Sunday 16 March 2014

The end of Universal Job Match?

That's the claim in an article in the Guardian.  "DWP plans to ditch ridiculed jobs website."  Someone has leaked what the paper calls a cache of documents showing that UJM is likely to be scrapped when the contract with Monster comes up for renewal in two years.  So don't get too excited.  There's no indication that it is to be junked immediately.  And no announcement that benefits claimants won't have to use it any more.  But it appears that the site can't be fixed without spending a huge amount of money on it, and other ideas are being discussed.
While Monster had a bad record when it got the contract, it seems that the current debacle is not all the company's fault.  Ministers (for which read Iain Duncan Smith, presumably) wanted the site to be as "open" as possible, which has meant that all the scams, repeat ads etc. are put up unchecked.  It is also obvious that the original site proved to be so bad that numerous changes were requested that would have cost too much to implement.  There is appallingly mendacious comment from our old friend the DWP spokesman, but nothing can change the fact that IDS must have known of this for a long time but didn't mention it to the Work & Pensions select committee (perhaps he regarded it as none of their business) nor in that interview on the Sunday Politics last week.
People have commented that all the figures put out by this government on the number of vacancies in the country are drastically wrong.  It is probably impossible to explain this to the mathematically challenged IDS.
Clear instructions need to go out to jobcentres and WP providers immediately that claimants should not be compelled to use UJM.  No one should be sanctioned for their use of it.  And any claimants who have been sanctioned for this (e.g. not applying for enough jobs on it) should be reimbursed.  But that's as likely as IDS being sacked.

12 comments:

  1. Let me just say this. I have been using UJM since its inception in Nov' 12. During that time I have applied for several hundred jobs via its interface and have not received a single interview! Employers aren't even reading my cv (received but not viewed).
    I don't blame the JCP here but the govt' for introducing a badly designed website.

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  2. It is amazing..UJM...UC...WP...PWSP and IDS all not fit for purpose,as those of us who have endured and been forced to participate predicted,the thing that chaps my ass is that the Billions wasted on all these programmes could of been used to rebuild our infrastructure and provide real jobs. I was talked down to by an Adviser(?) last week,after looking at my file it was noted that I have been unemployed for over 3 years, I was asked "What my problem was?" I replied that I have followed every direction given too me by both the JC and WP but I felt that the so called Tailored Support and Training was non existent "Why do you feel that you deserve Training or support" I replied that I did not feel that I was owed anything,but these were their published policies and a lot of money has been either spent or set aside to fund these activities,yet in 3 years nothing has been offered. After conferring with a Manager it has been mandated that I report daily to the JCP to sign on,I asked what activities would be offered? "You will sign a register and then be given a time to come back the following day,this will vary,you must be available between 0830-1730 Mon to Fri ,if necessary you may also be required to attend on Saturday" I signed,but asked what activities will be required? "You will just sign on,this will improve your time keeping and get you into a routine,similar to having a job" A weeks worth of Bus passes were furnished. Luckily I love riding on the Bus,rather than piss and moan,I will find away to enjoy this worthless exercise.at a cost of £4.70 per day(£100 per Month+-) multiplied by XXX I still feel this would be better spent on proper Training or Qualifications.

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    1. If they send me to visit every day i will.. ;) i will cost them more money that way, and sinces its a bus ticket presumable a daily one, you can use it to travel elsewhere.. now imagine that amount times 100, times 1000, or more..it will end up costing the DWP a lot more money.. So claim for everything you can, travel, clothes allowances, anything and everything. make it cost them far more.

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    2. For a government that wants to reduce it's deficit, it does seem rather counterproductive to have people sign daily, then have to refund a week's travel expenses.

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  3. About time they stopped insisting that people like me who even though retired have to stay on A4e Work Programme for 2 years. Madness!

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  4. Hang on, the Government is now acknowledging that UJM is a pile of crap and not fit for purpose, and yet next month it becomes mandatory for jobseekers to use it. This cannot end well.

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  5. I've used UJM from the start. I've applied for loads of jobs and even requested feedback via the feedback button .... nothing .
    In the end IF and it is a BIG IF I find a job, I no longer use the "Apply button , but email the company from their own website, making sure first that it is a real job from an employer that I know is real.

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  6. As many of us realised from the off, UJM is riddled with spam, fake vacancies and repeat ads and is generally unfit for purpose. It has simply been made official. UJM's creator, Monster had their site hacked in 2009 leading to the 4.5 million jobseekers having their personal data compromised.

    With this in mind, I'm sure any IT security expert would give UJM a thumbs down. The funny thing is that this government has recently launched on only safety initiative called cyber street. This is designed to give people a basic understanding of keeping safe online such as keeping anti-virus progs up to date, avoiding phishing attacks, password protection and a real gem, KEEPING YOUR IDENTITY SAFE!!!!

    https://www.cyberstreetwise.com/#!/street

    So it seems this government still sees fit to spend millions on UJM, a site that does not work, is riddled with spam, fake vacancies and repeat ads that can compromise users safety. And at the same time spending ever more millions, launching an initiative warning people of such online nastiness. It's akin to a chief constable who happily buys knowingly stolen items from dodgy Dave in his local pub whilst telling people how to make their homes safe from burglars!

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  7. Good riddance to UJM I say- and its certainly due to the campaigning on blogs like Historian's that have put this into the limelight.
    There was an article in the leftfootforward.org website today:
    Duncan Smith department promoting ‘negative perceptions’ of benefit claimants
    By JAMES BLOODWORTH | Published: MARCH 18, 2014
    I have put up a comment on that site under the Avatar Whathefk in response to some right-winger about shirkers, emigrants and can't afford-it- the usual!
    Tom

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  8. On the face of it, the end of UJM sounds like a good thing. But then I think back on the DWP's history with job websites. I was claiming JSA for many years - now in a job of sorts, but looking for a better one, i.e. practically anything - and can remember the first Jobcentre website. That wasn't too bad, with hindsight, except that searching for local jobs often threw up "matches" that were hundreds of miles away, and many of the really local jobs were the sort of hour-a-day cleaning jobs that wouldn't pay enough to cover your travel to work expenses. Then they started tinkering with it, and made it worse. Then they tinkered again, and made it worse again. Then they abolished it to save money, and threw us onto the even worse directgov jobsearch, then tinkered with that to make it even more useless than it already was. We thought it couldn't get any worse, but then came Universal Jobmatch, and we all know what that's like. Given such a track record, it seems entirely reasonable to assume that any replacement for UJM is going to be even worse, even if it is hard to imagine how it can be possible to design and execute something that bad...

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    1. The internet is overpopulated with job-agency and posting boards, some useless, others quite good and yet others which are specialist in their career fields. We don't need nanny state jobsites, they're purpose is to provide a mechanism through which the dole can sanction you and big-brother watching you- its naf all to do with getting a job- leave it to the private sector- I never thaught I would hear myself say that!
      Tom

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  9. On the Indus Delta site,G4S is looking for Monitors for the Community Work Programme. It sounds like they are actually looking for Guards to make sure all conscripts are kept in line or punished,the pay is between 25-30K I guess that is the going rate to sell/rent your self respect.

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