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

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.
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