Enjoying your Employability Skills Course? Does it help you get a job?

[jobseek 10]

Hi everyone,

 

I am starting this topic, as I believe I have not seen this covered elsewhere, including this forum.

 

I am currently attending the Mandatory Essential Employability Skills Course at Sheffield City College, and would just like to point out what issues myself and others have experienced here over the past three weeks, considering this course runs for eight weeks in total.

 

From day 1 of the course, many of us were split into individual groups. Maybe this was done, because we all have different skills levels or scored differently within the Skills Conditionality Test at Sheffield Job Centre?

 

Here are some of the following are experiences I would like to point out;

 

• No health and safety induction on the premises for either group, to show nearest fire exits etc.
   
  
• The content within work books we had to work through was childish, including a Jelly Baby Tree, We are adults?
   
  
• Walks into the city center to look at the markets on the moor, and Sheffield castle market, with tutors leading us there and telling us when to cross the road. Again we are adults, and finding the course more and more patronizing.
   
  
• The course, does not provide anyone with any further skills and qualities, if they already possess these. Again forced learning, and complete waste of time for most people here on the course.
   
  
• We were not assessed individually for our skills and qualities, so people with degrees and from higher education are been sent onto these courses for a basic work skills certificate.
   
  
• Total disregard and lack of respect towards people with health problems and their age group, as some are almost of retirement age.
   
  
• A total disregard for human rights, you are mandated onto the course, with or without your consent.
   
  
• You are sanctioned, if you do not have a good enough excuse to have time off the course, if you are ill or have other problems.
   
  
• This is payment by results, so each person who gains the certificate at the end of the eight weeks, gives the job center a nice incentive to claim their bounty, who knows how much they will claim per person?
   
  
• We feel that we are been punished for the work program's failure, as anyone who has come to the end of the two year work program, will soon find themselves on this particular course.
   
  
• We just want to make people aware, that tax payers money is going into funding these courses, and are no different than courses A4E could produce. It is just a way of mainstreaming welfare to work courses into colleges in my.
   
  
• Some of us have written to our MP's about the course, and made them aware of the content we have been taught, and how patronizing and insulting this course is.
  

 

Some of us here on the course have recently been in work, and not been signing on for more than 6 months. However, because the work program lasts for 2 years, regardless of if you found work during this time, you are still classed as been on the work program.

 

We have made suggestions to our tutors, MP's on how to improve the course, however we feel these will be disregarded.

 

To be honest, we all feel that hard working tax payers, are been conned of their valuable taxes to fund diabolical courses like this.

 

Why not mandate you to a college course, which you are interested in? and which would actually provide you with some real practical work skills, such as catering & hospitality, business & admin etc?

 

The course is full time and five days per week, Monday to Friday 9:30am to 3.00pm. Also we all claim bus passes for travel each month, which costs £60 per month for each person.

 

There is over 70 people on the course, and more new groups starting each week, So figure out the math on how much money is been spent on travel fares, yet alone the incentives of the payments they get for each person completing the course. [THIS IS PUBLIC ROBBERY!!]

 

I'm not saying the course will not work for everyone, but most people I have spoken with regarding it, say it is completely worthless to them.

 

In addition there are a few people, who are now doing the same course in which they have already completed three times before.

 

Where is the logic, in sending someone on a course they have already completed three times before? Just to obtain a certificate which you already have?

 

If anyone is on the same course, or wishes to share their experiences and opinions, then please don't hesitate to do so.

 

Thank you for reading, and I hope this has provided some tuition on what to expect from this course.

[Bypassblade 10]

Sorry you feel like this fella, it does sound degrading; word of warning you'll soon have the jobless haters on here, telling you should be thankful for this. They will then go on to say how you should be flogged daily and such, this is one forum where sympathy or empathy, are as rare as rocking horse manure.

 

I don't know how old you are but I hope you get a job, this is no way to treat adults but the tutors are only doing what will be in their job descriptions.

 

Pete

[megalithic 10]

All time fillers aren't they, pretty much useless like most other "courses" people are forced onto.

 

Nice profit in it though, i expect.

[ruffy 10]

is this another emma harrison project?

[JarvisS8 10]

It's that bad, I often wonder if it's the governments way of weeding out the ones who can get work/don't need the money.

 

Been on the course for 2 weeks now and not learned anything new or different from other courses I've been on. The coursework is laughable, spelling mistakes, grammar mistakes in all of the booklets so far and is patronizing to say the least.

[Lisasj 10]

If you don't need this service why don't you get a job then instead of wasting 'tax payers' money on useless mandated courses you can contribute instead and not have attend this

[tinfoilhat 11]

Has anyone been on it and said "wow, that was useful. I have now gained employment as a direct result of this course." If the answer is less than 10%, which I think is a bit optimistic, then it's a waste of time and money. spend money in sending those who want a job to a proper college and want to get on and the rest who are only doing it to keep their benefits - well don't bother spending anything. These wishy washy half areas courses help nobody.

 

More often than not, unemployed folk will need a brush up on interview techniques/cv writing if they haven't had to look for work in a while or completely new skills (including English, maths and it skills) .

[Bypassblade 10]

If you don't need this service why don't you get a job then instead of wasting 'tax payers' money on useless mandated courses you can contribute instead and not have attend this

 

And the beat goes on, and on:)

[scentral 10]

It's that bad, I often wonder if it's the governments way of weeding out the ones who can get work/don't need the money.

 

...or a very expensive way to lie about the unemployment figures.

 

Lots of fly-by-night companies are jumping on the 'Work Programme' bandwagon without attempting to put resources in place to engage the attendees.

 

I wouldn't bother writing to your MP. Blunkett has been a massive beneficiary of these schemes, getting £30k p.a. as an 'advisor' for A4e (in other words, making sure they get all the major contracts).

[JarvisS8 10]

If you don't need this service why don't you get a job then instead of wasting 'tax payers' money on useless mandated courses you can contribute instead and not have attend this

 

Ignorant to say the least, those that can, do leave. In my class, four dropped out in the first week and one got a job from which he applied for before going on the course.

 

Some of us on the course do need help but just aren't getting the right kind of help.

[charlie_boy 10]

Could be worse you could be doing this course down at potential4skills at the bottom of the moor! Which is also used through the jobcentre! That is a disgusting place!

[jobseek 10]

Thanks for your reply's everyone,

 

I'm sure we would rather be in work, than claiming job seekers and having to attend useless courses like this.

 

However, there is a shortage of jobs out there, which require specific qualifications to even be in with a chance of getting to the interview stage.

 

Perhaps, if we were given a choice of what college course, we would have liked to enroll on, then we would not be complaining about courses like this one.

 

Also would give us a qualification in something that would be beneficial and actually contribute towards finding a career/job we would like to do.

 

I'm sorry, but I'm not going to be one of the minority forced into either unpaid labor or a dead end job, just because the job center want to make an incentive out of you for shoving you into any job, you do not wish to do.

 

At the end of the day, I want a career; however the job center and government are not willing to provide the training or funding available to make this happen. So don't blame me Lisa, blame your government!