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

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582 Overall, it is clear that many clients find it difficult to access and interpret information from a variety of sources. This is an important area in which on-going access to an adviser can facilitate client progress. Local labour market information 583 The researchers were specifically requested to explore use of local labour market information (LLMI) and its impact on IAG coherence. In practice, few clients mentioned LLMI unprompted; when asked, most clients indicated that their awareness of the job market came primarily from monitoring vacancy advertisements in local newspapers and from the Jobcentre. 584 Very few adults remembered receiving LLMI input through IAG services, although one group had attended a workshop in which the nature of the job market was discussed. A client who had attended a return to work course reported that the course had included useful LLMI, including information on how to fit a career around childcare responsibilities. 585 In discussion, clients suggested several ways in which accurate labour market information would be useful in effective career planning. • Parents and carers would like to be able to access information on family-friendly employment options and child-friendly employers. • Several young graduates would have liked earlier information on opportunities (or the lack of them) open to both A level students and graduates in their disciplines. The sense was that some would have been better advised to enter their chosen sector earlier and follow a part-time training route, rather than opting for a traditional degree. • More generally, participants in learning of all types and all levels would like information on linked job opportunities to be more readily available. Gaps in services 586 For many clients, the key gaps were a lack of appropriate learning provision and of opportunities to gain work experience. Many clients contemplating a change in career direction found the most relevant learning provision to be out of reach, owing to cost. Often, they were undertaking courses that were less relevant but were free and/or could be undertaken without coming off benefit. 19 587 The following is a selection of other comments made in relation to perceived gaps in services. • Ageism was considered a barrier by some older clients. They were dispirited by the apparent disinclination of employers to consider experienced and competent candidates. Some unemployed individuals favoured the return of the 50+ Jobclub model. • ESOL clients commented that provision often embraced clients with a wide range of existing skill levels. This resulted, in practice, to support being focused on those with the lowest level of skill - with the consequence that progress was often slow for those with higher levels of language. Smaller groups would be welcomed. • Students questioned the lack of IAG targeted at people who were considering dropping out. • Services for graduates who have moved away from the area in which they attended HE was a gap identified by some clients. Similar gaps apply to those 19 One client commented that “often the free courses are not what you need or want”. On a linked point, several clients commented that placement and work experience opportunities are hard to find, other than through volunteering. 41
who graduated several years earlier and were no longer eligible to use HE careers services. • Childcare is crucial for a large number of clients and, without it, many find it difficult to pursue their chosen course of action. Lack of overall understanding/control 588 It is clear from the earlier sections of this chapter that few clients are aware of the full range of IAG services and therefore are rarely able to recognise when referral may be appropriate. Few clients reported having the benefits of other services explained to them. Thus, it was nearly always the adviser who was the one in a position to decide when it was appropriate to make a referral. 589 This lack of knowledge represents a barrier, even to well-motivated clients, as they do not know what sort of service they should be asking for. Many clients said they find it difficult to formulate questions and take control of their IAG experiences in any case; but uncertainty about other services exacerbates their sense of being passive recipients. Failure to focus on individual goals 590 Clients were critical of services that failed to focus efforts on achieving goals that are important to them as individuals. Any examples cited run the risk of appearing anecdotal, but one client reported that she had approached a one-stop-shop for help in relation to her aim of progressing into higher education but had been pointed instead in the direction of a secretarial job. She was angry, as she felt that her goal of university had been dismissed. 20 591 Jobcentre Plus was the provider that most often received this kind of criticism. Many clients felt that the focus of Jobcentre services was to ensure that the individual obtains employment, irrespective of whether that employment is sustainable, utilises existing skills, or is in line with the longer term goals of the individual. However, it was not only the Jobcentre that came in for criticism: other providers, too, were described by some as being too vague, or as undermining clients’ goals, or as failing to make the individual feel as if they were making progress. Whilst the option exists for clients of specialist IAG services to opt out, if they feel their goals are being ignored, those on benefit commented that they tend to ‘play the game’. 21 592 Clients participating in IAG and training as a result of a benefit requirement often saw little value in obtaining new skills, especially since they deemed it unlikely the skills being taught would make any difference to their job prospects. These clients perceived work experience as the best way of improving their chances. Lack of encouragement and support 593 The importance of encouragement and positive feedback has already been stressed; its absence was a frequent cause of criticism. Clients felt (rightly or wrongly) that some Jobcentre Plus front-line advisers had little understanding of the needs of individuals or the barriers they faced in relation to finding work; clients also reported that some advisers did not appear very interested in job-seeking activities 20 This client went on to find information about local access courses and was making progress towards her aim of achieving a place in HE. 21 Their tactic is to be seen to be using the job point regularly and requesting job searches from advisers in order to have a positive record of job seeking activity at the Jobcentre - but meanwhile to use newspapers, the internet and other channels as their preferred method of accessing suitable vacancies. 42
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 and 40: esource management practice; thus s
Page 41: Transfer of client records 579 The
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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