Jobcentre Plus is putting Europe’s largest jobs database in to people’s pockets with the launch of the first mobile phone app.
The app is another tool for people looking for work, making it easier to search by location, save preferences and get information about vacancies, said Employment Minister Jim Knight.
Almost 1m people search for work through Jobcentre Plus every working day. Last month alone 60,000 people accessed the website from their mobile phones.
The app makes it easier for people to find jobs relevant to them, jobseekers will be able to enter their location, or select key areas where they are looking for work and see exactly where vacancies are with Google maps. Within a year, jobseekers will be able to use GPS to spot jobs around them, whether from home or on the move. The app will also be developed to automatically notify people of new vacancies matching their preferences.
The app is available to anyone who uses an iPhone, iPod touch or Google phones.
In December, Jim Knight set out his vision for Jobcentres across the country, and developing online tools was a key part of delivering this increasingly personalised service.
Speaking at the National Digital Inclusion Conference, Mr Knight also announced a pilot to give Jobcentre Plus customers access to PCs. Initially around 200 PCs will be spread across approximately 50 jobcentres. There will be free help for customers who have never been online, provided by Jobcentre Plus staff and partners such as UK Online and equivalent organisations in Wales and Scotland. Customers will be helped to set up an email account, build an online CV and supported to search for and apply for jobs online.
Already 13 per cent, some 350,000 vacancies advertised through Jobcentre Plus each year only accept electronic applications – meaning if people are not online they are missing out.
Jim Knight said:
“In this digital age being online is not a luxury, it is a basic right. Evidence shows that access to the internet improves exam grades, earning potential and can save up to £600 on family bills.
“As Smarter Government Minister responsible for the digital transformation of public services I am committed to getting people online, improving the customer experience and saving money through a better, more efficient use of technology.
“Giving people access to the internet in jobcentres and expanding the tools available through the introduction of the app are just two elements of this work.”
The move is part of a Government wide campaign to get more people online by promoting the benefits such as saving money, paying bills and looking for work.
The Government is committed to getting 60 per cent of the 10m people who have never used the internet online by 2012. The Smarter Government white paper, published last year, set out the potential for public services to be delivered more efficiently.
Key facts/ stats:
- The app is available for both iPhones, iPod touch and also to Google Android enabled phones. Any internet enable phone can access Jobcentre Plus’s vacancies through the Directgov website.
- The app is free to download
- Last month we had over 60,000 visits to the jobsearch site by people using a browser on an iPhone – these people will now be able to download the app and have direct access to our vacancies
- The JCP database is the largest in the UK – with over 10,000 new vacancies every working day. Over 30% of employers in the UK use Jobcentre Plus to advertise their jobs
- The app can be used by jobseekers in England, Wales and Scotland
- To download the app go to:
- Jobcentre Plus has responded well to the challenges of the recession increasing the number of frontline staff by 16,000 to continue to deliver its services to customers, processing benefits on time, getting three quarters of jobseekers back into work within six months throughout the downturn and working tirelessly to increase the provision available to people who have become unemployed.
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This report represents the first stage of the evaluation of Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and presents the findings from an early implementation study. It is based on fieldwork carried out between May and July 2009 in four Jobcentre Plus districts across Great Britain. Approximately 40 staff working on ESA, and 40 customers who had applied for ESA, were interviewed.
As a qualitative study, this report does not seek to comment on the extent to which particular experiences and outcomes were occurring – its aim was to explore the variety and range of customer and staff experiences, and explore the factors underlying these. However, the high degree of congruence between staff and customer accounts indicates it provides a valid representation of the nature and range of early implementation issues.
The research was carried out by Helen Barnes, Paul Sissons, Jane Aston, Sara Dewson, Helen Stevens, Ceri Williams and Ruth Francis from the Institute for Employment Studies.
Key findings
- Staff were generally very positive about the policy intention of ESA. However, they felt their day-to-day work was affected by a range of problems, primarily delays in processing claims, computer system problems, and the unexpectedly severe perceived health problems of some customers assigned to the Work-Related Activity Group. Action to reduce delays and address computer system problems has been taken since the time of the research.
- Customers generally knew little about ESA before claiming, which is unsurprising as it is a new benefit. They found making an initial claim relatively simple, but some were confused by a lack of information on the claim process, or frustrated by delays. Some customers reported struggling to complete the ESA 50 form, a questionnaire which asked about how their illness or disability affected their ability to complete everyday tasks.
- Most customers placed in the Support and Work-Related Activity Groups at the Work Capability Assessment did not understand the ESA groupings, or that they had been placed in a particular group. Support Group customers were generally satisfied with their ESA claim outcome.
- Views of customers in the Work-Related Activity Group were mixed. Some customers welcomed the support offered in Work-Focused Interviews, felt the advisers were sensitive and sympathetic, and welcomed discussion of potential alternative occupations. Others – those who felt too ill to ever work again, or felt that their age, skill level or local demand for labour were unfavourable – viewed Work-Focused Interviews as inconsequential.
- Some customers who were found to be Fit for Work at the Work Capability Assessment were highly critical of this decision, although others accepted it.
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/newsroom/press-releases/2010/march-2010/dwp036-10-...
Expert job advice will be available in community centres and GP surgeries in some of the most deprived housing estates across Britain to help thousands more people into jobs, Work and Pensions Minister Helen Goodman announced today.
Jobcentre Plus Outreach advisers will work with partners, such as housing associations, resident groups, local authorities and local community organisations, to reach more than 15,000 people and to address the issues of deep-seated and intergenerational worklessness.
The recent employment White Paper announced an extension to the community-based approach which has been trialled since October. This will be funded by an additional £12m.
Helen Goodman said:
New Outreach teams are being launched in every Jobcentre Plus region, building on the success of the three pilots which continue to run in Greenwich, East Durham, and Liverpool.
Each of the teams can decide on the best way to provide intense support to suit their areas. This could range from setting up adviser sessions in doctors’ surgeries, to visiting benefits claimants in their own homes.
The partnership approach will offer a range of specialist services to people, from employment and skills training to advice on debt, drug and housing issues, as well as access to the right benefit, to help families lift themselves out of poverty.
The 16 teams working across Britain will focus on deprived communities to help benefit claimants move closer to the jobs market and into work.
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/newsroom/press-releases/2010/march-2010/dwp040-10-...