I'm currently having a spat with my Working Links employment advisor who insists that in order to abide by the set rules I have to be applying for local low paid jobs. My argument is that I'm too highly educated with the wrong personality type to fit into these low-key roles and I'm pursueing a business plan for self-employment. She exclaimed "why is it called Jobseekers then??!!" and I replied that her company wasn't doing it's job properly and that it should be called MoneyMakers Allowance to encompass entrepreneuralism and fresh business ideas. It's about making your own money so that you don't have to receive hand-outs from the tax payer and it isn't simply a case of narrowminded job searching. She stated that the rules say that you still have to be actively looking for local employment even if you are engaging in a business venture. Okay then, if they're the rules, but please change the name from the stereotype 'JOBSEEKER' and broaden the image to include the all important entrepreneurs of the country who are the real recoverers of a nation's broken enonomy. Point made.
The job-seeker's allowance really is for those seeking jobs. And the rules are there in an attempt to stop people sitting on the backsides spongeing off the state. If you don't like the fact that you don't qualify for the allowance then... tough. I'd quite like it to be called the Job-Holder's Allowance... and only be for those in jobs and providing taxes to the state. But it isn't. There might well be government loans / grants etc if you genuinely are an entrepreneur - but the JobSeekers Allowance is not it. And there are always banks and other financial institutions willing to help genuine entrepreneurs with good ideas. Alternatively GET A JOB until you can afford the start-up costs - that's the way most do it.
Jobseeker's Allowance will have changed, during the Labour government it was known that a lot of people were signing on, a lot of people that were "too stuck up" to work in a lesser job, but too under qualified to work in any higher positions. To be honest it's understandable to be impatient and want a higher rate of pay, you might think you can fit the bill of a higher position yourself, however those positions are usually given to people with not just an education but also long term experience in that field. One thing that use to be stated to me during my impertinent youth by my father was: To be honest it actually true, you see everyone starts on that lowly run, some people will have spent years climbing up and you likely expect to jump in there and steal their position without any experience or proven loyalty. The other changes caused by the Conservatives is obviously their draconian spending cuts and legislation to end all legislation (by Cataclysm). You would of obviously heard their agenda "Force those sponging dole-ites to do manual labour", this of course is a cause of controversy because it means the already extremely rude people that work for the Job Centre (that happened to have been dole-ites themselves at one point), now feel empowered to tell you to "go f*!k yourself". To be honest they want to see you moan and groan, they want to see you fail, they evidentially must get paid for every potential benefit case that ISN'T followed up. Their bonus relies upon you not wanting them to help you. (For those that don't believe this the case, I escorted someone to the dole office/job centre the other week to deal with their claim. Now I wasn't there for a job, I wasn't there for a claim, however I saw how the "employee's" of the centre were bully like rude, basically telling people to get in line or sit where they told them to. If they didn't like the person that had perhaps booked an appointment in the past and been given the run around, they would bully them to the point where tempers would flare. Obviously the staff didn't care this would happen because they had three doorman/Security Guards and a few plain clothes officers kicking about to remove trouble. I think the only reason they weren't rude to me is because I'm 6ft 3ins and look like a plain clothes copper myself.) There were schemes funded by the Labour government (that probably got pulled) for business start-ups. I listed a few back when I was activating my old site: http://www.chatsoba.com/showthread.php?t=35 A link listed is dead however. However do remember that starting your own business is a lot of work. If you are self-employed, you have to remember you have to do the accounting, you have to make sure your taxes are paid, you have to make sure that you have the various certificates in regards to what trade you intend to undertake, you have to take into consideration that you are "solely-liable" in the event of a job not being completed to what a customer specifies or if a product is not up to par. As an overall you will work more hours than you would working for someone else, because your livelihood depends on it. This is why most people succumb to working for other people because it's easier and they get more time for a home life, with greater job security.
Apparently it's my personality type with high intelligence and creativity but with a temperament of very high irritability. My clinical psychologist has put this in my assessmant report and a copy is sent to my doctor. My employment advisor was happy with this arrangment so long as I was genuinely actively seeking at least one type of job which suited me, which I am. If anyone is experiencing the same difficulties, then this is the only path you can take. Best of luck.
At the risk of sounding vain, I am very smart and have difficulty finding gainful employment. I have a recent history of taking jobs, learning all I can within 3 months and leaving from sheer boredom. It is unfortunate that you are having similar problems but we need to face realities: more and more smart people are vying for that shrinking amount of smart jobs. One salient example would be Detroit. They used to be an employment powerhouse- then the jobs all went away. Today Detroit is a husk of what it once was and there's no good jobs period. Those unfortunate enough to still live in Detroit have had to make signifigant sacrifices to keep food on the table. Those who didn't starved. There should be a middle ground and I believe that is the point where you're happy with what you're doing- whatever that is, regardless of the money (or lack thereof) it brings in. Most families today have two working adults and it's not from greed, it's from neccesity.
Someone who sounds like me on sciforums, that's a novelty (lol). I'm going down the self-employment route or more specifically, creating a business plan for the future. Now that the air is cleared with my employment advisor I'm much more content and happier with the situation. I even asked my clinical psychologist out to dinner as a thankyou when my business venture becomes a reality. She said she'd look forward to it..
