Zara N

What does good employment support look like?

I personally have not received any help from the job centre with finding a job.

I believe good employment support should focus on being a positive experience, rather than being mandatory as part of a jobseekers commitment. Looking for a job can be mentally draining, especially when you are unsuccessful in interviews. So I think a holistic and practical approach would help job seekers.

A practical approach: Training opportunities, that are delivered face to face rather than online as being out of work can be quite isolating, incentives for completing training courses and upskilling in the form of vouchers for participants. This will provide a motivation for participants.

Partnerships and tax incentives for businesses to take on candidates referred from the job centre.

Holistic support groups to boost job seekers mental health and confidence, a local charity near where I live runs an amazing service. [Location] provides coffee, lunch and dinner events, walking groups and various practical training courses and support groups for people all of these are free.

I think job seekers should be allowed to stay on their benefits until they receive their first pay packet.

Sanctions of unemployment benefits should not be allowed, if an individual fails to keep their job commitments it usually means they are struggling, punishing them with loss of benefits will make it less likely they will be able to enter employment.

I think job seekers should be able to claim expenses for attending job interviews. This should be an easy and swift process.

Childcare grants should be made easily available, currently the process and administration of this is quite time consuming.

Childcare should be available for 100% of costs and not capped at £1040 and paid at 85 %.

Parents who have children with disabilities should not be pressurised by the job centre, certain groups of unemployed claimants have huge caring responsibilities and concessions should be made, as otherwise this will be detrimental to their mental health, which means they will struggle to gain employment.

DWP staff and employment coaches, should not work to targets as they currently do. Making this service target driven, will mean that claimants are not supported properly according to their individual needs.