Jobcentre Target Culture - Work Programme adviser speaks out

This Guardian article on a Work Programme adviser speaking out on the target and tickbox culture at the Jobcentre and associated training providers.

"Glenda Jackson take a bow"

Brilliant speech from Labour MP Glenda Jackson, attacking the vile work and pensions secretary, responsible for the “destruction of the welfare state and the total and utter incompetence of his department”.

"7 Reasons Why You Should Stop Bitching About People On Benefits" from a blog

This blog post is really thoughtfully written and from the writer's own experience. I won't quote it all but reason 1 is "One day, it could be you", many people are quick to pass judgement on what the politicians and media say about the worst extreme cases, yes they exist but are a small minority who spoil it for the majority who are not there by choice.

Jobcentre Target Culture - sanctions league tables

This latest BBC link touches on "sanctions league tables".

Two years ago, related posts about target culture were this one about staff set to go on strike and this one with a whistleblower.

BBC - Major retailer humiliates graduate in group dance at interview

A while ago I posted about interviewers asking stupid "Blind Date" style questions at interviews (along the "if you were a ...blank... what would it be and why" theme), now the latest extreme technique is this story about a group dance at an interview for a major retailer.

A campaign group spokeswoman commented on the "more innovative ways to interview people when there's more competition and people are having to jump through more and more hoops to get a job", but thought this was "outrageous". Companies class these as "team building exercises", people with Asperger's often get criticised for not being "team players", now I don't think it is that they can't work in teams, but certainly find this type of exercise difficult.

BBC - Work Programme not doing enough for sick and disabled

This article is about providers of the Work Programme calling for other public sector to be redirected to the programme. A few of the comments were already highlighting what I've often said throughout this blog there is such a lot of need for the re-education of employers, as uniformly sending the jobseekers for ever more 'coaching' does not address that the employer can cherry pick. I even posted for the first time here. I know I don't post so much in this blog now I have that job, but still follow the subject of un/employment of disabled people as I'm mindful of how long it took to find work before that lucky moment in the right place at the right time.

"Mumbo-jumbo" personality tests

Found this on the BBC news. An opposition politican has criticised government ministers getting jobseekers to waste time on "mumbo-jumbo" personality tests when they should be looking for work, while the Department for Work and Pensions said the questionnaire was designed to highlight things that people were good at, and reaction to it had been positive. People would be asked which of five answers - "very much like me", "like me", "neutral", "unlike me" or "very much unlike me" - best describes their view of themselves in response to a variety of different of statements.

Took me back to the "Flexible Routeway" I'd been on in 2008-09 when I'd had one, which had been on the BBC website, where I'd been described as a "Realist", one of 16 possible types, determined by 4 sub-types:
Planner / Spontaneous - where I'd been a planner as expected
Facts / Ideas - Again I expected to come out as Facts
Heads / Hearts - logical or emotional thinking, again I was the former
Introvert / Extrovert - unsurprisingly introvert.
That was actually an interesting exercise, the point being to use the "buzzwords" out of the report, such as "logical thinking" in job letters.