| Haven't seen the Conference or any interviews yet. According to the paper though, the idea is to reform 'Job Centres' to actually help people into work. Why these places are even called Job Centres is a mystery to me, from what I can understand they do not have jobs on display anymore, and everything has been farmed out to agencies. They only want to sign people up and most of them haven't a clue about helping people find work. So much on offer is zero hours contracts, and rarely does anyone get feedback or proper advice. I think the last government used them as sanction centres to deprive people of benefits for petty little infringements. Many employers do not get back to interviewees after seeing them, let alone give them feedback, and many do not even acknowledge job applications. What is needed apart from reform are specific skills training courses that lead to permanent employment, with any costs paid, instead of using people just for temporary, low paid labour. |