As part of our series of articles highlighting Government Funded Support to help the United Kingdom’s unemployed back in to full time sustainable work, this article is designed for people aged between 18 and 24 who are unemployed and who are looking to return to work, the New Deal for Young People programme is designed just for you to help you back in to employment.

What is New Deal?

New Deal aims to help you get a job if you are out of work. It will give you the chance to train, learn and do work experience so that you:

• get more confident
• get new skills
• can be worth more to people looking for staff, and
• can find and stay in work.

What is New Deal for young people?

New Deal for young people will help you find and keep a job or start to work for yourself. It will help you improve the skills you have and learn new skills. While you are on New Deal for young people you will get help and support from your personal adviser. They will help you look at what you can do, and to build on the skills you have. If you are claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance, and you are aged 18 to 24, you must take part in New Deal for young people to carry on getting some of your benefits unless you have a good reason for not taking part.

Is New Deal for young people for me?

If you are aged 18 to 24 and have been claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance for 6 months or more, you must take part in New Deal for young people. If both you and your personal adviser decide that it is best, you may even be able to join if you have been claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance for less than 6 months.
Your personal adviser

When you join New Deal you will get a personal adviser. They will be from Jobcentre Plus and will help you at every stage of New Deal. They will check how you are doing and help you plan what to do next. This could be face-to-face or on the phone. You should talk to your personal adviser if you are not sure about something or you have a question.

The first stage of New Deal for young people

The first stage of New Deal for young people is called ‘gateway’. It lasts for up to 16 weeks. At this stage you will meet your personal adviser every week so that they can find out what you can do, what sort of work you want, and how you can get it. We will help you: • work out the steps you can take towards getting a job, and set these out in your own action plan • work out what jobs you could apply for • fill in application forms and write a CV • get advice on careers • find other support if you need it, and • pay for some of your costs, such as bus fares or train fares.

The second stage of New Deal for young people

If you don’t find a job in the first stage, you will join the second stage of New Deal for young people. This is called ‘options’ and will last at least 13 weeks. You and your personal adviser will decide what training and work experience you can do to help you find work. What you do will depend on what’s right for you.

The final stage of New Deal for young people

If you still have not found a job, the final stage is ‘follow-through’. This will give you extra help and support to look for work. This stage can last for up to 26 weeks.

What New Deal asks of you
New Deal offers you a real chance of finding a job. To get the most from it you must work with your personal adviser at all stages.

You need to:
• make a real effort to find work
• follow your action plan
• join in at all times, and
• go to all your interviews. If you don’t do all these things, you may not be able to get Jobseeker’s Allowance. Your personal adviser will help you understand what you must do to make sure you carry on getting your benefits.

Helping an employer to give you a job

If we find an employer who can offer you the kind of work you want, we can help them pay your wages for the first few months as you settle in. This means you can be paid the going rate for the job.

Making work pay

One of the aims of New Deal is to make sure you are better off in work than on benefit. Your personal adviser will help you work out what pay you need from a job so you don’t lose out.

How will work affect my benefit?

If you find work through New Deal, there are some benefits you may still get. Your personal adviser will be able to tell you what benefits you can get.

What is a mentor?

As part of New Deal, you could get a mentor to give you extra support and advice. They will help you find and keep a job by listening to what you want and helping you decide what to do. Your mentor will be someone local. Ask your personal adviser if you would like a mentor.

Further Information

Visit your local Jobcentre Plus Office to ask about joining the New Deal for young people programme, speaking from personal experience as a former New Deal Personal Advisor if you are really wanting to get yourself in to work or training then the New Deal programme is just what you need.

© The Career Engineer
WoWMyCV.co.uk

        

Tags: Benefits, career, Career Advice, Careers, Employers, Job Interview, Job search, Jobs, JSA, New Deal, New Deal 18-24, New Deal 25+, New Deal for Disabled People, New Deal for Young People, New Deal Self-Employment, Unemployment, work

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 13th, 2009 at 12:54 pm and is filed under Government Funded Training Provision. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.