Last year A4e was told by the Advertising Standards Authority to stop describing itself as a "social purpose company" because it could mislead people into thinking it was a social enterprise rather than a profit-making business. There has always been a bit of a problem for the media in describing the company. "Recruitment agency" or "recruitment company" have been used frequently and, of course, inaccurately. Now A4e has come up with a new phrase. In a piece on its website about a job fair in Sheffield it calls itself "Sheffield public service provider".
Are they are providing a public service? It's debatable. But that's semantics. I'm more interested in why the company feels the need to come up with these phrases, as if trying to distance itself from the fact that it is a business which, like all businesses, exists to make a profit. "Public service provider" seems like a cloak of respectability designed to disguise that. Why can't they just call themselves an outsourcing company?
IMHO 100% Essential/Recommended Reading:
ReplyDelete"CHAVS: THE DEMONIZATION OF THE WORKING CLASS"
by Owen Jones
Izzy... x
A couple of quotes and comments from that A4e piece:
ReplyDelete"[The unemployed] are invited to attend by their advisors" - So this optional and now one will be mandated under the threat of sanctions ?
"Over the last year, A4e has been working hard to establish an excellent team of professional staff with a range of specialist skills to support people trying to get back into work across the UK. They devote time and resources to understanding the needs and skills of each individual and use their own initiative, plus innovative programmes and specialist training, to help them find a job and stay in it." - So in previous years, A4e have not had these measures in place despite claiming they had in the tender documents ?
I'm sure that the current crop of attendies would also dispute claims of "innovative programmes and specialist training".