Wednesday 18 January 2012

Job Seeking Appointment

HK had a Job-Seeking appointment today in Workington. He had to go as he has been unemployed for a year, since we moved here.  The company are supposed to aid him to find work and perhaps give him additional skills and qualifacations to gain employment.  I have very little faith in this, especially round here.  It took several phone calls to get the actual directions to the place.  Up till today, all we were given were 'it's between the bus station and the railway station, ring us when you get there'.  There is a good mile between both these points, and they are not on the same road. This morning we got directions, lots of left and rights and the name of the street the place was on, and the colour of the building.  On the way into Workington, the road was closed by the police, so we had to go a different way.  Any directions we had were null and void. We drove and drove around the back streets and eventually fell on the place.  It was residential from the outside and had a private property sign on the small driveway.  As we went past, very slowly, quite a few of the downstairs windows on another side of the building had no smoking signs, which to me didn't mean a total residential property.  Then HK saw a small, 8" sign with the name of the place.  We had found it, and it was a green building.  HK was 20 minutes late.

The people didn't seem to mind, after explanation was given.  Someone had been in earlier and said that the road had been blocked.  HK was in there for about 10-15 minutes.  They had told him this morning that the appointment would be about half an hour.  All they did was confirm the details that the local job centre had given them, (name, address etc).  Oh by the way, the local job centre had set up a special appointment to gain this information in the first place.  Then HK was free to go.  His next appointment will be in Whitehaven, at the beginning of February.  They didn't even explain how they would help him.  They just wanted to confirm that the details he had given the local office were correct.

HK wasn't re-imbursed any travel expenses, as told to us by the local office, for the 40 mile round trip. And why?  Because I drove the bloody car and thus it was deemed that he had a lift and this did not qualify for re-imbursement.  If he had driven, then ker-ching, re-imbursement.  I was livid.  The journey altogether was pretty fruitless.  It could have been done over the phone.  Nothing had been gained from the day.  40 miles might not be much, but it is about what I budget for a weeks car fuel.

As HK and I reminded ourselves, there is nothing to be gained from being mad about it or upset.  It just stinks.



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