suit whatever jobs we are applying for.
Barry* Talked about what sites to look for jobs on. We had been given a page with a list of job search addresses, picture at end of blog, notice its says. Fas.ie, the fas link no longer works when it comes to job searching.
Ruby* Talked about interviews and how in her old job she interviewed people for jobs. She told us about asking people who had reading on their C.V. as a hobby what it was they read and if they said magazines...well...? You see dear readers its all about being on a power trip.
Ruby* Told us about her ex work colleague in her old job that was interviewing a man and noticed he had reading on his C.V. as a hobby and that she had a suspicion that he had just put it on his C.V. and that he didn't read anything at all, so she asked him what it was he read and she told us that he got all flustered at the question and that her colleague knew then that he didn't read at all and had only put it on his C.V., needless to say he didn't get the job.
There seems to be a lot of people in a position of power who abuse their power. So what if someone has reading on their C.V.? Some people don't have a hobby so they might put reading down on their C.V. as one. If its reading a newspaper its reading, if its reading this blog its reading, if its reading a magazine its reading, who cares if they don't read a book?
These interviewers in a position of power clearly have a problem with people reading magazines, they probably think that the people they are interviewing only read beauty magazines or magazines about celebrity gossip when they mention "magazines" when asked what they read.
There are plenty of magazines that are very interesting, there are gardening magazines, music, crafts, motoring, history, films, current affairs to name but a few yet according to some people if you read magazines then you are more or less stupid and don't deserve the job, as I said its all about being on a power trip, nothing more.
To quote Alan Kelly, power is a drug. “It’s obviously a drug. It’s attractive. It’s something you thrive on. It suits some people. It doesn’t suit others. I think it suits me.”
http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/election-2016/rightcol/alan-kelly-power-is-a-drug-it-suits-me-34410065.html
Power is obviously a drug to interviewers as well when they judge people on what they read and don't give people a job based on their answer of "magazine".
Ruby* Told us not to be afraid to refuse a job offer if it didn't suit us or the money wasn't enough, which contradicts what Velma* told us at the group session when she said that if they got us a job and we then said we didn't want that job for whatever reason then we would have to sit down to have a talk, which translates as, if you turn down a job that we get you, we will cut your dole. Just like being on Jobpath you don't have a choice
Ruby* Also told us we can search for jobs at home, really? I already did that but now I have to go into the People1st building every week come rain hail or shine along with all the other jobseekers and spend one and half hours looking up jobs on the Peopele1st computers so again not much point telling us we can look for jobs at home when we have no choice but to look them up on the computers in the People1st building every week!
Were these job advisers trained to teach a C.V. course? Have they done train the trainer? That is what I would like to know or is it a case of People1st/Seetec/JobPath using these job advisers as teachers to save money employing and paying someone to teach the C.V. course.
Is People1st/Seetec/JobPath saying is it better to use their job advisers who they are paying anyway rather than employ someone from a outside agency to teach the C.V. course? These are questions which as of yet are unanswered and that is just not good enough that as jobseekers we are not told this information about if the person teaching is qualified to do so.
Did I learn anything new at this C.V. course, No I did not. Everything that was covered in the three hours I had done before on the Jobclub, Pathways To Employment and that day long interviews skills course I did. So for me it was a complete waste of time and three hours of my life I won't get back.
Sitting for three hours in a chair listening to someone waffle on is not going to help anyone who does need help with their C.V., you can only do that by looking at a persons C.V. and helping them one to one to update it if it needs updating.
I have since found out that it is compulsory for every single person that is put on Jobpath to attend the Gateway course, which in my personal opinion should be renamed Sleepway!
Not their real names*
Yes gateway is what they were calling this C.V. course. I really do think that the Irish government pay someone up in Dublin to sit in a office and come up with all these names, Jobclub, Pathways To Employment, JobBridge, Jobplus, Intreo, Springboard, Tús, Gateway scheme and now Gateway course, is there any I forgot? It never ceases to amaze me how they can come up with all these colorful names.
The woman at reception told me to take a seat in the room where "Gateway" was to take place and it just so happens it was the same room where the group session last week took place.
I counted 25 chairs and the room was half empty. I sat down and looked at my watch to see the time and it was 9:50am and waited for the course to begin. Other jobseekers who were on the same course arrived, in the end there was about 7 or 8 seats that were empty from jobseekers not turning up. 10am came and I was waiting patiently for the course to begin. I looked at my watch again, 10:05am, it should start now any minute I thought and watched the door hoping someone would come in and close the door and start the course. Velma* arrived to start the course. I looked at my watch, 10:13am was the time on it, I had been sitting in this room for 23 minutes and now, only now was the course starting.
Before the course began Velma* had to take a roll call. All our names which were on three A4 papers were called and they marked our name when you said "here". It was the same as school only here we weren't going to learn anything new.
Velma* also had the audacity to say to the receptionist not to let in anybody else if they arrived more than 10 minutes late. No mention of the fact that she started the course 13 minutes late, the cheek.
The C.V. course covered the same stuff as Jobclub & Pathways To Employment, all we did was sit in a chair for three hours watching that flat screen TV the laptop was hooked up to with the job adviser clicking the mouse to move onto the next picture when they were ready to move to the next bit. A break from 11:15am to 11:30am some people went for a smoke others for a quick cup of tea, and the rest of us just stayed sitting in our chairs bored waiting on the next part of misery hour to begin.
The course was broken into four parts and therefore had to be taught by four different people, three who also happened to be job advisers,
Velma* Talked about C.V.'s (She didn't move her hands much this time)
Nora* Talked about cover letters and how we should tailor them to suit whatever jobs we are applying for.
Barry* Talked about what sites to look for jobs on. We had been given a page with a list of job search addresses, picture at end of blog, notice its says. Fas.ie, the fas link no longer works when it comes to job searching.
Ruby* Talked about interviews and how in her old job she interviewed people for jobs. She told us about asking people who had reading on their C.V. as a hobby what it was they read and if they said magazines...well...? You see dear readers its all about being on a power trip.
Ruby* Told us about her ex work colleague in her old job that was interviewing a man and noticed he had reading on his C.V. as a hobby and that she had a suspicion that he had just put it on his C.V. and that he didn't read anything at all, so she asked him what it was he read and she told us that he got all flustered at the question and that her colleague knew then that he didn't read at all and had only put it on his C.V., needless to say he didn't get the job.
These interviewers in a position of power clearly have a problem with people reading magazines, they probably think that the people they are interviewing only read beauty magazines or magazines about celebrity gossip when they mention "magazines" when asked what they read.
There are plenty of magazines that are very interesting, there are gardening magazines, music, crafts, motoring, history, films, current affairs to name but a few yet according to some people if you read magazines then you are more or less stupid and don't deserve the job, as I said its all about being on a power trip, nothing more.
To quote Alan Kelly, power is a drug. “It’s obviously a drug. It’s attractive. It’s something you thrive on. It suits some people. It doesn’t suit others. I think it suits me.”
http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/election-2016/rightcol/alan-kelly-power-is-a-drug-it-suits-me-34410065.html
Power is obviously a drug to interviewers as well when they judge people on what they read and don't give people a job based on their answer of "magazine".
Ruby* Told us not to be afraid to refuse a job offer if it didn't suit us or the money wasn't enough, which contradicts what Velma* told us at the group session when she said that if they got us a job and we then said we didn't want that job for whatever reason then we would have to sit down to have a talk, which translates as, if you turn down a job that we get you, we will cut your dole. Just like being on Jobpath you don't have a choice
Ruby* Also told us we can search for jobs at home, really? I already did that but now I have to go into the People1st building every week come rain hail or shine along with all the other jobseekers and spend one and half hours looking up jobs on the Peopele1st computers so again not much point telling us we can look for jobs at home when we have no choice but to look them up on the computers in the People1st building every week!
Were these job advisers trained to teach a C.V. course? Have they done train the trainer? That is what I would like to know or is it a case of People1st/Seetec/JobPath using these job advisers as teachers to save money employing and paying someone to teach the C.V. course.
Is People1st/Seetec/JobPath saying is it better to use their job advisers who they are paying anyway rather than employ someone from a outside agency to teach the C.V. course? These are questions which as of yet are unanswered and that is just not good enough that as jobseekers we are not told this information about if the person teaching is qualified to do so.
Did I learn anything new at this C.V. course, No I did not. Everything that was covered in the three hours I had done before on the Jobclub, Pathways To Employment and that day long interviews skills course I did. So for me it was a complete waste of time and three hours of my life I won't get back.
Sitting for three hours in a chair listening to someone waffle on is not going to help anyone who does need help with their C.V., you can only do that by looking at a persons C.V. and helping them one to one to update it if it needs updating.
I have since found out that it is compulsory for every single person that is put on Jobpath to attend the Gateway course, which in my personal opinion should be renamed Sleepway!
Not their real names*
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