Blog page for the White Collar Unemployed community web site http://www.whitecollarunemployed.co.uk/blog.htm Office of National Statistics (ONS) data reveals that for the over-50s,the odds of finding another job are lower than in any other age group. Andy Harrop, policy director of charity Age UK, said in the programme that over 50's out of work for more than about 3 months will find it very difficult to get back into work ever again. http://www.whitecollarunemployed.co.uk/blog.htm#b94 Are you a UK resident, aged 49 - 50 and have been unemployed for more than 12 months ? A production company for BBC Panorama are would like to talk to you for a documentary they are making this week. http://www.whitecollarunemployed.co.uk/blog.htm#b87 With the Government announcements this week potentially adding another 500,000 from the public sector to the ranks of the UK unemployed , I really wonder where this is going to go. The numbers keep rising but there is no way that enough new jobs can be created to keep up with the demand. Recent reports in the press suggest that there are currently more than one in five people chasing every job in Britain. http://www.whitecollarunemployed.co.uk/blog.htm#b84 The Telegraph's Jobs Editor Louisa Peacock has launched an agony-aunt style column offering advice to job seekers trying to navigate the labour market post-recession. http://www.whitecollarunemployed.co.uk/blog.htm#b83 Nomis is a service provided by the Office for National Statistics(ONS), to give you free access to the most detailed and up-to-date UK labour market statistics from official sources. http://www.whitecollarunemployed.co.uk/blog.htm#b82 Following on from the recent Government proposal to increase the pension age from 65 to 66, there has been a lot in the press recently about the latest proposal to scrap the retirement age entirely from 2011. Currently, staff can ask to stay on past 65 but employers are not compelled to abide by the request. http://www.whitecollarunemployed.co.uk/blog.htm#b81 I recently came across an article entitled "Middle class unemployed failed by job centres, Government admits" that appeared on the Telegraph on-line back in February 2010. I missed it at that time but I thought it quite interesting and still very topical. With the expenses scandal, the election and massive debt issues taking centre stage more recently, this topic has been forgotten so I think it worthwhile trying to raise awareness again. http://www.whitecollarunemployed.co.uk/blog.htm#b80 Well, another quarter has passed and yet another set of unemployment figures were released today by the Office of National Statistics (ONS). Each time I look at them I find them a little confusing as the totals never seem to add up so it leaves you wondering just how realistic they are and, to some extent, whether this is deliberate. http://www.whitecollarunemployed.co.uk/blog.htm#b79 You will have heard in the news this week about the Government bringing forward plans for raising the retirement age to 66. I can understand that everyone is living longer and the need for people to work for longer and pay taxes to feed the funds but I wonder if this has been fully thought through and if the Government have once again underestimated just how big a problem this is going to be. I suspect this is yet another problem that they are very well aware of and have inherited from their predecessors. http://www.whitecollarunemployed.co.uk/blog.htm#b78 The Big Idea event in Portsmouth is intended to stimulate ideas from local people, from whatever background, to see if any can be turned into money-spinners and help generate local jobs. http://www.whitecollarunemployed.co.uk/blog.htm#b77 In the last few weeks my good friend Steve has been dropping less and less subtle hints for a return of Dolebert’s Diary. The idea for the diary came from conversations with Steve; I remember telling him that I’d started a personal diary as therapy and to have a record of my experience to look back on. A few days later Steve suggested I publish extracts onto White Collar Unemployed as it could help others who were in the same situation as me. http://www.whitecollarunemployed.co.uk/blog.htm#b76 I recently received an email from one of our community who has been out of work for 17 months telling me about his difficulties he was having in finding funding to allow him to gain some further professional qualifications to help him get back to work in the IT sector. He had been asking about financial help with course fees at his local job centre, the Educational Grant Advisory Service and the Flexible New Deal provider (Standguide Ltd) . but they had all told him that no help is available. http://www.whitecollarunemployed.co.uk/blog.htm#b75 If you have been following our Readers Letters page you will have seen a recent addition asking "is there a good argument for the UK forcing employers to re-advertise all jobs occupied by temporary visitors from the likes of Australia, New Zealand and South Africa (ANZAS) on their jollies once unemployment goes over a certain level?" http://www.whitecollarunemployed.co.uk/blog.htm#b74 I came across a special report written by Ernst & Young's ITEM Club in May (2010) which adds weight to my argument about the benefits of investing in those with experience so that they can start businesses. http://www.whitecollarunemployed.co.uk/blog.htm#b73 I have made some interesting contacts this week. I received another email the other day from Chris Neal telling me about GB Jobs Clubs. http://www.whitecollarunemployed.co.uk/blog.htm#b72 I had a really interesting telephone call with the director of Big Shoulder yesterday and I wanted to share the following information with our community as I think it could be of great interest. I am sure there are many of you that have lots of experiences to share that would be of great help to others in similar situations and of course it would also help raise awareness of the issues we are still facing and reassure you that you are not alone out there. http://www.whitecollarunemployed.co.uk/blog.htm#b71 Some time ago, I decided to learn some new skills so that I could move into a new field of work. I signed up with a distance learning company in the UK for what can only be described as a rip off course. http://www.whitecollarunemployed.co.uk/blog.htm#b70 The deputy prime minister, Nick Clegg, launched a fierce attack on the BBC's Andrew Marr show today on what he said was "careless" spending by Labour in its final months, saying they made "extraordinary commitments...which they knew they could not honour". http://www.whitecollarunemployed.co.uk/blog.htm#b69 I have to apologise for my lack of recent articles on this blog and other additions on the WCU web site. As past visitors to this site will know, since I had had no luck in finding a job in more than 6 months of job hunting and I could no longer claim any JSA, I decided to start my own business a few months ago. Like many others of our community in the same predicament, I had reached the point of "sink or swim". It seemed to me to be far more constructive to spend my time trying to find customers and my own work so that I could generate some income rather than trawling through job sites and filling in more and more applications, that I almost certainly new would be yet another waste of time, and result in me getting more and more disillusioned and despondent. http://www.whitecollarunemployed.co.uk/blog.htm#b68 Well here we go again. Another set of ONS unemployment data was released on the 21st April and it again shows that things are not getting any better. If you are a regular reader of this blog, you know that I have mentioned my concerns on several occasions about the over 50's sectors and long term unemployment. http://www.whitecollarunemployed.co.uk/blog.htm#b67