Job Bridge - Not enough experience...

Icarian

I'm not sure if this is the right forum, but sure if it's not it can be moved I suppose.

I'm a graduate with a BSc and MSc inenvironmental science, but not alot of relevant work experience so I was hoping to get a job bridge position to fill out the experience part of my CV and get a reference. The thing is, every job bridge position I apply for I get rejected for lack of experience. Sometimes I don't even get to the interview phase, even for areas directly related to my college degrees (state bodies even). I know that you can't just have anyone from any background coming in, but I'm applying for state jobs in areas that I really should be qualified to work in. I thought the job bridge scheme was supposed to provide graduates with the chance to get work experience, but it kind of defeats the purpose if they're only hiring people who already have experience... It seems like the scheme is in place less for providing experience, and more for providing free labour...

Has anyone else had trouble finding a job bridge positions? Or is anyone currently doing one and how many did you apply for before finding one?

Are there any other options available for finding work experience where I get paid enough to live on or get to keep social welfare payments?

I'm kind of at a loss at the moment, I want to emmigrate but without experience and references I'm just kind of stuck on the dole.

allibastor

you really should bring these jobs to the attention of your welfare office. this is the problem with this scheme, they are looking to train people in and are supposed to be there to help people with little to no experience get into the work force, but many jobs are still looking for years of exp and are basically looking for a free fully trained and qualified worker.

contact the office and bring these job specs in and any documentation you have stating your lack of exp as a job refusal reason.

what a joke.

abrr1000

Hi - not needing any experience is actually a requirement for the employer to qualify to the jobbridge scheme in the first place. I would bring that to the attention of jobbridge if I were you. If they want qualified experienced people, they'd wanna be paying them.
Good luck with the job search.

uck51js9zml2yt

I got this reply from JB regarding an IT job. It puts clarity on what they expect...I think
" Thank you for bringing this matter to our attention.

As you probably know, Host Organisations are prohibited for requesting prior experience as a stipulation of a work experience position they wish to fill through the JobBridge scheme. It is important that we receive feedback on any positions which may impinge upon these important stipulations.

In this instance, the Host Organisation is prepared to offer the following work experience:

The intern will gain practical experience in: Database Management (SQL), Web Design, general communication skills. The intern will receive formal/informal training in the following: Database Management, Web Design. The intern will be encouraged to develop new designs and complete projects. The intern will become familiar with company policies and procedures and will have hands-on experience in the day-to-day company activities. On completion the intern will have attained skills in: Database management, Web Design and support, task prioritisation, general administration duties.

They have this stipulation:
Good working knowledge of SQL administration. Knowledge of Web design. Microsoft certification would be preferable.

The definition of a 'working knowledge' is a knowledge without mastery of a particular skill or task' and is often used in the field of software utilisation to establish proficiency.

It is our experience that an ICT graduate who has learned the skills which would allow them to apply the learned knowledge (a working knowledge) is in a position to greatly benefit from the programme as it allows them to apply their learned knowledge in a practical setting. This is certainly engrained in the ethos of the programme.

I hope this helps to clarify the wording on this particular advertisement. Please feel free to contact us with any further concerns you may have.

Yours Sincerely

<<official's name snipped>>
JobBridge"





Thanks for posting this - it is helpful. fyi I've taken out the name of the official who signed the letter 'cos it's not relevant, and 'cos public servants shouldn't have to be named on the internet for things like this.
/moderation

Recon

I got my current job through a JobBridge placement. I started in February 2011 (it was the FAS WPP) then, and got full time in October. But from what I've read online and seen with friends I think I'm one of the lucky ones.

Most of the JobBridge things I've seen or heard about recently are offering 9 months "experience". It's a disgrace.

decies

Just a question, am signing just for credits, do I qualify for job bridge or what ? Thanks

Icarian

Well thanks for the replies everyone. One position I applked for, I was turned down (without even being called for interview) for lack of experience with an area I have extensive knowledge about, wnd which doesn't require any specific skills other than those I already posess so it sounds like this organisation is misusing the job bridge programme. I will definitely bring it to the attention of my local FAS centre, not that I expect them to actually do anything, being FAS and all...

uck51js9zml2yt

Icarian wrote: »

Well thanks for the replies everyone. One position I applked for, I was turned down (without even being called for interview) for lack of experience with an area I have extensive knowledge about, wnd which doesn't require any specific skills other than those I already posess so it sounds like this organisation is misusing the job bridge programme. I will definitely bring it to the attention of my local FAS centre, not that I expect them to actually do anything, being FAS and all...

report it on the JB site

vikingdub

Icarian wrote: »

Well thanks for the replies everyone. One position I applked for, I was turned down (without even being called for interview) for lack of experience with an area I have extensive knowledge about, wnd which doesn't require any specific skills other than those I already posess so it sounds like this organisation is misusing the job bridge programme. I will definitely bring it to the attention of my local FAS centre, not that I expect them to actually do anything, being FAS and all...

Write or email Joan Burton's office, that way you are guaranteed that you will get a reply.


joan.burton@oir.ie

joan.burton@oireachtas.ie

vikingdub

decies wrote: »

Just a question, am signing just for credits, do I qualify for job bridge or what ? Thanks

Yes

http://www.jobbridge.ie/InternEligible.aspx

Icarian

I absolutely will report it on the job bridge site, and I will also contact Joan Burton. There's definitely something not quite right about this.

christmas2012

you should get involved in the right to work protests with labour let joan burton hear your voice,i have complained to FAS where i had a situation at work with a bad supervisor,and they gave me back a generic letter ''its not within their remit'' blah blah blah,basically washing their hands of the situation..
I wouldnt be holding out much hope joan burton seems to defend this scheme no matter what,a lot of complaints with the FAS crowd fell on deaf ears,and jobbridge seems to be even worse,they have over 500 companies signed up to this scam..

christmas2012

Recon wrote: »

Most of the JobBridge things I've seen or heard about recently are offering 9 months "experience". It's a disgrace.

The reason why they do this with jobbridge is because a lot of companies get the two years,or three years free labour,and they want to strongly discourage that from happening,ie more widespread free labour abuse.I think it is a better idea then having two years worth of unemployment,with fas aswell there was no cooling off period before hiring more staff which means its openly abused.

JOBBRIDGE have a cooling off period of 6 months inbetween hiring more free interns, and,eventually all quangos,FAS,SOLAS,JOBFIT,etc will be merged into one quango jobbridge..

Having said that i do see one problem with the cooling off period of six months,the companies in question could wait the six months and start re hiring freebie workers again.Or at the christmas period where they usually go about hiring extra staff,while not bothering off winter months..meaning it still gets abused.

Eod100

The more I hear about Job Bridge the more I think it needs a serious overhaul.

A host organisation saying an intern doesn't have enough experience is absurd. Surely the internship is meant to give the intern this experience?

This article paints a fairly grim picture of the whole scheme:

http://politico.ie/irish-politics/fair-comment/8546-if-jobbridge-is-a-success-then-what-is-a-failure.html

Eod100

Seems like Job Bridge is in the media a good bit recently.

Here's an artice from today's Irish Times : http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/weekend/2012/0519/1224316340845.html

I'd be very interested to know where the figure of 37 percent came from :

''While derided by many on social media as a way for employers to access cheap labour, the scheme gives valuable work experience to almost 7,000 people, the Minister says. In fact, about 37 per cent of those went on to get some form of work from their employer once the internship ended after six or nine months.''

Anyone know where this figure might have come from?

Worztron

Hi.

Has anyone been an intern at Nutribio? Link

Website: http://nutribio.ie/about-us/

L1m1tless

I went for one recently. It seams that all their paid workers were in offices abroad and they only set up offices here to hire a bunch of jobsbridge people.

Worztron

CowboyDreams wrote: »

I went for one recently. It seams that all their paid workers were in offices abroad and they only set up offices here to hire a bunch of jobsbridge people.

Do you mean you were at Nutribio? That is awful. Were you there for 6 months?

L1m1tless

Worztron wrote: »

Do you mean you were at Nutribio? That is awful. Were you there for 6 months?

No It was a different place. I didn't take the job. Just went to the interview.

yore

CowboyDreams wrote: »

No It was a different place. I didn't take the job. Just went to the interview.

Were you offered the job?

And were you really able to determine from the interview that there were only jobsbridge interns in their Ireland office?

Worztron

The company should at least match the extra €50 to bring it to €288. Also, the person should not be maid to work longer than about 33 hours so they are paid at least the minimum wage (€8.65).

If someone is working 40 hours then they are getting only €5.95 per hour (if on €188+50) -- how can that even be allowed? That makes the minimum wage rules a farce.

smcgiff

Companies are not allowed to top up the payment. I do know of companies paying good expenses to jobsbridge staff.

Re the people being taken on for jobsbridge ... Employers treat jobsbridge jobs like any other role - they give it to the best available candidate.

Worztron

smcgiff wrote: »

Companies are not allowed to top up the payment...

Fair enough.

So if someone is on €188+50 then they should not be made to work more than 27.5 hours per week. That way they will get the minimum wage rate. That is not asking for much.

Many places don't have to offer min wage if you don't have any experience. The min wage is already quite high and preventing hiring of people who don't have the experience and skills to earn it - insisting this be bumped up higher would be defeating the whole purpose

JustRoss23

Jobscam more like just another joke of a project run by our great Irish government.

ABajaninCork

Ha! I can't get a Jobbridge role because I apparently have too much experience!! Work that one out...

Employers don't realise that JB is also meant to fill in the gaps on a CV!

The Big Red Button

ABajaninCork wrote: »

Ha! I can't get a Jobbridge role because I apparently have too much experience!! Work that one out...

Makes perfect sense to me!

ABajaninCork wrote: »

Employers don't realise that JB is also meant to fill in the gaps on a CV!

Then would you not apply for Jobbridge roles in a related but different field, where you don't have experience?

ABajaninCork

ABajaninCork wrote: »

Ha! I can't get a Jobbridge role because I apparently have too much experience!! Work that one out...

Fluffy Bunny Rabid wrote: »

Makes perfect sense to me!

Why? Like I say, JB is also meant to break the cycle of unemployment as well. Or did you miss that part?


[/QUOTE]Then would you not apply for Jobbridge roles in a related but different field, where you don't have experience?[/QUOTE]

Done that too. Not enough experience...

So what else do you suggest?

jkell061

Be grateful your at least getting replies. I've been applying for jobs in my field, I'm also a graduate, and not word back from one. Some I'm really confident about reading the candidate requirements. But once its sent off that's the last of it. It's not exactly enticing but like the rest of u I'm after experience. I'm sick of it, yes the scheme is badly run and monitored. Its looking like England at the end of the month for me because I don't have enough experience for any of these "intern" positions either

Worztron

bluewolf wrote: »

Many places don't have to offer min wage if you don't have any experience. The min wage is already quite high and preventing hiring of people who don't have the experience and skills to earn it - insisting this be bumped up higher would be defeating the whole purpose

It is appaling that people are slaving at €5.95 per hour.

smcgiff

Worztron wrote: »

It is appaling that people are slaving at €5.95 per hour.

Why?

JustRoss23

sure why the **** would someone have to work for 5.95 its a disgrace.

yore

JustRoss23 wrote: »

sure why the **** would someone have to work for 5.95 its a disgrace.

Or looking at it another way, a company is willing to give you free training and practical experience, and not only that, you will receive 5.95 an hour for it.

I wish someone would have paid me 5.95 an hour to go through college!


Oh, sorry, I forgot. everyone thinks they're special and entitled to a living, eh?

JustRoss23

but why do the work for free when the person next to you is getting 15-20+ an hour the systems a joke. and so's this government for that the greatest thing i will ever do is leave this country on April 16th and not come back:D

Ha i no a lot of people that are getting paid more in grants then i am on the dole but yet i am the ejit that payed taxes since i left school. while they payed nothing but get these great big 6k grants that when they get there degrees there gonna be on a plane out of here. so really contributing nothing back.

yore

ABajaninCork wrote: »

Ha! I can't get a Jobbridge role because I apparently have too much experience!! Work that one out...

Employers don't realise that JB is also meant to fill in the gaps on a CV!

I'm skeptical of that one. It might be an easy out for the employer to tell you that you are "too experienced". That's if the employer is actually telling you that. It may be easier to tell yourself that you are too experienced rather than taking a step back and trying to realise how you could improve.


Of course, I'm sure it does happen. If I were looking to hire a person for an internship and one candidate had just lost their job the previous week after their employer collapsed, with stellar credentials, then I would be remiss to take that person on in a training role. They're probably not going to see it through as there's a good chance they'd get another job. Plus, on the basis of fairness, it would be much better to give it to a genuine candidate. However, in relation to a candidate who has been on the dole for more than a year, I'm not going to be worried that they'll use it as a two week stepping stone. That's where you can use it to fill in the gaps.


It's funny that some people who moan about jobsbridge complain that potential employers are changing what would be their jobs into internships. I.e employers are abusing the scheme to get free workers. Now you have the people who claim that they are too experienced. Some people will try to claim both at once.


If you have a degree in Engineering, and 10 years professional experience, a jobsbridge doing some office work and photocopying for a Engineering firm isn't meant for you. You shouldn't think it is. If you're just out of college, then it could be a good foot on the ladder. People should use some initiative and stop expecting others to suit you and hand you your perfect position on a plate.

yore

JustRoss23 wrote: »

but why do the work for free when the person next to you is getting 15-20+ an hour

The place to start would be to take an objective look at it and try to think why the employer is willing to pay that person 15-20 an hour, but not willing to pay it to you? Is it because that person is always the son of the boss? Maybe it's a hot young lady that the boss is banging? Or maybe that person has justified that they should get it, and you haven't done so yet. The scheme is your opportunity to justify it.

JustRoss23 wrote: »

the systems a joke. and so's this government for that the greatest thing i will ever do is leave this country on April 16th and not come back:D

Don't sell yourself so short. I'm sure you are capable of doing much more than getting on a plane or boat.

JustRoss23 wrote: »

Ha i no a lot of people that are getting paid more in grants then i am on the dole but yet i am the ejit that payed taxes since i left school. while they payed nothing but get these great big 6k grants that when they get there degrees there gonna be on a plane out of here. so really contributing nothing back.

People in college have expenses that you don't have. Even if they get 6000, there's not much spending or drinking money on that. A 20 year old living at home with their parents get's what, 100 Euro if their parents have a good income? Sure that's loads. Plenty of socialising on that


Save a seat on the plane for some of those grads

JustRoss23

well i can get 40-50 bucks an hour as a spark in canada here in Ireland people want you to do a job for free so no i will be best over there and will do everything in my power to get pr and never come back to this country i hope at least:D. well not really i have seen loads of cases such as hairdressers barbers and even supermarket that just want to take people on for free labour sadly:(.. yea that's true but i am just going on my case where i was offered a computer course which i had already done in 2010 i refused to do it and the bastards cut me dole:( well not really in most cases we are still expected to pay rent to the parents etc there's not a lot of money left out of 140 when ya hop the old pair a few bob for housekeep.

yore

JustRoss23 wrote: »

well i can get 40-50 bucks an hour as a spark in canada here in Ireland people want you to do a job for free so no i will be best over there and will do everything in my power to get pr and never come back to this country i hope at least:D. well not really i have seen loads of cases such as hairdressers barbers and even supermarket that just want to take people on for free labour sadly:(.. yea that's true but i am just going on my case where i was offered a computer course which i had already done in 2010 i refused to do it and the bastards cut me dole:( well not really in most cases we are still expected to pay rent to the parents etc there's not a lot of money left out of 140 when ya hop the old pair a few bob for housekeep.

But sure that's great. You'd be crazy not to go. Sure it's hard to leave, but travel really does broaden the mind. If you can get 40-50 an hour over there then go. I'm not being smart, I'm being honest.

Go for a few years. You're probably not going to get regular work in Ireland for a few years at least. And just because you can get 40-50 a year somewhere else, does not mean you should compare an unrelated job, paying 15 Euro an hour as being bad. If I'm a solicitor charging 200 an hour for giving legal advice, but then can't get any work, well I can't complain if the local McDonalds is only paying 10 n hour. You have to take the going rate. Your electrician skills are probably not in demand in Ireland at the minute. Go where they are in demand if you want to use them. Or stay and do something else; but accept you won't earn to the potential of your formal skills.


Edit: Just to add, jobsbridge isn't meant to replace your electrician's job and earning power. It's meant to give you a start somewhere. You always have to start at the bottom. You did at least a four year apprenticeship to get to where you were earning as an electrician. You can't expect a few months internship to be equal to your previous training. If you think about it, thinking as much is belittling your own qualification and skills. Ideally you might find something with a company that is electrical related; such as maybe importing electrical goods, but even then, it wouldn't be a position where a fully qualified electrician is necessary and so the employer wouldn't pay those rates.

Good luck with your emmigration though.

Eod100

yore wrote: »

Or looking at it another way, a company is willing to give you free training and practical experience, and not only that, you will receive 5.95 an hour for it.

I wish someone would have paid me 5.95 an hour to go through college!


Oh, sorry, I forgot. everyone thinks they're special and entitled to a living, eh?

Sure the employer isn't even paying that - it's all the state..

Think most people feel aggrieved as before the recession a lot of people taken on received training on the job wheareas now companies are using JB as a 6/9 month long interview process. And after companies might not even hire the candidate after. Obviously I wouldn't expect companies to hire everyone they take on as an intern but I think employers should at least be up front about the prospects of a job after the internship so at least that way interns can know their chances from the outset and aren't being misled with promises of a job that simply isn't there.

I personally think people are entitled to a living of 8.65 per hour and presume the gov agrees by having a minimum wage but maybe that's a separate issue!

Gongoozler

I dunno where the figure of 5.95 came from, minimum wage is at minimum 6 something,last time i heard.
From a person who has done a wpp and 6months through a jobbridge, i would suggest staying as far away from these schemes as possible. They would have to be run much better to be any use to anybody. The only reason i went for this was because i couldn't get a paid job and now i realise this is because the jobbridge scheme is taking loads of jobs. Just an example,last time i counted the jobs v jobbridge positions added on fas, jobs were 56 and jobbridges were 54. Ridiculous. Plus i'm coming out of mine now with nothing but jobbridge jobs on offer in the area im applying. It's not creating jobs,it's reducing them.

Worztron

smcgiff wrote: »

Why?

It is exploitative and immoral.

yore

Gongoozler wrote: »

I dunno where the figure of 5.95 came from, minimum wage is at minimum 6 something,last time i heard.
From a person who has done a wpp and 6months through a jobbridge, i would suggest staying as far away from these schemes as possible. They would have to be run much better to be any use to anybody. The only reason i went for this was because i couldn't get a paid job and now i realise this is because the jobbridge scheme is taking loads of jobs. Just an example,last time i counted the jobs v jobbridge positions added on fas, jobs were 56 and jobbridges were 54. Ridiculous. Plus i'm coming out of mine now with nothing but jobbridge jobs on offer in the area im applying. It's not creating jobs,it's reducing them.

Man, I can always understand the opposite side of the argument. As long as it's consistent.

If an internship is one where you get great responsibility and learn a lot and do productive work you can argue it's great training. Or you can argue it's replacing a paid position.

If an internship if cr*p, where you learn and do nothing productive, maybe sit on your hole in an office all day and maybe photocopy a few pages here or there, then you can say it's a waste of time. But it's not taking a paid position as that doesn't seem like an actual job.


To put it succintly, if the internship gets you to do something productive, moaners will moan that it's replacing a job. If you don't do anything productive then it's a waste of time.

The bit that gets me is the people who moan that it's useless and it also displacing a paid employee. As if the companies would otherwise pay randomers to sit on their holes all day fulfilling a "non-job".

yore

Worztron wrote: »

It is exploitative and immoral.

To give peole free training?

What next, force companies to pay transition year interns a grand a week for their work experience? It's the same principal.

Gongoozler

yore wrote: »

Man, I can always understand the opposite side of the argument. As long as it's consistent.

If an internship is one where you get great responsibility and learn a lot and do productive work you can argue it's great training. Or you can argue it's replacing a paid position.

If an internship if cr*p, where you learn and do nothing productive, maybe sit on your hole in an office all day and maybe photocopy a few pages here or there, then you can say it's a waste of time. But it's not taking a paid position as that doesn't seem like an actual job.


To put it succintly, if the internship gets you to do something productive, moaners will moan that it's replacing a job. If you don't do anything productive then it's a waste of time.

The bit that gets me is the people who moan that it's useless and it also displacing a paid employee. As if the companies would otherwise pay randomers to sit on their holes all day fulfilling a "non-job".

So you're saying that if I get a jobbridge position if it's useful it's not something I can complain about? But whose definition of 'useful' do you go by?

If you're doing anything useful for the company, you should be getting paid to do it. It's that simple. The bottom line is, if a company is only taking someone on as an intern to have them sit around the office all day doing nothing they should not be part of the internship scheme. Internships by definition are to allow people without experience to learn on the job skills, usually in a position for which they've gone to college/university. The point being to put what they've learned into practice. Administrators, petrol pump attendants, sales assistants etc don't require an education first, and so these should not qualify for internships.

Worztron

yore wrote: »

To give peole free training?

No, to profiteer from slaving.

yore wrote: »

What next, force companies to pay transition year interns a grand a week for their work experience? It's the same principal.

Comparing an adult to transition year students is ridiculous. Where did you pluck a grand a week from?