Is there some scheme like this in England????

http://www.ilascotland.org.uk/ILA+Homepage.htm

There was back in 2000 when my marriage broke up cos thats what I did & applied for this ILA, but it got ripped off by people/companies setting up fake training & it cost the government thousands of pounds...so I dont think they have done it again
_________________

Grab a rifle Freda, there's a job waiting for you in Afghanistan!

It's good that this thread has morphed into one about finding a job, a very constructive topic.

So here is my advice, for what it is worth ...

Restart your CV through Volunteering

Look for voluntary work, preferably with a cause you agree with, that will provide you with a reference for later paid work and thus show to subsequent employers that you are "prepared to work".

The voluntary work will also help you re-adjust to work if you've had a change of circumstances or get used to work if you've never been employed.

Think of it as an investment.

Be prepared to start small and work up. At the Oxfam bookshop where I work I'm trusted with banking, pricing, the keys, the till and a fair bit of supervision - I started simply sorting donated books and shifting boxes for the older volunteers.

Also remember the old saying: it is easier to find a job while you are still working.

Networking, Networking, Networking

Everyone who is seriously looking for a job is already reading the local paper and searching the job centre's vacancy database.

You may need to get more creative.

Use your network of friends and family for advice, information and contacts. Considering expanding your circle of contacts to enlist further help.

If you want to work in a particular area consider attending a church or trying to do social things there. You may need local knowledge and some friendly faces to track down work there.

If you are disabled look for a charities connected with that disability, read about what they do and if appropriate apply for help.

Visit your county reference library and talk with the person behind the enquiries desk how to research local job opportunities and available careers advice or schemes.

Invest in your Job Search

This investment doesn't have to financial but you will always need the most appropriate clothes for both applying for job application forms and attending job interviews when you get them.

Consider reading more. Libraries tend to have newspapers (I recommend in-depth broadsheets like the Guardian), books about careers, self-help books and books that people in the job your seeking would read as a matter of course.

Before you fill in an application form research the company and get a feel for it. Get people to review application forms for you and delay filling them in directly onto the form - get it right first.

Any research may pay for itself for the interview, because companies often want to be told about themselves and are prone to look for certain qualities.

Work out the best way of getting the places you want to seek work and the resources you want to use. Work out alternative way of getting where you want to go when your preferred method fails.

Research working tax credits as thoroughly as you can, mistakes made applying for them can be costly but they are the way back to work from benefits.

This way if all you can find is a minimum wage job then you should be able to work out whether you can afford to do it or not.

Who Am I to Advise?

I was on Incapacity Benefit for about four years until a bureaucratic mistake on my part meant that I was declared fit for work. Fortunately I'd had access to treatment during that time and I was ready to re-double my efforts to try and return to work.

I restarted with voluntary work at my local Oxfam bookshop via a volunteer placement agency and subsequently got a part-time job via networking. I now combine the two as I work on longer term plans.

Some great advice & tips from him above me ^^ although the bit quoted below always irks me somewhat

which I think is a load of cobblers, and belongs in the "Which Proverb is the most bullshit" thread

Anyone who is stuck in a M/F, 9 - 5 grind and commuting will know that it is *more* difficult finding a job once you're in the daily grind, and getting time off at short notice to go for interviews is almost impossible; one could use their holiday time of course, but then if you don't find a new job and you get stuck in the 'temporary' one, you also have the disadvantage of having no holidays left! Of course, if one is doing voluntary work, as politegorilla suggests, this wouldn't be an issue.

Doing voluntary work it would still be an issue.
Just because you arent being paid, doesnt mean you can just put your coat on and say "I'm off to an interview for a REAL job" or just decide not to turn up for work one day because summat better came along - its about respect and consideration isnt it.
After all, you are going to need your 'employer' at your voluntary job to give you a reference regarding what kind of employee you are.
As for the "its easier to find work when you already have a job" - in many ways this is quite correct, for the simple reason that a prospective employer wants to hear you say what *current* (or recent) work you are/have been doing, rather than "Oh i've spent the last 2 years on the dole doing nowt."
Also, it goes a long way to impress the prospective employer to tell him he will have to wait a few days to interview you while you sort work time to get to it, and that you must give your current employer (voluntary or otherwise) fair notice to start his new job. It gives him an idea how you are going to treat him if he employs you.

/I interviewed a girl once who glibly said she could start immediately because her job sucked and she hated her boss so stuff him....she didn't get the job, I wonder why/

Red, I thought you are allowed to do voluntary work for x amount of hours per week?
When my son was on jsa he did about 4 hrs one day a week, on the advice of the job center lady for work experience.

Surely relevant, recent experience is a very important factor to take into an interview?
Gosh, if you're correct about that Red, that's summat they should change PDQ.
How is someone meant to get a job if they arent allowed to show that they are capable of doing it?

Another aside, my son wanted to apply for a job stacking shelves at asda nighttimes and the job spec said "recent experience required". !!
I do feel for people out of work and looking.

Bloody hell, dont it make you want to march in there with a baseball bat????!!!
Talk about tying someone's shoelaces together then saying if you dont run - and DONT fall down - you wont get any supper!
This country is mindbogglingly pathetic really.

i looked into what volunteering i could do on JSA ... lady at Job Centre gave me a number to call ... guess what, im now on a waiting list to do volunteering ... wtf ??? ... it appears they have been inundated by people on JSA wanting to do volunteering

great

yes alice, baseball bat v good idea
_________________
FoxyHan - Proof that it's not all grim up north

I was told that I could do 15 hours a week voluntary work, possibly even 21 hours, without any restrictions on the type of voluntary work.

I think there are better ways to bring up 2 years (or however long) of unemployment than "Oh i've spent the last 2 years on the dole doing nowt."

I always sprinkle any interview with liberal references to 'transferable skills', 'productive use of period of unemployment' and the like. Hasn't got me a job, but I'd rather they were left with a good impression of me even if I don't get the job, than them remember me a waster.

Regarding JSA and voluntary work ... I put JSA voluntary work site:gov.uk into Google. The first page that comes up is pretty good and the section on voluntary work is worth reading.

It appears that your advisor has some discretion but you might also be able to appeal against a decision you feel is unfair. Find out what the appeal process is before you take this route and be prepared to negotiate rather than argue with this kind of thing.

Doing voluntary work is about finding a first employer and restarting, or even just starting, your employment history. If your advisor bans you from one type then find what kind he or she would permit you to do and do that instead.

The reason why there might be a delay for dealing with decisions as to whether people can volunteer? It is probably because voluntary work, especially in time of low employment, is a very sensible thing to do in order to show that your are willing to work.