One thing that I've really been watching with interest recently is the British Government's attempts to get the disabled back into work.
Over and over again, there has been a mantra repeated where Government ministers are claiming that there is training available for those who need to brush up on skills or re-qualify to be able to work once again.
But, what does this translate as when you go to your local job centre?
In my experience, I've found that the translation that you'll get depends on exactly who you see on the day in the job centre. I'm currently in a situation where I am unable to work as a result of medical conditions because there aren't any jobs suitable for me to do that won't place me in a situation where I could potentially be a danger to myself or others around me.
I am fortunate in that I am strong enough to maintain this principle and stick by my guns, no matter what they might threaten me with - especially given the fact that my health is currently under investigation by my doctor anyway.
Having been to three appointments now, I've been through three different advisers and noted with some interest that the name of my adviser has changed with each appointment that I've had... which has meant that I've had to start sharing my story over again at each appointment that I've attended. I finally decided that enough was enough at my last appointment and said something because I need the stability that comes from seeing someone regularly rather than having to share my information with the whole office every week.
I now have an appointment to see the guy that I last saw again on December 1st - which I can't wait for, considering that I reiterated that I'm currently unsuitable for employment right now... however, I am willing to attend training in order to earn my payments until my health is sorted to the point where they feel safe enough to suggest that I begin to work on getting some work experience under my hat.
Here's the point that I'm trying to get at in this post. My adviser assured me that training wouldn't be a problem for me... yet, two weeks before, when I asked a different adviser for some way into training or experience for a disabled person who hasn't worked in over fifteen years, I was told that there was no training available and the only option available was employment or voluntary work.
Thinking on this at home, I'm now left to conclude that your chances of being looked at for training depends on who you end up with on the day of your appointment... which means that we have to go through some trial and error in order to figure out who is open minded enough to at least consider training positions for those who have been out of employment for a long time and are unsure on what careers might suit them as a result of deterioration of their bodies in that time.
Though I am currently too sick to work, I've still been looking at what is available for me to do locally in the way of training and I saw what would have been a perfect opportunity for me when I was last in my local job centre... until I sat and read the smaller print.
As is typical with many training options, the opportunity was full time over the course of a year. For a lot of people, this isn't really a problem... but when you factor in that some of the people who are coming through your doors will have mobility challenges that might mean that they are unable to work full time, it would be nice to see training providers catch up to the rest of us and offer the same qualification over a part time course - even if it does extend the time spent studying from one year to two or more depending on how long it would take the student to earn the total number of hours to satisfy the experience requirement of the course that they are studying.
In doing this, we also stand a greater chance of making training more accessible to a larger number of our population because it might become possible for someone to work part time while also training part time, too.
Instead, we have people being denied any training and being told that they have to apply for jobs that they know they are unable to do. If they don't do this, they will simply get sanctioned for not upholding their end of their commitments agreement.
Speaking personally, I've seen an amputee get told that he must search for work as a warehouse operative for 16 hours a week - which is great when the person is able to walk for the 16 hours working week... but what when they can't? The advisers might claim that they can use wheelchairs or mobility scooters, but how safe are these aids in a warehouse that already has fork lift trucks in operation?
The simple answer to that is:;- Not very safe at all!!! When you think about the height of a car and someone in a wheelchair or mobility scooter, there's already a potential that these people are going to be difficult to see if you are close enough to them... and a car driver doesn't have the added complication of having his or her vision obstructed by a pallet of stock on the front forks to contend with.
No comments:
Post a Comment