If you look for Twitter feeds on A4e you'll get two kinds (see below) - tweets from disgruntled clients, and PR tweets from A4e itself. They've got a new one called A4eworks, where you can learn about the roadshow they're running to promote FND under the banner of Know Hope. They've gone from Rotherham (see the video here) to Middlesborough yesterday, Scarborough today, Hull tomorrow and Barnsley and Doncaster on Friday. You have to admire their courage (sort of). Of course, FND is going to be nothing like New Deal. "Flexible New Deal is a completely new approach, and it's just that - 'Flexible'. We know everyone is different and so the 'Flexible' part means that organisations like A4e are free to help you and your specific needs. Getting back into work through Flexible New Deal means the help you get is completely tailored to you and your individual circumstances. It's your own personal journey back to work." Etc. Read it all here and remember it.I can't help thinking that the slogan Know Hope is a mistake!
PS. I apologise if I gave him the idea, but someone who calls himself highpark1 has just added his Hub pages as Twitter items. These are anti-A4e stories, all of them taken directly from other people's sites, without acknowledgement, let alone permission.
"Know Hope". Surely a spelling mistake, they must mean "No Hope". Which would be in keeping with the A4e track record
ReplyDeleteI got hit by a wave of spam in my comments promoting A4Eblog yesterday. Was most annoying. And somewhat unethical too, I believe.
ReplyDeletea lot of people got the a4e spam bot..
ReplyDeleteflexible isnt that what they said about this last new deal.. they would tailor your course to your needs.. we all know it will be reading old papers on old computers, with bad teachers..
Spam cop net is a good site for reporting spam. It's free to use, and works by reporting the email account holder to their ISP.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.spamcop.net/
I’ve been going to my local branch now for just over a month and I’m just wondering why.
ReplyDeleteThe first interview just checked my details, do a psychometric test and sign a “Deal”.
Then had to attend 3 seminars, the first just basically telling us about A4e and titles of the people I would be dealing with. Also about training and job placement. The other 2 were about looking for work how to write CV, filling application forms, write covering and speculation letters and what to do at interviews. 95% of this I knew about. Ok some people wouldn’t, but has every one has been out of work for over a year we would now how to look for work.
The other thing was going once a week for “job search”. What a waste of time. There is a pile of the local paper. Now the job section in our local paper is on Thursday, I go in for job search on the Tuesday, so all the jobs which I looked at on Thursday I’m supposed to look through again. I have been able to look on the A4e job site, but most of them are on the Direct Gov. site. Any different ones seem to be so far away that they wouldn’t be financially worthwhile going for. I go in sometime and it’s like being back at school. Everyone filling is the same application forms.
Last week I had to go in for a review. What for? I was there five minutes and given another appointment in a months’ time.
Went in this week for the job search to be told everything has changed. Where before I had different people for different things. Now I have to see the one person for everything, and I now only have to go in to do my job search every 2 weeks now. Probably the Job Centre is passing on so many that they can’t keep up.
And has for training and job placement, nothing has been mentioned since the seminar. I haven’t even been asked what I would like to do. I did ask about one thing and the person didn’t know about it. I keep reminding them, but still have got no answer.
So that is why I ask. What is A4e supposed to do?