Beverly W

I don't believe the job centre really knows how to provide good support. They only seem to know how to meet targets. For if they did know how to provide good employment support they wouldn't be sanctioning as many people as they are and for the reasons they do. They wouldn't be complicit in making people suffer stress or experience worse debt.

For a start they need to address the overall appearance and aesthetics of the place. Whenever I've suffered the misfortune of attending the job centre, there's always an air of misery about them. There's generally a security guard pacing about near the door, which is a concern, as it makes me feel uneasy and they are generally not very inviting places to be, full stop.

In fact they feel intimidating and humiliating places to be.

Then they patronise people. I myself am more than capable of applying for jobs and seeking work and I am sure many other people are too, yet they send people on CV writing courses or to job fairs and job training programmes which are pointless and a waste of time and money. Just a tick box exercise for them.

Good employment support needs to recognise the working world is evolving at a fast pace. Good employment support would seek to recognise which jobs would suit a person's reality and match this with work in that sector rather than letting them fall foul of unrealistic expectations.

Good employment support builds trust and demonstrates that everyone able to work, will be able to find appropriate jobs with flexible employers, in order for people to be willing to engage.

Both of these involve putting the right support in place rather than cutting costs so I can't see any of this happening any time soon, because there's already a shortage of work coaches as it stands.