The Jobbridge Scandal

Soft Falling Rain

Beekay wrote: »

Went for an interview for a jobbridge internship. I'm only starting out in Web design/development so looking to get some real world experience where I can learn.

This company is not involved with Web design/development. They basically just want me to re-design their website.
There will be no mentor and no chance at a permanent position.
I feel I can do the job alone anyway.
I don't want to see them get free labour but it would be good for the cv I think. This could be a real job,temporary but real.

They're probably the type too who'll act like they're paying a premium for your services.

I know all types. :pac:

runawaybishop

Beekay wrote: »

Went for an interview for a jobbridge internship. I'm only starting out in Web design/development so looking to get some real world experience where I can learn.

This company is not involved with Web design/development. They basically just want me to re-design their website.
There will be no mentor and no chance at a permanent position.
I feel I can do the job alone anyway.
I don't want to see them get free labour but it would be good for the cv I think. This could be a real job,temporary but real.

You could get people to take free websites off you without having to leave your house if you wanted exposure. That company is taking advantage of the system and by accepting the position you would be facilitating them and putting someone else out of a job. Do you not see how this would affect you? How do you expect to get paid jobs later when interns are doing all the work for free.

Holsten

Beekay wrote: »

Went for an interview for a jobbridge internship. I'm only starting out in Web design/development so looking to get some real world experience where I can learn.

This company is not involved with Web design/development. They basically just want me to re-design their website.
There will be no mentor and no chance at a permanent position.
I feel I can do the job alone anyway.
I don't want to see them get free labour but it would be good for the cv I think. This could be a real job,temporary but real.

Do not do it if this is the actual situation. You could do that while lying in bed. Take on a position that will benefit you in multiple ways. There are LOADS of web based internships, I'm sure some are very good ones with established companies looking to use the scheme as it was meant to be used.

dxhound2005

sligoface wrote: »

Someone posted earlier that I was overstimating the effect the scheme is having on the unemployed who are seeking real work. Today on the fas website I have seen three new internship ads, that would normally be jobs that I would be qualified for.

Last year I applied and interviewed for a junior graphic designer position at a local company. I didn't get the job. I met one of the lads who works there weeks later and he told me they decided not to bother hiring anyone and just took on someone doing work experience instead. Now today there are two jobbridge ads, one for graphic designer, one for marketing executive, at this same place. In the description it says must be able to work autonomously, couldn't be any more blatant that they want a free worker and nothing else. The position I applied for and didn't get is now an internship.

There's another company also advertising for a graphic designer/website content manager, but the company is called Sligo Glass. They make windows basically. So how can they offer an internship in graphic and web design? They obviously are just using the scheme to avoid paying someone to design flyers and make a website for their business. This is just another level of ridiculousness, being able to hire interns for things your business doesn't actually do, that you don't even have customers or clients for. It won't even make sense on your CV.

That was me. And I still maintain that Jobbridge is a very minor element of employment/unemployment in Co Sligo. Figures are from last year but there about 5,000 unemployed. 37 Jobbridge placements remain unfilled since the start of 2014. Why have 37 of the 5,000 not been frogmarched from the dole office into these places and forced to work for the extra €50? If the employers had advertised 37 real jobs instead would that have solved the unemployment problem in Co Sligo?

If you or anyone else doesn't want a placement then don't take it up. It might suit someone else. And an employer that is offering 2 placements must have between 10 and 20 real employees on their staff.


http://intern.jobbridge.ie/Default.aspx?q=B+fomdowzS8kaDnSlUDk1zaMUPiFEeNrlmOYU5gMZQYfCBe63sXdX1w5KdjcI6KB9QiM+cgurHyeZril30oQQKOTRjmyfXET+OKz6U37OV2t+z0k9+Zep2zqy1XcmJEZm0bQ8QC65c92HmBiAR3qZouIeVyGgZFjk9rYx0pzYIpy2CVD+WIiBFeM29UIDs/jz2oT4ATg0FSRFc691oRxtd6Q1GbHOEGqreMkivSOruAqKk24zLjcXr335oiUuCfckjyFHLP08UodBNSUyLV06fZuE97NDmVlBuxEHPXNe51uDJk9MfVP7Nan4iOX17fMX7oEeYrq0rbUZdKqemG8LBHM7TzV/WZCMimCc0yAQwEOEs4PHLvIVEKNQqb8ziNZ8l/UXhNL0mp5lWHgL3PuKhIIS2p7nYTt3h/UKRM4ske70VliTwGXGBtLXCqDm6lnu9sxS9ll+ya4v4EMtW7+BPky7hz8kPEK

http://www.inou.ie/policy/statistics/liveregister/&_county=26&_year=2013

B.A._Baracus

B.A._Baracus wrote: »

So long story short ....


Got a degree last year and I was at the Career Zoo jobs expo last weekend trying to get a job. I handed out a few cv's and got chatting to one guy who said send off an email with example of work.

So I send off the email and they got back saying ideally they are looking for someone who has more of a skillset than I currently do. So I decide to go to their website and they have 4 jobs listed. 2 of which are paid postions and the other two are internships. Of course my current skill set, after doing an 9 month course last year, is exactly what they are seeking in their "internship" ... :rolleyes: and as for the paid roles well you have to know pretty much everything under the sun.

To add to this story...

Got really pissed off at not having a job today. So I mailed said company again to see if I would be suitable for the internship they have listed. Why I have no idea? Getting so annoyed at being unemployed the mind thought maybe its best to do an internship for a while. But just opened my email a few minutes ago only to be told that I would need the same skill set.... i really feel like just naming and shaming these guys.

Their paid-job skillset requirement IS THE EXACT SAME as their internship requirements.

ffs :rolleyes:

sligoface

dxhound2005 wrote: »

That was me. And I still maintain that Jobbridge is a very minor element of employment/unemployment in Co Sligo. Figures are from last year but there about 5,000 unemployed. 37 Jobbridge placements remain unfilled since the start of 2014. Why have 37 of the 5,000 not been frogmarched from the dole office into these places and forced to work for the extra €50? If the employers had advertised 37 real jobs instead would that have solved the unemployment problem in Co Sligo?

If you or anyone else doesn't want a placement then don't take it up. It might suit someone else. And an employer that is offering 2 placements must have between 10 and 20 real employees on their staff.

92 positions for Sligo on the FAS website today, and again more than half are unpaid. Yeah really minor problem. If you were unemployed you wouldn't have such a blasé attitude about it like, 'oh don't do an internship then if you don't want to, simples'. You would see clearly that it is being abused all over the place and replacing actual jobs with internships, making minimum wage irrelevant and perpetuating a race to the bottom where people currently in paid work are now competing with unpaid labor.

But forget about numbers for a moment, just have a read of some of the positions advertised as internships that people have posted for things like waitstaff, car wash attendant, petrol station attendant, etc. You can't possibly defend this scheme, it is taking away jobs and exploiting unemployed people for the sake of manipulating figures.

And they are going to be forcing people to do internships soon. Have you heard of the Youth Guarantee?

Starbordsie

An internship for a managerial position?

http://www.jobsireland.ie/Default.aspx?q=B+fomdowzS8kaDnSlUDk1zaMUPiFEeNrNWjviinu490thmC2C0u+DOF8dFzHjILu38tVnxElNzN5TwqiScTAeCMhb5mPdY40lqc6UEqjhkbLuKjr4bfQkWKz0vepXk+14v/8KIBSn0qLMDS3zB/JiFs60CfHeUXLyE9UjrxEEViKvDV22ZihkvS6ZsXK6YHsY1WhYyvNoumXf94DhPMWu5kKnp5+52spcgh1emZaLnrYIcP72So1C99d701WWHrTE8KYSqDOmJV0lZeUTK3ODayNQmli/hLgwmZnB+xwlRlSwTpTmoK4hqXy9NnjCz2P5cirmnAuZyn6UibOGJJyiq8qLMKyfBXKwPP66Gd/IKvafuxn3fki2VG7b1ZM3fWC3NFmbcrJT0l8Ka8wftCnRJGXpeVYOULFbIq7OHfs8yLGDsDTsUxoAWTpiTn96zfNJVVjQAVNp+cq8IkHchPbcYkdeh3yolJmoW3XZr0i9SM=

Assistant Manager

Based in DUBLIN 22 Ref. INTE-827023
Description
The intern will gain practical experience in: Managing a classic car restoration workshop. The intern will receive formal/informal training in the following: Quality control, dealing with suppliers, taxes and environmental issues and certification. The candidate will be trained and mentored by the company director. Health and safety issues. All issues relating to Quality control and identifying faults. On completion the intern will have attained skills in quality controlling the following: MIG welding, rust repair, panel beating/fitting/engineering and mechanics.

Skills Requirements
Applications should have an interest in managing a classic car restoration workshop, be hard working and a good listener - open to new ideas.

Please Note:
This is an Internship. An allowance of €50 per week will be paid in addition to your current Social Welfare payment.See eligibility criteria above.

Department
Administration

Mentor
The Organisation will assign a mentor to support you during the Internship.

Duration
9 Months

Number of Positions
1

Contract Type
Other

Days, Hours & Start Date
Days per week: To be Advised
Hours per day: Not specified
Hours per week: 40
Start Date: TBC
Finish Date: 9

Experience Required:
No Experience Required
Education Requirements:
Leaving Certificate Ordinary -

Posted awhile back about a Momentum course that involved all participants to do 3 months work experience at the end. As I already stated out of the 42 only a handful got actual positions, a few were farmed out as deli staff and the remaining 30 or so were given jobs in the school where the course took place. After less than a month, a number of those interning at the school had their "position terminated". None of these interns got any top up on their payment. Those who were terminated have to go to FAS and explain why it is they failed the course. It's an absolute joke and made even more so by the fact that the people running the course plan to run it again in the coming months and when a representative from Solas came in those behind the course contacted all the participants and told them that if they were not present for this surprise inspection they would be in trouble. Talk of payments being affected was mentioned a number of times and it was heavily implied that if feedback was not positive there would be repercussions.

terryduff12

the intern will have attained skills in quality controlling the following: MIG welding, rust repair, panel beating/fitting/engineering and mechanics.
Done a couple of years as a apprentice mechanic never seen a Assistant Manager in a garage maybe down in dunnes stores or pennys. Why would a manager or assistant need to know how to work on a car thats what mechanics do or apprentices do. Is there a reason they can`t just put up that there looking for a Person to be trained like a mechanic for 9 months

Starbordsie

Solicitor. :eek: Defending people in court (as per the ad) for less than minimum wage.

http://ie.indeed.com/viewjob?jk=62320b30cd5fe840&q=where&l=Dublin&tk=18hr1ti0k16oh3vm&from=web

Solicitor
Dublin
The intern will gain practical experience in Litigation,to include personal injury cases and judicial reviews. The intern will also gain practical experience in criminal law to include advocacy in the district court and defending clients at that level. The intern will receive formal/informal training in the following : Managing litigation cases, representing clients in the criminal courts, regular updates in relation to developments of law in the above areas. On completion the intern will have attained skills in how to manage litigation cases from beginning to end and how to represent clients in the criminal courts.

Skills Requirements

Applicant must have an interest in litigation and in advocacy and have a willingness to learn. Attendance at court will be involved so the applicant should be open to this.

Please Note:
This is an Internship. An allowance of €50 per week will be paid in addition to your current Social Welfare payment.See eligibility criteria above.

Department

Main office

Mentor

The Organisation will assign a mentor to support you during the Internship.

Duration

9 Months

Number of Positions

1

Contract Type

Other

Days, Hours & Start Date

Days per week: To be Advised
Hours per day: Not specified
Hours per week: 39

Start Date: TBC

Experience Required:
No Experience Required

Education Requirements:
Third Level -
A qualified solicitor

Cookie_Monster

Starbordsie wrote: »

Solicitor. :eek: Defending people in court (as per the ad) for less than minimum wage.

http://ie.indeed.com/viewjob?jk=62320b30cd5fe840&q=where&l=Dublin&tk=18hr1ti0k16oh3vm&from=web

must already be fully qualified too

Education Requirements:
Third Level -
A qualified solicitor

Starbordsie

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

must already be fully qualified too

And many solicitors get paid fúck all or nothing when training unless they train with a large firm. So you could spend years training for barely any money in order to get a less than minimum wage position. Wonderful.

Cookie_Monster

Starbordsie wrote: »

And many solicitors get paid fúck all or nothing when training unless they train with a large firm. So you could spend years training for barely any money in order to get a less than minimum wage position. Wonderful.

It's a wonder the company isn't simply asking the defendant to represent themselves and throwing them a tenner.

darkpagandeath

Its getting farcical now we all new this was being abused but seriously a solicitor!

Xenji

What happens if the solicitor takes on a case and it goes on longer than 9 months, oh sorry Judge my internship is over, but hey another intern is replacing me tomorrow.

cocacola1

I think the old-fashioned word for this is "scabs" but it's made worse as the "scabs" are not aware that they are taking other peoples jobs and being used for slave labour,

ABSOLUTE JOKE - One thing the country needs is a childcare scheme because the majority of people that are on the dole or one parent family refuse work for the simple price of childcare.

We need more community creches being run and they could be classed as an internship for childcare and most be simply non for profit just keep the lights on and wages paid.

Stacking shelves is NOT an internship, I'm at my wits end trying to get on top of thing in this country I'm not getting any younger but cannon move on with my life I know I will not get a mortgage for many years and will only ever be able t work part time during school hours as the minimum wage is 8.65 and an hour for a childminder is 10 euro so working at a loss of 1.35 an hour!

Also note anyone who has taken one of these internships, seeing as the 18-30 population have decreased by emigration and people with children cannot take them as 50 euro extra a week will not pay for full time childcare.
The only people that this scheme would ever help are people out of school with no kids or men over 35, don't see how we'll get out of a recession at that rate.................


Another thing is that stupid "Solas " training seriously the courses are useless to people, I mean anyone unemployed has done the courses and are still no better off because the courses don't offer any real skill or attributes, the whole thing is like a rocking chair gives people something to do but doesn't get them anywhere.

zenno

Paul Murphy MEP is the only one banging the drum of awareness with this scam of a scheme, but it's up to folk to protest against this taking away of paid jobs by jobbridge. If folk don't stand up and make it their business to complain through protest, then folk are wasting their time.

I've just noticed that the Scambridge website has a petition now as well

cocacola1

zenno wrote: »

Paul Murphy MEP is the only one banging the drum of awareness with this scam of a scheme, but it's up to folk to protest against this taking away of paid jobs by jobbridge. If folk don't stand up and make it their business to complain through protest, then folk are wasting their time.

I've just noticed that the Scambridge website has a petition now as well

True true, there needs to be a revolt, these set of schoolteachers running the country will NEVER be made redundant or have to live on 188 euro a week, they have jobs for life since they finished college, we need the people's people to stand up and give a voice

AngryHippie

Idbatterim wrote: »

I agree on balance it probably does more harm than good. For example, the extra E50 it pays per week, for say 6000 people = E300,000 divide that by say E500 for what a real job would pay per week, they could actually create 600 jobs from that alone! say those 600 removed from the live register saves E188 each, that means another 225 "real" jobs can be created paying E500 per week.

But it doesn't. LAnd, Cash and Capital are not enough on their own to create employment.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Factors_of_production
The biggest missing element is that 4th factor. There is no current entrepreneurship or incentive for it in the Irish business market. Effective demand across the board is in a trough due to unemployment and low disposable income, so you have no domestic market, the adjacent free market in Europe is either in the same boat, or has better domestic economic conditions for starting a company or increasing employment.
The sad fact of the matter is that the bus is parked on the hard shoulder, and nobody knows what to do.
Jobsbridge is the equivalent of kicking all of the smallest and weakest people off the bus and making them push.
I don't buy the argument that long-term unemployment is sustainable etc. Its not, and I have outlined my thoughts on that previously, but jobsbridge isn't an answer for job creation, or for upskilling, it's a government tactic to control the live register as they don't know what else to do, and cannot justify borrowing money to give to their unemployed citizens only to somehow have to pay it all back plus interest in the future.

The economics of the situation are pretty bleak. At best it's going to get very Darwinian in the next generation or two. Probably on a global scale. Despite all of our sophistication.

Blaming the current government for the state of the economy isn't necessarily the right way to start the assault either.
Blaming them for stupid wasteful schemes and squandering resources is the best place to start. but follow that up with incompetence as a round two, and you are back to the electorate being at fault for putting them in power in the first place.

Hark back to Bretton Woods, when Keynes warned that to subject the economies of the world to global free market forces will bring about the end of the democratic experiment.

Well it looks to be drawing to an end. We can't keep expecting schoolteachers to produce the results of top end resource managers and inventors.
Or, we can keep expecting it, and keep getting disappointed and piszed off about it. Thats where we've been at for almost a decade now.

zenno

Interesting reading falsities from the Indo Source: http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/boost-to-recovery-as-60000-back-in-work-30048852.html


Experts say the war on unemployment is slowly being won.

There's actually a war on the unemployed ?.

Employment growth in Ireland has been outstripping every other country in Europe, as tens of thousands moved from dole queues to the workplace in the past year.

They mean... as tens of thousands moved from dole queues to the jobbridge/tus/momentum/ce-schemes etc...

Guy:Incognito

dxhound2005 wrote: »

If you or anyone else doesn't want a placement then don't take it up. It might suit someone else. And an employer that is offering 2 placements must have between 10 and 20 real employees on their staff.

It would suit that someone else better if it paid even minimum wage.

Guy:Incognito

zenno wrote: »

Interesting reading falsities from the Indo Source: http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/boost-to-recovery-as-60000-back-in-work-30048852.html


Experts say the war on unemployment is slowly being won.

There's actually a war on the unemployed ?.



They mean... as tens of thousands moved from dole queues to the jobbridge/tus/momentum/ce-schemes etc...

I heard them talking about this on the radio yesterday (plenty of time seeing as I'm unemployed again :-) ) and they were saying it from the angle of the number of people that signed off the dole last year. The thing is I signed off the dole 3 times last year . I was unemployed at the beginning of the year and signed off to go work in Norway. I came back to interview for a mechanic apprenticeship and signed back on for 3 weeks while I was waiting to hear back so signed off again when I started that then when I was made redundant again signed back on. Got a job for the 4 months running up to Christmas so signed off again. Then back on the week after Christmas. So do I count 3 times in those great stats despite not having a job now? I suspect I count as 1 unemployed person but 3 people signing off the dole last year.

runawaybishop

Starbordsie wrote: »

Solicitor. :eek: Defending people in court (as per the ad) for less than minimum wage.

http://ie.indeed.com/viewjob?jk=62320b30cd5fe840&q=where&l=Dublin&tk=18hr1ti0k16oh3vm&from=web

Solicitors traditionally have always taken on interns, way before jobbridge existed.

Starbordsie

runawaybishop wrote: »

Solicitors traditionally have always taken on interns, way before jobbridge existed.

A qualified solicitor, which is what they're looking for, is past the internship. As I said before, at the qualified phase, they should be getting paid decently as it's likely they weren't paid very well whilst training, if at all.

darkpagandeath

runawaybishop wrote: »

Solicitors traditionally have always taken on interns, way before jobbridge existed.

It says qualified solicitor not e.g law student or just qualified as in what the scheme was designed for. It's cleaver wording I guarantee someone who needs a mentor will not get that placement it will be for already qualified say redundant/out of work fully qualified solicitor. With years of experience. Who they then charge the client €100 an hour for the service being given by a person receiving no wage.

runawaybishop

Ok, didn't spot the qualified bit somehow - thanks.

bodhrandude

bodhrandude wrote: »

I've been on the dole since I graduated in 2010 as a journalist, have tried loads of times to get any work with any type of publication going, hard copy places and online. I attended two interviews this week, one for CE and one for Jobbridge on Edit:13th February. I applied for the Jobbridge one two weeks ago and got a phone call to attend an interview. The thing is, this position interested me, Enterprise Journalist and its actually in Galway city as opposed to always being in Dublin for journalist positions.

The info garb reads as: 'The intern will gain practical experience web production, developing video lists/ storyboards, writing and rewriting scripts and then editing and producing... The intern will receive formal/informal training in the following: Online production, including writing, editing, graphic design, basic HTML, photo editing, audio and video production.'

Now thats a whole bunch of skills I can pick up plus it helps me in a new field of journalism, free lance journalism for the promotion of IT companies. Some might argue that I'm taking a full time journalist position but I train under a full time journalist, software engineer and a company official.

A lot of the vacancies advertised in Jobbridge wouldn't be worth my while but I thought this one is pretty good. There was another five being interviewed that day so I won't know anything till about a week to ten days time, will keep you posted.

Follow up: 26th February I sent them an email wondering what the outcome of the interviews were, as they said I would be contacted within 10 days. I followed this up with a phone call on the 27th and they said they would get back to me, so far no word, disappointed I am, why not even just one line on an email, 'You were unsuccessful.' Thats all it takes.

Xenji

bodhrandude wrote: »

Follow up: 26th February I sent Avaya an email wondering what the outcome of the interviews were, as they said I would be contacted within 10 days. I followed this up with a phone call on the 27th and they said they would get back to me, so far no word, disappointed I am, why not even just one line on an email, 'You were unsuccessful.' Thats all it takes.

My sister applied for about 20 internships last year and only heard back from one person, the other 19 did not even give any notification of receiving the application let alone saying if she was successful or not. Another friend got 4 replies back saying that the companies were not sure how the scheme worked and wanted him to get a letter from the social welfare stating he was eligible for the internship and get information on the scheme to give them as well.

Caliden

zenno wrote: »

Interesting reading falsities from the Indo Source: http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/boost-to-recovery-as-60000-back-in-work-30048852.html


Experts say the war on unemployment is slowly being won.

There's actually a war on the unemployed ?.



They mean... as tens of thousands moved from dole queues to the jobbridge/tus/momentum/ce-schemes etc...

The thing is if they get rid of jobsbridge now the unemployment will shoot up to a % that hasn't been seen in years.

TD's are too afraid to do anything because if they do they know people will vote in someone else if the unemployment rate goes up.

Personally I think the only hope we have is for another party to be voted in, abolish jobsbridge and blame it on the previous Government...

darkpagandeath

Caliden wrote: »

The thing is if they get rid of jobsbridge now the unemployment will shoot up to a % that hasn't been seen in years.

TD's are too afraid to do anything because if they do they know people will vote in someone else if the unemployment rate goes up.

Personally I think the only hope we have is for another party to be voted in, abolish jobsbridge and blame it on the previous Government...

But everyone knows the % unemployed is way higher than they say, so many schemes running to massage the figures. Its common knowledge tbh