Have you visited your local Job Centre lately? (Job Centre)

Member Name: harlequin1

Product:	Job Centre
Date:	27/10/01 (3220 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: The Job Centre has entered the 21st Century

Disadvantages: Still a limited amount of jobs available

I visited my local Job Centre yesterday and I was absolutely gobsmacked.

For a start it had moved. I turned up at where the Job centre used to be to find a note on the door saying it had moved to the Benefits office.

So after I trekked right over to the other side of Blackburn Town Centre I found…The Job Centre Plus.

Wow, what a difference. Gone are the boards with the cards listing the job vacancies. Gone are the queues of people waiting to see an advisor. The Job Centre has entered the electronic age.
The boards have been replaced with touch screen computers.

I don’t think these made looking for a job any quicker or easier, but it was far more fun.

You can look at the jobs available by category and sub category, by location, by hours required or you can trawl through the whole lot.

If you find a job you like the sound of (fat chance) you just print off the details instead of having to write them down on a scrap of paper like you used to.

You still have to take the details to an advisor to get more details and application forms, but more advisors have been employed and there are no queues.

There are loads of people on hand to show you how to use the new consoles and they were really helpful.

There are also proper computer consoles available so you can search the Job Centre Plus Internet site.

In fact if you have a computer at home you don’t really need to go to the job centre any more to look for a job.
Just type in http://www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk or http://www.employmentservice.gov.uk and you can access all the job vacancies on the database.
Employers can use the web site to post new vacancies and obviously you can access jobs from all over the country and the world, not just your local area.

Benefits and New Claims are all dealt with in the same place. I actually put in a new claim over the phone. I still had to make an appointment to
see a benefits advisor but all the relevant forms that I have to fill in will be sent to me by post.
This make a change from having to queue to make an appointment, be given the forms and then go back a week later to be dealt with. At least it saved a bit on shoe leather.

The girl I spoke to on the phone was really nice. I felt a bit sorry for her really. It was her first week on the job and lets just say my claim is not an easy one.
My partner is self-employed, but he is not actually earning any money, as our new shop is not actually open. We have 5 kids and no money coming in. That’s where it starts getting complicated.
We cannot claim income support because the hours he is putting in getting the shop ready prevent him from actively seeking a job.
We cannot claim Family Credit because he is not actually earning anything.
Although I am actively seeking work we may not be able to claim Jobseekers Allowance because my partner is self-employed. Or I may be able to claim Jobseekers for me and the kids but not for my partner.

Aaargh!

Anyway the poor girl on the end of the phone really did try her best to sort me out, even though she had to keep asking her supervisor. She is sending me forms to apply for everything and see what happens. She also made me an appointment to see someone to get advice on what else I could or should be claiming.

These changes to the Job Centre have obviously cost a lot of (tax payers) money, but I think it is money well spent. It is a far nicer environment to look for a job and much friendlier than it used to be.
I did find a couple of jobs to apply for…so wish me luck.

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