A job seeker felt humiliated and degraded after attending a New Deal course which involved nothing other than watching DVDs, regular walks in the park and newspaper tower contests.
Complaint:
I was told to take a course at YMCA Training, a national charity with a centre on St Andrew’s Street, Cambridge, as part of the New Deal programme as funded by the taxpayer.
I believed the course would offer work placements as advertised at the Jobcentre that could lead to me securing a permanent job, however the course which ran from 9.30am-5pm for five days a week involved tutors doing nothing more than showing films such as Die Hard, setting contests to build towers from old newspapers, and taking course members on walks around Christ’s Pieces and the Fitzwilliam Museum.
I had been searching for a job through Cambridge Job Centre since being laid off from work two years ago and I have felt humiliated and degraded by the activities.
Notes:
The above complaint is not a native submitted complaint, however, is a New Deal Complaints reconstruction from a news article from Cambridge News Online. A full copy of the article is available on their website or a snippet of it can alternatively be found on the Ipswich Unemployed Action blog - link below. The factual keywords from the article have been kept which is the main issues regarding the complaint. The reconstruction feedback above will be replaced if we receive a full in-his-own-words complaint.
Response:
A response from Department for Work and Pensions released a statement which was publicised in the news article. It reads:
YMCA Training helps people break down their barriers to work – this involves developing a range of skills including teamwork and confidence building and healthy living.
Our response to the response:
To keep it short this is a poor attempt to justify a provider who don’t provide a course as contracted to do so. The three examples given here I can’t seem to match with the three complaint factors. healthy living: walking, teamwork: possibly the paper towers, and watching DVD’s confidence building? well, erm.. I don’t think so!
Source:
Cambridge News Online news article / Ipswich Unemployed Action: http://intensiveactivity.wordpress.com/2009/06/20/cambridge-jobseeker-felt-humiliated-and-degraded-by-ymca-training/
I dont see how watching die hard in dvd going for walks or visiting a museum or building towers out of old newspapers has anything to do with team work confidence building(idea is after x months unemployed your confidence in finding a job is way down) healthy living whats that to do with jobsearching on new deal? seems to me ymca were getting money for old rope ie they take nd clients but dont do anything other than build paper towers out of old newspapers go for walks or watch dvd’s all day i take it the dvd watching was when the newspapers had run out and it was raining so they couldnt take you for a walk?
allan johnstone
23 Oct 09 at 4:52 pm
I dont see how watching die hard in dvd going for walks or visiting a museum or building towers out of old newspapers has anything to do with team work confidence building(idea is after x months unemployed your confidence in finding a job is way down) healthy living whats that to do with jobsearching on new deal? seems to me ymca were getting money for old rope ie they take nd clients but dont do anything other than build paper towers out of old newspapers go for walks or watch dvd’s all day i take it the dvd watching was when the newspapers had run out and it was raining so they couldnt take you for a walk?
i reckon i would be bored stiff if i was at this course could always take a book to read as i have seen die hard several times
war and peace springs to mind as suitable reading material
allan johnstone
23 Oct 09 at 4:54 pm