Client needs for coherent information, advice and guidance services ...

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572 Where clients had moved on to other services, it was often as a result of conversations with family members or friends, or chance remarks from other clients they had met. In several cases, the focus group itself triggered discussions between clients about alternative services that might be of value. 573 Despite the earlier comment about clients equating IAG services with their current provider 13 , it became apparent later that several contributors did not expect their needs to be met by one person - or even by one service. Where it had happened, referral had often been welcomed, precisely because clients were able to access other, directly relevant services. One client commented that accessing IAG is “a bit like the doctor’s in that you have to be referred for specialist help”. 14 574 Many unemployed clients felt that the Jobcentre could do more to refer clients in the early stages of unemployment. One client said he felt he had been “left dangling for 6 months”; others used similar language, referring to even longer periods (e.g. up to 18 months). Their perception was that it was only when they had failed to find work that the Jobcentre Plus service became more proactive. The sense was that earlier access to other Jobcentre Plus services (or early referral to external IAG providers) would have helped clients to achieve work more quickly - or at least to maintain motivation in the face of lack of success. This was true for both IAG services and skills-refresher training. 15 575 Some clients were unable to see how their current provider could continue to help them but still did not feel confident to pursue their goals elsewhere, without continuing support. This was particularly common amongst clients who were accessing specific services (e.g. CV preparation or coaching on interview skills), but who lacked a sense of direction. Several in this group expressed a need for career counselling but they were unsure whether such a service existed, or if it did, whether it would really be able to help. 576 Lack of coherence was also associated with referral to inappropriate services. For example, one client who was finding it difficult to focus on a clear career goal complained that it had been unhelpful to be given (yet) more information about the options open to her. Similarly, another client who perceived a need for in-depth careers guidance considered referral to a computer aided guidance package (Adult Directions) had been inappropriate. 577 Feedback on referrals to and from Jobcentre training provision was mixed. Some clients were clear that their New Deal training providers had their interests at heart and were working with them to help them achieve appropriate and sustainable employment. For others, however, the requirement to carry out two or more weeks of intensive job search with training providers was felt to be inappropriate: many felt it would have been more effective for them to continue their jobsearch independently. 16 578 Inappropriate referral was raised by one group with particular reference to ESOL provision. These clients indicated that, while referral from IAG to ESOL assessment worked well, the assessment did not always result in effective referral to appropriate ESOL tuition; they questioned the accuracy of the assessment. 13 See paragraph 535 and 559 14 However, other clients recounted experiences of failed signposting and referral. For example, some adult clients had initially approached Connexions, only to be told they were not eligible for the service but (apparently) without being signposted to other, local services for adults. 15 One individual had been referred to New Deal to update skills only after 18 months of unemployment. She believed that receiving the training earlier may have helped her to return to work long before now. 16 This was particularly true where the client had been told that the training would involve a job placement. In a number of cases, this had apparently not been forthcoming. 39
Transfer of client records 579 The clients we met expressed little interest in the issue of information sharing between providers. Jobcentre Plus clients appeared to accept the need for information to be exchanged between the Jobcentre and contracted providers, but few others offered any comment. 17 Difficulties in accessing information 580 Many clients reported difficulties in accessing information. The following is a selection of points raised. • Users of telephone helpline services indicated that they needed more help to understand information that was given to them. One felt the information given had been incomplete. • Clients remarked that there is a large number of contact telephone numbers, and it was not always clear which one should be approached. Contacting the wrong one – and being ‘shunted from one to another’ – was described as frustrating. • Access students reported that some HE institutions were reluctant to discuss courses with them until they had the entry qualifications. These students had found it hard to gather accurate pre-course information on both access courses and degree course and they believed that drop-out in the early stages of programmes was due in part to lack of prior awareness about the pressures involved and the level of support available. Nevertheless the IAG services provided for access students, once discovered, were generally highly regarded. • Information on funding for learning was difficult to obtain for adults who were not in receipt of benefits. • Some young people felt that information on the process of applying to higher education and securing a student loan should be more widely available. • Some clients complained that advisers (including from New Deal for Lone Parents and learndirect) had failed to send information as promised. • Several clients commented on the plethora of different agencies and government bodies – all with different acronyms; this made it difficult to access information on careers in particular trades or professions. On a linked point, several unemployed individuals found it hard to gain access to trade and professional journals for job seeking purposes. • Collating and interpreting information on the range of ICT learning opportunities available was proving difficult for some clients. They were aware of several training opportunities but had discounted them all on grounds such as being too expensive, at an inappropriate level, or failing to offer the individual support they needed. • Clients with ESOL needs indicated that they found language to be a barrier, particularly when trying to understand what was expected of them in a formal context (e.g. claiming benefit). This made them reluctant to return to use other Jobcentre services. 18 581 Accuracy of information was another important issue raised by some clients; being given inaccurate information had the knock-on effect of undermining trust in service providers and making it less likely that clients would return. This was a particularly sensitive issue when providers were perceived as having an interest in information given (e.g. college-based IAG services advising on courses, or Jobcentre Plus advisers commenting on entitlement to benefits). 17 Front-line advisers had more to contribute on this topic: see Chapter VI. 18 In at least one area, it has contributed to heavy demands on those IAG services offering interpreters and bilingual advisers. 40
Page 1 and 2: RESEARCH Client Needs for Coherent
Page 3 and 4: CONTENTS Chapter Page EXECUTIVE SUM
Page 5 and 6: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY INTRODUCTION 1. T
Page 7 and 8: • many clients said they would ha
Page 9 and 10: development of directories and data
Page 11 and 12: I: BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE INTRODUCT
Page 13 and 14: II: METHODOLOGY INTRODUCTION 201 Th
Page 15 and 16: 215 Several adaptations were introd
Page 17 and 18: III: CLIENTS AND PROVIDERS IN THE S
Page 19 and 20: Services Table 3.2: Breakdown of
Page 21 and 22: Services Table 3.4: Breakdown of cl
Page 23 and 24: 326 Our synthesis and analysis of c
Page 25 and 26: • a student who is part of a grou
Page 27 and 28: 420 In terms of patterns of referra
Page 29 and 30: RECOMMENDATIONS 434 We were not for
Page 31 and 32: targeted at them. This point was ma
Page 33 and 34: providers demonstrated a high level
Page 35 and 36: 536 Many clients do appear to find
Page 37 and 38: service can help them; rather it su
Page 39: esource management practice; thus s
Page 43 and 44: who graduated several years earlier
Page 45 and 46: exacerbated by media pressure to ge
Page 47 and 48: • In practice, there are often di
Page 49 and 50: 621 Referral to learning providers
Page 51 and 52: was minimal. The main exception was
Page 53 and 54: 649 In some areas, the IAGP itself
Page 55 and 56: combine their visit with other acti
Page 57 and 58: 681 There was a lack of suitable pr
Page 59 and 60: • Some advisers working with the
Page 61 and 62: APPENDIX A KEY DIFFERENCES BETWEEN
Page 63 and 64: other providers, including a number
Page 65 and 66: 52. Many providers’ staff express
Page 67 and 68: C. COHERENCE OF IAG SERVICES C.1 Pl
Page 69 and 70: C.4 Are there links with HE careers
Page 71: Copies of this publication can be o

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