It's been a busy and somewhat turbulent month. Christmas has been and gone, and sucked up my bank account in the maelstrom (Mostly in thanks to my half-brother who won't stop breeding, and young nephews and nieces tend not to understand the words "Uncle Phil is on the dole."), I've recently told my ex (That backstabbing braggart of a harlot.) to get the hell away from me, and if I ever see her again, I'll vomit bile onto her shoes (Which is slightly more polite than what I threatened her new boyfriend with, who gave me a nice little message regarding me and his new girlfriend. Let's just say that if we ever cross paths when there isn't an ocean separating us, I'll have a necklace made from the teeth and ear-chunks of a fat Cajun bastard.) and my sciatica has been playing up, a lovely little condition which has kept me in a state of suspended pain.
However, I'll start off 2014 in work experience.
For those who don't know, the Work Experience Scheme is another flagship Coalition scheme, put forward by the ConDem Government, that comes from the same branch and same school of thought as workfare (Which is a bid to stop dole scroungers..scrounging dole for nothing. The idea, on paper, is brilliant: You don't earn it for nothing. At any time, mostly from 6 months after joining (For the record, this is my 4th month of claiming), the JCP can and will find an employer who will offer work for you.). The Work Experience Scheme, however, is for 18-24 year olds without recent work experience: Perfect for me. 2-8 week placements of 25-30 hours a week.
The catch is that the work you do is completely unpaid for, save for your dole.
To explain: I was called at the end of the November, and referred an opportunity. I took it and attended an interview with a short task to complete. I completed the task. I was told I would be phoned back the same or following day. I wasn't. Attending the Job Centre afterwards, they said that I did have the placement, and phoned up the company to confirm that I do have the placement, and that I "impressed". This was worrying for me, because if I really did impress, where was the phonecall or e-mail? Either way, I start at a local web content company on the 2nd of January, until the 28th of February.
Though I can apparently drop out without fear of sanction (Apparently), there really is no other choice for me. Although i'll be doing up to 30 hours unpaid (Save for my dole. So it's not really unpaid.) and have no idea as to what the employer will do with me, this company is the only company that has bothered giving me a second look.
It's still in the same branch as workfare: Unpaid work, paid travel but no paid lunch. And, of course, will I get a job at the end of it?
As readers of this blog may know, whether I get a job or not at the end of it, isn't the be-all and end-all. In all fairness, I'm not expecting to get a job at the end of it. For me, I have always believed this recession to be a golden time for employers and a time of hell for employees. Face it: You're a small company, operating in an upmarket area, would YOU take someone else on if you could pick up the phone and offer to take on another dole-earning sap and have them work for free?
And for people like me, we have no choice. We work, or we get sanctioned. And keep in mind, I'm living with my parents here. Imagine what it's like for single parents or those with bills to pay. It's hard enough running an entire household when you have the JCP breathing down your neck, and 30 hours of unpaid work to fulfil. And if you've got children, that's even worse.
I'm lucky.
I am, don't get me wrong, excited to get this opportunity. The area is one of the few places left in Middlesbrough which DOESN'T look like the dumping ground for the body of a druggie, it's one of the areas being given money and care, it's upmarket. I'm working for a young upstart company, the staff are young, the premises are brilliant, and the atmosphere there was extraordinary: There was a sense of camaraderie rather than the overwhelming urge to belt the person next to you. Even during that half hour I was there for my task, the guy overlooking me was the kind of guy you'd talk to in a pub for the night, not the kind of hard-nosed dickwad supervisor who you'd pay your entire years worth of dole to just for a chance to kick him in the testicles.
I do hope I get a job at the end of it, but i'm not expecting it. Luckily for me, though, I have my TEFL to fall back on. It's going to be tough grinding it to a finish with this placement, but i'll do it.
I'm glad to be heralding in 2014 with this placement. Unpaid 30 hours per week? I don't care. The £100 fortnightly I get from the dole will be enough to cover the experience I direly need. And if I don't get a job, it's yet another back-up: This companies work is much looked for these days, in the days of IT, and i've stumbled across a fair few companies looking for these positions i'm getting experiencing in.
I'm glad to see the back of 2013.
I'm also glad that the JCP got me onto this position. Though I am critical of them (And I still have points of contention against them), they at least have helped me find a job. They've at least given me a reason to get up from next week. My university, Teesside, have done two things to help me find a job: Jack and Shit. One of my gravest mistakes was attending Teesside.
Let me say this: If you live anywhere aside from Teesside, don't attend Teesside. If you live in, say, Newcastle, with Newcastle University on your doorstep, and you choose to go to Teesside, that's like having a rump steak at home, but choosing to go out and eat gristle. Don't fall for their fluff or advertising campaigns: At the end of it, it isn't worth it. And even if you DO live in Teesside, do not attend unless you really, really, really, really cannot afford accommodation elsewhere.
I started off 2013 with nothing but working towards a degree, with no job.
I'm starting off 2014 with two aces up my sleeve: Work experience, and TEFL.
Even if I do have to postpone my plans to teach abroad due to finding a job here, It won't matter. I'll have a job. That's all I wanted in this stinkin' country that doesn't take chances with people like me. If i've found the one company who will take me on, I would work 50 hours unpaid, because just the thought that I found the one light in the darkness is good enough for me.
I'll just chew the walls for sustenance.
Who knows? Maybe 2014 will be a very good year indeed.
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