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As I'm unemployed, due to this pandemic thingy, apart from moving me from my home of 30 years, with 2 weeks notice, UC have now decided I should join a Government funded private company to tick some boxes and 'enhance' my chances of employment - I'm 65!
I had a talking session with my 'coach', the other day.
She asked how 'au fait' I thought I was with modern technology, in particular, computers..
'Well' I said I started with an Amstrad - ever heard of those - you waited at least 15 minutes for them to warm up, Then I went through various 'updates' to computers, and relevant courses - as is evident from my CV, Now, I even play games on my laptop, I had a meeting with your company via Microsoft 'teams', 'meet' with my family via 'Whatsap', send emails etc, what do you mean?'
Silence.
Then she sent me my 'revised' CV. She'd 'updated' it to 'enhance' my chances.
Apart from having headings in various fonts,she'd spelled 'There, their, they're' wrong twice, and had me doing things in 3 jobs, that I definitely wouldn't have done - I mean, why would I order some type of gas, when I was arranging transport for the disabled?
I sent it back, saying I'd 'tweaked' it a bit. I didn't point out her obvious errors.
You have to stay on the right side of 'authority', even if 'authority' is talking cr*p. I learnt that a long time ago.
Now I have to choose an online course to go on. Most are an hour long - online - like 'Employability', 'Health & Wellbeing' 'Digital Skills' etc..
Do you think 'Level 1 Award Health and Safety in a Construction Environment RQF' - it's an intense course - 6 hours online - would it be appropriate for an old fart who doesn't like heights?
:-D :-D
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I think it's either that one - or the asbestos one.
Mybrother in law died of mesothiliama (asbestosis), even though he'd never actually worked with asbestos.
The problem with that one would be explaining that, even though asbestosis was known to be deadly in the 1890's, employers were/are still blase about it.
I may end up 'teaching' them.
I certainly dont want to do a 'Digital skills' or 'Business skills' course, nor a 'Healthcare' course. 'Leadership and Managment' seems pointless.
They're all pretty pointless. What can you really learn on a 1 hour digital course, that common sense hasn't already taught you?
Now - if it was a woodcarving course, or a carpentry course, I'd be there!
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I think you'll find any of them enjoyable as there's bound to be mistakes in them...one hour courses seem a bit silly...go for it... it might pass a boring afternoon.
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Well at my age I have to take any opportunity to learn. so I watch Pointless. did you know you can study for a degree (although being that P is recorded this may well be out of date! ), in leadership and management. Goodness knows how you can 'learn' the skills you acquire by first working 'under' bad leaders and managers???
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Annin - I saw that Pointless too and was equally amazed at that degree course. The contestant did say later that it was a part time course which she had enjoyed so much that she was now becoming a lecturer. Mmmm!
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There is lecturing or LECTURING!
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I had a manager once who had that degree. :-( :-(
That's when I decided to leave and do temp work, as I could walk out whenever I came across anyone else with the same attitude. :-|
Four of us had quite happily been working together for about 8 years, preparing and updating courses for careworkers, booking venues and refreshments etc - with no 'direct' manager, just the tutors.
We all had our own courses to prepare and update, but some, like First Aid, (which I had) would have 6 'set' courses in a year, but this could increase to 20, depending on staff turnover in the homes.
At times like this, we'd all muck in.
Well Mrs 'I know best' assumed I couldn't do my job, because, as far as she could see, we all had the same number of courses to do.
What she'd done, was to count the titles, not bother to see how many courses for each title, there were in a year.
So, I did a list for her. Mistake number one. Don't help the 'manager'.
I did do a couple of spare First Aid courses, for emergencies, but no more, as different homes needed different numbers, the tutor liked them 'personalised' for the home, and I could only shove so many boxes under my desk!!
Then she suggested I did a bulk load of First Aid courses. I (and the tutors - there were 3, so, one title, 3 tutors, and the extra courses) explained the problem. She wasn't happy.
Then she said how 'unprofessional' the boxes under my desk were.
So, had I done a whole load, as she'd wanted, where would I store them?
She also didn't like it that tutors would occasionally ask me to create models for the courses, or care homes, to make their courses more interesting, or because the care home wanted one of the models. Apparently, this wasn't my job,
I was going 'above and beyond' my grade level.
She finally saw the problem with the number of courses (which hadn't been a problem until she turned up), and offered to do the emergency First Aid for me.
Well, it was easy, until she got a message saying there was an extra course in 2 days. Could she prepare and proof - read 'this' (emailed personalised course) and find a venue 'here' (a specific place).
She found she couldn't cope, and it ended up with the tutors asking me to correct her mistakes!
I suggested THEY told her about her mistakes!!!
They did - but also said I'd had to correct them.
Well, guess who took the hump??? She was unbearable after that.
The other 'fun' thing she did, was to contract out venue bookings - to a firm in Yorkshire. She said it would make things easier, it also meant she didn't have to pay the venues - the other firm had that job!
So, instead of phoning venues, and people we knew - and had used for years - we had to email this firm for a venue in 'X' or 'Y', and wait until they emailed us back to say they couldn't find one! We then had to explain they'd been looking in the wrong place.
In the end, we'd phone the venue we wanted, make a temporary booking, then contact the firm and say we wanted 'this' venue, and they'd confirm the booking - thinking they'd made it. Then we had to fill out a multitude of forms.
We actually lost at least 6 small venues due to this contracting out, as people preferred dealing with us, rather than a faceless system.
Within 3 months, three of us had left the department - I was the first..
I wasn't the only one she tried to micro-manage.
They employed another 4 people to do the jobs of the three who had left - which is telling!!
Within 6 months the 'manager' had left.
She went on to become 'manager' in about 3 other departments - no job lasted more than 4 months - they weren't promotions.
Then she left Hampshire County Council.
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