Job bridge

Claire101

Hi I am interested in how people feel about this scheme. Those who have done one or those currently doing one!!!

McSween

Claire101 wrote: »

Hi I am interested in how people feel about this scheme. Those who have done one or those currently doing one!!!

Im on one. As soon as a real position comes up Im out of here. Iit is very hard to work for so little.

Rubberchikken

am on a CE scheme and having a great time. but the place is great with a lovely mix of staff and people using the building which helps.

i could imagine that the job bridge scheme would be more difficult depending on the employer. longers hours for only 50 euro extra is a bit cheeky on the govt.

still if you think OP< that you would benefit, give it a go and as first poster said, soon as anything good comes up, move on.
good luck

Claire101

McSween wrote: »

Im on one. As soon as a real position comes up Im out of here. Iit is very hard to work for so little.

I really wish you the very best. I have just finished one and to be honest it was sole destroying that is how I feel after it. I was shown nothing and shouted at, I spent most weekends sobbing at home. By the end of it I found it difficult to go in as did not want to get roared at! I was hopeful that the boss or ( Hitler ) as I call him now would give me a written reference,he refused stating he doesn't give written references. Me there like a fool dealing with queries about written references that he had written for other people. When I asked him why he wouldnt do one for me, he demanded to know why I was so persistant about getting a reference. It was awful. I was begging! So obviously he thought I wasnt any good. Or just enjoyed seeing me beg for a reference. I then gave up after three rounds of being roared at went in did my work. Smiled and finally the hell ended.

I worked 9:30-5:00 worse thing I ever put myself through!

So as you may gather I am no longer a fan of job-bridge not anymore.

Panda_Turtle

I think the scheme has potential but it is abused.

Employers use it as nothing more than free labour in many cases. What would have been entry level roles are replaced by this scheme.

Employers will argue that they are training up the intern to employable standards in lieu of or as an extension to education, which may be true in some cases.. But still..many of these jobs would previously have been paid roles.

It's not monitored or controlled properly, and bit of a joke really, but what can ya do.

Claire101

Panda_Turtle wrote: »

I think the scheme has potential but it is abused.

Employers use it as nothing more than free labour in many cases. What would have been entry level roles are replaced by this scheme.

Employers will argue that they are training up the intern to employable standards in lieu of or as an extension to education, which may be true in some cases.. But still..many of these jobs would previously have been paid roles.

It's not monitored or controlled properly, and bit of a joke really, but what can ya do.

Its definately used and abused. The point is to train up and give confidence to the intern. With a glowing reference to pass onto future paying emoyers. There is nobody to report problems too. Also there is a fear if you complain you may lose all your benefits. Or you boss will be informed and life will be totally unbearable. I hate how I feel about myself now as a person. Im annoyed that I just kept taking it, saying nothing. Nobody asked me from job-bridge was it any good? Was I Ok? . Another intern in the same place I was in left got a sick note for 2 months he had enough being roared at too. It was hell interns have no rights no unions nothing! What can we do, I guess nothing like we always do! I have to say this site is great its the first time Ive been able to talk about my experience. Im not really used to it yet, but thanks for your comments!

cloudatlas

Maaahoosive thread called the jobbridge Scandal over in After Hours.

JobBridge is like any job. If you're not being treated right, you can always leave. You take a note of things that were not done right, or liberties taken and use them in your report as to why you left. You wouldn't put up with sh1te in a paid job, so why would you do so on an internship?

TheGlass

As far as I know he has to give you a reference, its part of the terms of Jobbridge. I think you should report him regardless, sounds horrible.

McSween

Claire101 wrote: »

I really wish you the very best. I have just finished one and to be honest it was sole destroying that is how I feel after it. I was shown nothing and shouted at, I spent most weekends sobbing at home. By the end of it I found it difficult to go in as did not want to get roared at! I was hopeful that the boss or ( Hitler ) as I call him now would give me a written reference,he refused stating he doesn't give written references. Me there like a fool dealing with queries about written references that he had written for other people. When I asked him why he wouldnt do one for me, he demanded to know why I was so persistant about getting a reference. It was awful. I was begging! So obviously he thought I wasnt any good. Or just enjoyed seeing me beg for a reference. I then gave up after three rounds of being roared at went in did my work. Smiled and finally the hell ended.

I worked 9:30-5:00 worse thing I ever put myself through!

So as you may gather I am no longer a fan of job-bridge not anymore.

Thanks for your wishes. Im sorry about your experience but although I am alert to the fact that they have a free worker I certainly wont let myself be taken advantage of by bad treatment.

daza2014

I am just after my first day on one. So far so good, my head is a little fried with all the information but the people there are lovely and helpful. Also, it extends the Masters I completed (through Springboard) so I am content so far. I was just chatting to a friend about it and as I said to them, I have a mantra to keep my "eye on the prize" that within 6-9months I will have gained a huge amount of experience in a very employable sector (IT) and will be in a much better position than I had when I completed education a number of years ago in a completely unrelated field that had no employment prospects...

While I am going to struggle financially no doubt, it should be all relative to where you can see yourself with the experience you are gaining through it. Eye on the prize.....Eye on the prize.....

Claire101 - That sounds like an awful internship experience and I really feel for you....no employer should zap someones confidence like that, especially when you are trying to better yourself. I hope you report them as you really did not deserve treatment like that. Do you mind me asking what sector your internship was in?

dharma200

Jobsbridge is a scam.. each placement displaces real jobs. I wouldn't ethically be comfortable taking part in this scheme. It is disgusting really. Check out the huge thread on jobs bridge. Even if it is a good placement the entire idea of it stinks, displaces jobs, allows companies to not offer paid internships, allows companies to mistreat staff, allows jobs to NOT be created seeing as the companies can get labour for free.

disj

I agree with the poster who said the scheme has potential but is abused. For the sake of being decent I won't name and shame here but I was doing an internship via college with a certain body-not retail a form of governing body. Anyway, during that 3month unpaid internship I began to slowly realize that essentially I was doing a whole load of crap work other people didn't want/refused to do. The internship was meant to be in PR/Event management and essentially I was doing admin. Also, I wasn't even in the main building dealing with my employer but was instead in a prefab elsewhere in the town where people completely unrelated to my role also worked.
Anyway, it was a disaster and during the 3 months, the 'employer' asked did I want to just stay on and they would put me onto the jobs bridge scheme for 9 months. Knowing what was in store for me I politely said no thank you!!!! I was never listened to, I was meant to finish at 5pm and some evenings was held back until 7/8pm for poorly organized meetings where nothing was achieved. On evening I was asked to stay back for another meeting so I did. But turned out it wasn't a meeting at all, we were all heading out and walking around the town, talking nonsense and getting nowhere, it was literally freezing cold and snowing and as I hadn't been told what was in store I did not have an extra coat or scarf or anything and it was commented that 'I must be freezing' in my head I was screaming 'Yeah you never told me I'd be spending hours talkin ****e outside in the snow!!'
Anyway, those type of people are looking for interns on jobsbridge and actually did advertise for an intern after I left and I just thought... Good luck whoever gets that.

On the flip side I believe there are some good ones too. Recently, I just sent my CV to a load of companies I admire and one got back in touch. They apologised that they did not currently have a permanent role but offered me valuable experience in house and offered to take me on as an intern through JobsBridge which I seriously appreciated and was honoured due to what a great company they are.

I believe that this internship will actually offer experience and growth.
Here's some tips I was given with regard internships;

Make sure you know what you expect from an internship. They company should have you kind of shadow a person within the role, you should be given direction and shown things. You should feel like what you are doing is an aid to your future goals and if you feel like it isn't or feel you are being used go to a manager or even social welfare and let them know. At the end of the day if you are an honest person genuinely looking to work and get experience then you deserve that, if your a lazy sod that's another thing.

Next, if you see an internship for a shop clerk well, don't expect it to be great. Those are the types of places looking for free labour in my opinion. An internship should be to train or further train you into a career. It is not a chance for some company to get free staff for 9 long months.

And it is 9 months-that is a long time to be in an internship you are not happy with. So think carefully first.

brembo26

So I have bit the bullet and took up a jobbridge scheme. have to keep up with rent somehow as I am only on the €144 at the moment.

On the plus side the position is something i'd really like to take up and its for 9 months to keep me busy through the summer/winter.

My question is how the whole payment is paid. On the website it says ill be paid through the bank but is that just the extra €50 or will it be the €144 + €50 into my account?

brembo26

brembo26 wrote: »

So I have bit the bullet and took up a jobbridge scheme. have to keep up with rent somehow as I am only on the €144 at the moment.I

On the plus side the position is something i'd really like to take up and its for 9 months to keep me busy through the summer/winter.

My question is how the whole payment is paid. On the website it says ill be paid through the bank but is that just the extra €50 or will it be the €144 + €50 into my account?

My girlfriend is in the same position and loves her jobbridge. It all gets paid in to the bank together.

brembo26

Deleted User wrote: »

My girlfriend is in the same position and loves her jobbridge. It all gets paid in to the bank together.

Lovely thanks!

disj

Just started one today myself, so far I am over the moon I took this position. The experience for this role that I will gain is immense and the other staff are all great and I'm being treated well. I am kept busy constantly, get loads of help but am also given the chance to use my own initiative. This is going to be a huge boost to my career and I hope it stays good!!

So to anyone considering doing JobsBridge use some common sense when applying. If you apply for an internship as a deli assistant or to work in a shop then don't expect more than that, go in with your eyes open. But if you can find something that seems to actually mean it will help start or further your career then you will most likely be delighted with the placement.

Remember, an intern ship is a learning experience, you should never be left without guidance and should be given clear training. There should be at least one form of mentor on hand and they should involve you in activities that specify the exact role you applied to (if your there as a web designer you shouldn't be licking envelopes). Everything about the experience should feel as though you are learning, it should always feel like you can see a future from it and if you cannot and if they treat you like crap don't site in silence for 6 or 9 months.

If you do sit in silence then more and more poor quality intern ships will be on offer and business will try to just milk the process so be sure to complain to the social welfare or mention your concerns to the head honcho of the business.

AND good luck to anyone who decides to take this up

Good friend of mine did one for about 6 months and ended up with 3 job offers at the end. I think it's a decent idea but the department need to make sure positions accepted for the scheme are not just free labour where the intern isn't going to learn anything.

Kai123

Definitely helps for IT. I had plenty of certs but no experience. I was cherry picking the internships, and got a brilliant one doing junior system admin work (waited out the helpdesk ones). Its helpdesk with crossover into different areas, and I'm working alongside talented admins who are brilliant.

brembo26

Just been into the social welfare office and got the go ahead to start on the 7th

Questioned what will be paid into my account and it will be my €144+ €50.

I still have to collect my rent supplement in the post office which is a bit of a pain if I miss it on the Saturday because they will take it back :mad: Wont have any other opportunity to collect it.

Forgot to ask what day they will pay into my bank account. Can anyone shed some light on this?

disj

Has anyone else who has started a Job Bridge program had issues with payment? I have been on it for two weeks and have yet to receive the extra allowance and it's kind of hurting my pocket a lot. I contacted them last week about it and was told it would be sorted this week and I would be paid in arrears and unfortunately I cannot phone them as their offices are closed by the time I finish my day's work!!!

I will email them again but was wondering if anyone else has had this issue

2Mad2BeMad

disj wrote: »

Has anyone else who has started a Job Bridge program had issues with payment? I have been on it for two weeks and have yet to receive the extra allowance and it's kind of hurting my pocket a lot. I contacted them last week about it and was told it would be sorted this week and I would be paid in arrears and unfortunately I cannot phone them as their offices are closed by the time I finish my day's work!!!

I will email them again but was wondering if anyone else has had this issue

Takes 2-3 weeks
and its all backdated so no worries their
in the same boat meself, started monday this week, got caught short today, so I assume it will be their next week or the week after
does hurt the pocket
specially if your travelling 5 days a week


Back on topic

Love my internship so far, its a small companie that distributes bathroom supplies(pumps,doors,showers etc..) from bigger companies to people all around Ireland
Doesnt sound like much but I am really enjoying it and hopefully it will help me get a job near the end all lovely people in it too, get a lift too the bus stop every day as well which is about a 15 minute walk

I've only been their 3 days so I'll report back in a few months time, as I know how peoples attitudes can change:pac:

although I have always been against this job bridge ****e as their is far more companies abusing it then their are companies doing it right.