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We want to hear from you: please tell us about your experience of the online community.

Who's currently working?

Gaina

Just out of interest, who has a job? What do you do and how did you get there?

Has anyone experienced a loss of confidence after a long period out of work, and if so how did you get it back?

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Comments

susan48

Great question

Gaina

susan48 said:

Great question

I need some inspiration at the moment

. I have so much to offer, but l can't seem to find an employer that can work around me (I keep sending off my CV and a spec letter explaining what I need in terms of my disability). I would love to be a researcher as I enjoy finding things out, and could work from home, or something to do with quality control that would utilise my chronic perfectionist streak!

susan48

@Gaina, it must be difficult. I’m not currently working, on ESA and can’t ever see me working again, sadly.

Iv had various jobs but my MH took its toll on me and employers.

Perfect just for you, researcher, flex time, from home

Hope you find something that you enjoy

Gaina

susan48 said:

@Gaina, it must be difficult. I’m not currently working, on ESA and can’t ever see me working again, sadly.

Iv had various jobs but my MH took its toll on me and employers.

Perfect just for you, researcher, flex time, from home

Hope you find something that you enjoy

Can I ask if you've seen or been offered a Disability Employment Adviser? I'm going back 20 years now but mine was *rubbish* - her best suggestion was to claim Incapacity benefit because there was no work in my area! *head-desk*.

debbiedo49

I do part time work. I get support from a charitable organisation working on a scheme with jcp. I claim jsa and don’t make much money but if keeps me under the jsa umbrella and gives me the breathing space I need to see how I’m coping. I should really be on esa but that’s the system for you. I started off by doing voluntary work. This gave me a boost as I had been out of work for 7 years or so. Plus voluntary work is the gift that keeps on giving if you get the right fit. When I started doing that I had no idea how good it feels to be giving your time freely. Plus it helps with the gaps in your cv that I’m sure puts employers off. Then when I got the opportunity to do part time work I felt that this experience helped me to get to the interview stage and to prepare me for going into work again. Lots of things have arisen over time that I forgot about being out of work so long. But having support has helped me keep going forward. Also I got an individual learning account which gives you money towards learning if you fit the criteria. So I was able to gain modules relevant to my volunteering and part time work that helped build my confidence. Later on I was able to do more modules for free using adult learning team. I prefer distance learning or small classes tailored to my needs which I was lucky to find. There are lots of resources available at your local council and with local charitable organisations which tend to change according to budgets. But if you keep in touch you can be lucky and get the right thing at the right time. Just now I’m not at work as it’s summer holidays and I miss it. I get such a buzz doing something I enjoy and getting job satisfaction. Could I have done it by myself? I doubt it. But that’s just my own opinion. In some ways applying for benefits such as esa and pip you might think is it worth bothering because they may hold it against you if you work at all. When I recently got pip for 2 years I felt that working may have gone against me. But would I rather not be working? No I would not. Good luck

susan48

Gaina said:

susan48 said:

@Gaina, it must be difficult. I’m not currently working, on ESA and can’t ever see me working again, sadly.

Iv had various jobs but my MH took its toll on me and employers.

Perfect just for you, researcher, flex time, from home

Hope you find something that you enjoy

Can I ask if you've seen or been offered a Disability Employment Adviser? I'm going back 20 years now but mine was *rubbish* - her best suggestion was to claim Incapacity benefit because there was no work in my area! *head-desk*.

I’m the the support group so no Iv not and at this moment in time feel I’m still unable to even look at jobs.

i do hope you find something though

Gaina

My circumstances changed a few years ago and now the only thing I qualify for is PIP. It feels like you get cut adrift from any assistance to find work if you're not costing the government money anymore.

debbiedo49

You still get DEAs I think but they are very under resources and may work between several jcp offices .

Gaina

debbiedo49 said:

You still get DEAs I think but they are very under resources and may work between several jcp offices .

My local JCP doesn't appear to have one anymore. I did go on the JCP website and try to get an appointment a while back but no-one got back to me.

debbiedo49

I would try local council website and see what they have under adult learning etc

Pippa_Alumni

Hi @Gaina, it might be worth having a look at Scope's Support to Work service and having a chat with the team!

Contact Support to Work

0300 222 5742

(standard network rate)

supporttowork@scope.org.uk

Opening times

Monday to Friday: 9am to 8pm.Saturday: 9am to 12pm.Sunday: Closed.

Gaina

Pippa_Scope said:

Hi @Gaina, it might be worth having a look at Scope's Support to Work service and having a chat with the team!

Contact Support to Work
0300 222 5742
(standard network rate)
supporttowork@scope.org.uk
Opening times
Monday to Friday: 9am to 8pm.Saturday: 9am to 12pm.Sunday: Closed.

Thanks @Pippa_Scope

Gaina

debbiedo49 said:

I would try local council website and see what they have under adult learning etc

It's funny I did loads of college courses to add 'Strings to my bow' and I have a foundation degree in Art and Design, I just seem to be coming up empty handed on the job side of things!

debbiedo49

Gaina said:

debbiedo49 said:

I would try local council website and see what they have under adult learning etc

It's funny I did loads of college courses to add 'Strings to my bow' and I have a foundation degree in Art and Design, I just seem to be coming up empty handed on the job side of things!

But are they recent? When you apply for jobs etc I personally feel that recent training or experience gets you to the next stage?

Gaina

debbiedo49 said:

Gaina said:

debbiedo49 said:

I would try local council website and see what they have under adult learning etc

It's funny I did loads of college courses to add 'Strings to my bow' and I have a foundation degree in Art and Design, I just seem to be coming up empty handed on the job side of things!

But are they recent? When you apply for jobs etc I personally feel that recent training or experience gets you to the next stage?

I finished my foundation degree 8 years ago. I was going to do the 'top up' to make it a BA but Tuition fees kicked in and I didn't feel it was worth the money, on top of serious 'burn out'. I've done a bit of voluntary work but to be honest I'm not prepared to bust a gut if I'm not getting paid these days.

Gaina

JessAnn said:

Hello there,

I went to college at the age of 16, did a level 1 NVQ in Beauty Therapy doing manicures and facials (until my tutor told me I could not undertake facials as I could not use two arms to do it). So the next year I did a year doing a BTEC in IT before doing 3 years in Business gaining a Level 2 and 3.

After leaving college at 21, I struggled to find work for a few years. The job centre sent me on an 8 week work placement doing Admin work to help get experience in 2012, then I decided to look at other volunteer opportunities, finding a volunteer opportunity with the National Trust in York (an hour and half train journey from me) each Saturday I was a room guide and retail assistant.

The volunteer work helped me find a casual role as a Rail Replacement Coordinator with First Group, mostly doing weekend work at rail stations if there are no trains running - helping passengers transition to a replacement bus service. It was a job I enjoyed, I would be working 8 or 9 hours a day and it could involve travelling to different stations.

After 10 months in that role, I found a role with Millie's Cookies working an hour away from home - I used to commute by train each day which eventually ran me dry. After 4 months I left the job as I could not afford to get to work and pay for food during my shifts. They also didn't do a great deal with reasonable adjustments to help me either which should have been a red flag.

It took another 10 months roughly for me to find something else. Attending the job centre and also attending the shaw trust. The Shaw Trust found me an apprenticeship where I live in Customer Service as a receptionist and administrator. It wasn't a job I enjoyed, it took the company 3 months to sign me up to my apprenticeship (But I was being paid apprenticeship rate from the start despite not starting it for 3 months). I wasn't seeing my assessor very often or getting time during the week to do my apprenticeship work. They again didn't put in any reasonable adjustments. I was in a minor car accident and hurt my back during my time with them and complained about my time off work due to my back injury despite me writing it all down in an absence form. I cut my hours down to 3 days per week then decided I didn't want to work there anymore, so after 9 months in total left the company.

I went on to find a casual role with the workplace I am with now. They are run by my local council so I am a council employee. I started as a casual seasonal employee in April 2017 and worked as Casual until the end of September 2017 before reprising my casual role in March this year (2018) before applying for and being offered a Weekday Museum Assistant role with the same workplace working 3 and a half hours a day on a 12 day rota, to finish at the end of September 2018 unless they keep me on until Christmas.

When I finished last season in September 2017, I went on to Universal Credit until March 2018. I did not manage to work for the period of October 2017 to March 2018. I did have interviews but no avail!

I do find having a disability to be a barrier to work. I have mild cerebral palsy affecting my right side. Meaning I cannot use my right arm well and walk with a limp. Now that I am getting older I am finding that I am having back pain (had it for 4 years) and I get pains in my right leg too. Due to over working my body. I have to spend my shifts on my feet monitoring the Museum I work in by walking around security checking and also undertake cleaning as a part of my role.

Do you use any kind of wheelchair or scooter? When I got my first job, I got a lightweight wheelchair through the access to work scheme, so it might be worth exploring that to get you a mobility solution for the museum. ?