"Back to work schemes"

Fundamentally, the 'back to work' scheme had positive connotations, giving those work experience and in some cases the opportunity to be taken on at the end of eight weeks of work. Now, I know it isn't completely unpaid work because you still claim your benefits and are given your expenses, but why should you do exactly the same amount of work as someone on the payroll for less than half what they're earning? 

Example; 

Cait Reilly was forced to work for Poundland stacking shelves, she will have only been given her benefits of £56.25 a week plus expenses. So say she gets the bus everyday at £3.00 return? Altogether she will have been earning £68.25 a week for a 30 hour week. Someone on the payroll, lets say they were the same age will have been earning £6.19 an hour for the pleasure of restocking the shelves in Poundland, a thirty hour week will have seen her taken home more than DOUBLE what Cait will have, £185.70 to be exact. That amount won't have been taxed either because it falls under the bracket, so lucky lucky! 

Before I started my intern ship I was doing some sort of 'back to work' scheme, but mine was called 'work experience' instead to avoid placing in the same category as Cait Reilly as her fight against DWP was making some big headlines. I'm not going to badmouth where I was on experience because the people I worked for were great, and gave me time and their energy to gain some more experience. 

My issue with this scheme is that the government is paying for a business to have a worker doing work that they're basically not prepared to do themselves. Cait Reilly was forced to stack shelves for a discount store when she was volunteering at a local gallery, something which interested her and gave her experience of all kinds. But because she was claiming JSA she was forced to stack shelves to fit in with her 'contract' under the DWP. 

A lot of the businesses that involve themselves in the 'back to work' scheme are there to get free labour for the work they can't be bothered to do themselves, with the 'potential' for a job at the end, most of them don't have a job for you at the end. Where I was did have the opportunity for it in the end because I knew they were looking for someone to do tele-marketing from their website before I went there, but I was there with another guy who was also hoping for a job at the end. There will have only been one job - and both of us fighting for it despite us both doing the same amount of work, it's too ruthless for me. I knew I had my intern ship starting in January so leaving after six weeks felt like the right decision. I was going to some other work experience but it fell through with it being so close to Christmas. 

The government is being taken for a ride with these schemes because they're having to continue to pay someone their benefits and expenses whilst businesses get free labour. Whereas, if they allowed people to volunteer their time with a cause they felt they could help, they would be paying an expenses themselves. 

What a surprise, the coalition are wasting money, yet again. I haven't heard of anyone having any luck with the scheme and I've known quite a few people take that route out of sheer boredom of job hunting. Most have come back and said "an utter waste of money, my time and theirs". 

Cannot argue with that, can you? 

Got something to say? 

Tweet me; @DebStevo90 

I've not written in ages....

... sorry, I've been busy working and that. You know!

Anyhow, wanting to get back into this because I love a good bitchy comment!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to one and all. Hope you all had a lovely evening whatever you got up to!

Hope that 2013 brings you good health and happiness!


Stevo xoxo

Merry Christmas!

Hello!

I just wanted to wish all my friends and readers a very merry Christmas! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday whatever you got up to! Have a great new year too!

Lots of love,

Stevo xoxo

Nothing can wipe the smile from my chubby face!

So yesterday, I finally got the call I had been waiting at least 3 weeks for. I've been volunteering at a local church - St Andrews in Paull and the woman who is in charge emailed me about an intern ship she had been forwarded. The position was to improve communications within a church in North Hull - social media and journalism, something I want to get into. And this is the perfect position and it's also stepping stones. Starting at the very bottom and hopefully working my way up!

The closing date wasn't for a little while and there were emails back and forth so when I got an interview, I was relived otherwise it might have been a wasted effort. Anyhow, I had my interview during work experience (that's a whole other blog post in itself). I thought I would be nervous because there were three interviewees, but it didn't phase me which was strange - cool as a bloody cucumber! The interview went really well, I didn't want to be cocky at the time but I felt I aced it. There were so many smiles and nods and each other.

I had to go back to work experience after my interview, it didn't matter though because it went so positively. Literally two hours after my interview (I was the first interview, and they had at least two more) they called to say that they wanted to offer me the intern ship and it was a unanimous vote to me.... SMIRK.

My role as the intern is to make more people aware of the charity SEARCH, using social media, creating a blog called 'a day in the life of a church intern' - not set up yet. Creating press releases, interviewing at events and encouraging volunteering in the community. It may not be for everyone, but the role will be so varied that it won't get tedious, no day will be the same.

I couldn't share the news with everyone because the intern ship is funding by The Rank Foundation and they were yet to make their decision on whether they wanted to give the money to Search - don't bother googling them, they don't have a website, yet.

I met with the two women from The Rank Foundation - it went really well, they were 'raving' about me after the interview, (I don't think my ego is going to fit through the door soon). Anyhow, they phoned to say the board were still making their decision but should they say no, Helen had already been enquiring about somewhere else I could go but they wanted to fund me, because they think I am so talented. Smirk.

ANYHOW, after a week or so of waiting, I finally got the call yesterday to say that they had approved the funding, but The Rank Foundation had asked that my role be expanded to other places that will need me for journalistic issues because I had impressed them so much.

Now, in my interview I said that I felt that this position was perfect for me because it's exactly what I had been looking for and it fell into my lap because of something else. Without using my initiative to volunteer I would never have been sent the information on that intern ship.

I CANNOT BLOODY WAIT.

I won't stop blogging, I am still very passionate about youth unemployment because it's such a big issue in Hull and all over the country at the moment, it needs to be addressed often by people who are living with it.

I'll be posting some more over Christmas :]

Leave comments, or you can tweet me at @DebStevo90

Stevo xxxx

Merci beaucoup à mes disciples belles!

I just want to express my gratitude to people who have taken the time to support me and the work I am doing. This week I was featured on a local blog which was great publicity for me, it was lovely of Ray from the blog to feature me and my little blog. Give it a read - I didn't expect a full article I though there may just a link and a bit of information but there is so much more, it's fabulous. Visit the blog here;  http://www.hu12online.net/debate/hedon-neet-blogger-tells-us-how-it-is-for-the-young-unemployed/ If you're local as in Hedon/Holderness way, then the website is quite interesting in that you'll find out about local events and if you want something advertising, if you ask Ray, I am sure he'll give the event a mention.

Furthermore, to everyone who retweets my links, who tells me they like what I am writing and who take the time to find me on Twitter to tell me that they really like what I do. THANK YOU. I want to upload screen caps of the nice comments, but I don't think Twitter will allow you to go back more than 10 days or so.

Oh well, you know who you are - thank you! :)

This month has been so exciting, but I just can't tell you yet! When I can, I will tell you everything, but for now, eeeeee.

So, finally. Again.
Thank you, thank you, thank you!

And if you don't like it, tell me if you really want to, @DebStevo90 or comment on here.

Stevo!xo

"2000 job vacancies going in Hull, but no takers, say the job centre" - Utter bollocks!

“Jobseekers and employers are being urged to be less choosy as new figures show more than 2000 vacancies are going unfilled in Hull”

This article in the Hull Daily Mail has annoyed me beyond belief, ‘don’t be fussy’ they say. Have they actually looked what is being offered on the job centre website? It’s full of commission based work, without a basic salary!!

So I ask you, would you take a job and come off benefits to take a job with no basic wage and have your entire earnings based on how many people you manage to sign up to a charity based scheme? If you’ve had mortgage protection, you’re no longer entitled to it because you’ve got a job. I know what I would rather do, and I know that it will annoy people but I would rather stay on benefits that bit longer to secure a job where I was definitely going to be paid at the end of the month.

I don’t know if you’ve been on the job centre website recently but you’ll be amazed with what you find if you do take a visit. It’s not filled with 2000 jobs that people are fussy over – it’s filled with commission based shit that needs filtering out! A good example of this is Tempest Elite Marketing who are now trading under the name ‘S.P.Y’ – watch out for them, they’ve got a new name because they’ve got a horrific reputation. These companies who only offer work based ENTIRELY on your ‘target earnings’ need filtering out and shutting down! They’re wrong and exploiting people, mainly young people who are desperate for something, anything.

I was followed by a new Twitter profile for Hull jobs the other week and I went through the jobs which were posted and many of them were with Tempest Elite Marketing or similar companies, why are they still being advertised as a reputable company. They need stamping out! I imagine if the job centre spent time filtering out the jobs which were exploiting people, they would have a cleaner system with which you could do more precise and accurate searches.

If people are fussy over what they want to do then fair game - that's their choice, they'll stay on benefits for a long time. But, I don't think it is fair to assume that all the jobs being advertised are morally right, because they're not. Furthermore, you can't just blame job seekers, because lets face it, no where is taking on anyone as a trainee. They want someone who has the specific experience for that position - so what if it turns out that NO ONE has that specific experience and skills. The position will just sit there. No offer of any training to get the position filled quickly. What can you do?!

Also, I have to ask, what is wrong with having some aspirations, I feel like I'm not allowed any because it's more important that I'm working. Of course I want to be working but I don't see why I can't try and steer what I am doing to what I really want to be doing. Someone should have some aspirations - the situation which we currently face is like a wagging finger of Nicole Scherzinger saying "no baby, no", don't bother dreaming of leaving the city and making it somewhere else. 

So, I am irritated by this now. I'm not always like this, promise! 

Leave a comment if you want! orrr, you can find me on the Twitters! @DebStevo90 :)

ENJOY! :D!