Blackburn book shop helps unemployed get back into work (From Lancashire Telegraph)

Count me in.

Could I 'book' myself a place on this too?

This idea speaks volumes

shame about that key appointments in town only taking polish people...folk ringing up for work sorry no jobs(English)polish ring up and its"come on in"

shame about that key appointments in town only taking polish people...folk ringing up for work sorry no jobs(English)polish ring up and its"come on in"

shame about that key appointments in town only taking polish people...folk ringing up for work sorry no jobs(English)polish ring up and its"come on in"

RAyzer wrote:
shame about that key appointments in town only taking polish people...folk ringing up for work sorry no jobs(English)polish ring up and its"come on in"

Tell me more.

hope thers more of this to come

Sounds like an excellent idea. Hope more follow.

I work for a firm that has used several Bootstrap 'volunteers', these are people who have been unemployed for 6 months or more and are forced to work in order to carry on receiving their unemployment benifit.
While i totally agree that people should work for their benifit this so called 'charity' creates unemployment.Where i work redundancies have been made yet Bootstrap 'volunteers' are still used they learn nothing its just free labour

A graduate forced to work full-time for 2 weeks or lose her benefits takes her case to court:

http://www.publicint
erestlawyers.co.uk/n
ews_details.php?id=2
00

whatstheworldcomingt
o wrote:
I work for a firm that has used several Bootstrap 'volunteers', these are people who have been unemployed for 6 months or more and are forced to work in order to carry on receiving their unemployment benifit.
While i totally agree that people should work for their benifit this so called 'charity' creates unemployment.Where i work redundancies have been made yet Bootstrap 'volunteers' are still used they learn nothing its just free labour

How do they look for other jobs when they are busy working for nothing for a company? What about those who don't have computers at home to trawl the job sites later in the day? The long-term unemployed are the ones least likely to be able to afford computers & broadband at home and more likely to rely on Jobcentres, resource centres, etc.

happycyclist wrote:

whatstheworldcomingt

o wrote:
I work for a firm that has used several Bootstrap 'volunteers', these are people who have been unemployed for 6 months or more and are forced to work in order to carry on receiving their unemployment benifit.
While i totally agree that people should work for their benifit this so called 'charity' creates unemployment.Where i work redundancies have been made yet Bootstrap 'volunteers' are still used they learn nothing its just free labour

How do they look for other jobs when they are busy working for nothing for a company? What about those who don't have computers at home to trawl the job sites later in the day? The long-term unemployed are the ones least likely to be able to afford computers & broadband at home and more likely to rely on Jobcentres, resource centres, etc.

If they don't have internet connection at home they don't but they get valuable work experience to put on their CV to show that at least they have done some work recently compared to someone who has been on the dole for years. I know who I would employ

Bootstrap has been around for years. I had A couple of placements from them in 2004 (ish). There is no way it's free labour as they generally require a lot of help and support in what to most is a new environment for them.

BluMonday wrote:
Bootstrap has been around for years. I had A couple of placements from them in 2004 (ish). There is no way it's free labour as they generally require a lot of help and support in what to most is a new environment for them.

There wasn't a recession then, i know from my own experience that these people are being used as free labour. People are losing payed employment because this 'charity' is turning a blind eye to the fact that people are being exploited.
Like i said earlier Bootstrap creates unemployment NOT employment.

happycyclist wrote:
A graduate forced to work full-time for 2 weeks or lose her benefits takes her case to court:

http://www.publicint

erestlawyers.co.uk/n

ews_details.php?id=2

00

Well done to her,we need more people to stand up against this disgusting system being brought in.It ain't just welfare policy it's the police state,the beginning of the end for trial by jury,body scanners,arresting politicial activists for nothing and the attempted eviction of the occupy london group. we are turning into 1984 on steroids and more need to realise it.

icannotrace wrote:

happycyclist wrote:

whatstheworldcomingt


o wrote:
I work for a firm that has used several Bootstrap 'volunteers', these are people who have been unemployed for 6 months or more and are forced to work in order to carry on receiving their unemployment benifit.
While i totally agree that people should work for their benifit this so called 'charity' creates unemployment.Where i work redundancies have been made yet Bootstrap 'volunteers' are still used they learn nothing its just free labour

How do they look for other jobs when they are busy working for nothing for a company? What about those who don't have computers at home to trawl the job sites later in the day? The long-term unemployed are the ones least likely to be able to afford computers & broadband at home and more likely to rely on Jobcentres, resource centres, etc.

If they don't have internet connection at home they don't but they get valuable work experience to put on their CV to show that at least they have done some work recently compared to someone who has been on the dole for years. I know who I would employ

Your missing the point firms would have to employ people (yes thats right pay them)to do the work if this source of free labour wasn't available to them.If they want to run a scheme like this it should be police properly and firms vetted.My opinion and the opinion of my work colleagues is this 'charity' should be closed down.The economy will never recover if we are being forced to work for free.

icannotrace wrote:

happycyclist wrote:

whatstheworldcomingt


o wrote:
I work for a firm that has used several Bootstrap 'volunteers', these are people who have been unemployed for 6 months or more and are forced to work in order to carry on receiving their unemployment benifit.
While i totally agree that people should work for their benifit this so called 'charity' creates unemployment.Where i work redundancies have been made yet Bootstrap 'volunteers' are still used they learn nothing its just free labour

How do they look for other jobs when they are busy working for nothing for a company? What about those who don't have computers at home to trawl the job sites later in the day? The long-term unemployed are the ones least likely to be able to afford computers & broadband at home and more likely to rely on Jobcentres, resource centres, etc.

If they don't have internet connection at home they don't but they get valuable work experience to put on their CV to show that at least they have done some work recently compared to someone who has been on the dole for years. I know who I would employ

Your missing the point firms would have to employ people (yes thats right pay them)to do the work if this source of free labour wasn't available to them.If they want to run a scheme like this it should be policed properly and firms vetted.My opinion and the opinion of my work colleagues is this 'charity' should be closed down.The economy will never recover if we are being forced to work for free.

icannotrace wrote:

happycyclist wrote:

whatstheworldcomingt


o wrote:
I work for a firm that has used several Bootstrap 'volunteers', these are people who have been unemployed for 6 months or more and are forced to work in order to carry on receiving their unemployment benifit.
While i totally agree that people should work for their benifit this so called 'charity' creates unemployment.Where i work redundancies have been made yet Bootstrap 'volunteers' are still used they learn nothing its just free labour

How do they look for other jobs when they are busy working for nothing for a company? What about those who don't have computers at home to trawl the job sites later in the day? The long-term unemployed are the ones least likely to be able to afford computers & broadband at home and more likely to rely on Jobcentres, resource centres, etc.

If they don't have internet connection at home they don't but they get valuable work experience to put on their CV to show that at least they have done some work recently compared to someone who has been on the dole for years. I know who I would employ

Then doesn't it make more sense to put people who haven't worked for years onto a part-time arrangement than just throwing them straight into full-time work? That way they can experience a bit of regular work and still continue looking for work?
If the work experience is going to inspire people to want more of it doesn't it make sense to allow time to look for opportunities whilst they're on a high rather than working them to death for a couple of weeks and then dumping them back onto a full-time jobsearch?
Why does nobody ever ask the people it affects for their opinion? Why do people have no experience of what it's like to be out of work for years think they know what is best for people who are in that situation?

happycyclist wrote:

icannotrace wrote:

happycyclist wrote:

whatstheworldcomingt



o wrote:
I work for a firm that has used several Bootstrap 'volunteers', these are people who have been unemployed for 6 months or more and are forced to work in order to carry on receiving their unemployment benifit.
While i totally agree that people should work for their benifit this so called 'charity' creates unemployment.Where i work redundancies have been made yet Bootstrap 'volunteers' are still used they learn nothing its just free labour

How do they look for other jobs when they are busy working for nothing for a company? What about those who don't have computers at home to trawl the job sites later in the day? The long-term unemployed are the ones least likely to be able to afford computers & broadband at home and more likely to rely on Jobcentres, resource centres, etc.

If they don't have internet connection at home they don't but they get valuable work experience to put on their CV to show that at least they have done some work recently compared to someone who has been on the dole for years. I know who I would employ

Then doesn't it make more sense to put people who haven't worked for years onto a part-time arrangement than just throwing them straight into full-time work? That way they can experience a bit of regular work and still continue looking for work?
If the work experience is going to inspire people to want more of it doesn't it make sense to allow time to look for opportunities whilst they're on a high rather than working them to death for a couple of weeks and then dumping them back onto a full-time jobsearch?
Why does nobody ever ask the people it affects for their opinion? Why do people have no experience of what it's like to be out of work for years think they know what is best for people who are in that situation?

Totally agree has long as their not being exploited.At one point we had 4 'volunteers' working 30 hours each for one month approx.480 hours free labour.I should also point out this was at a very busy period and my manager told Bootstrap we'd take up to 10.Modern day slavery me thinks.

People just don't get these sort of things.

Last year I went from being on the dole for 4 months to a 60-hour week manual job chucking boxes around for 12 hours a day at Express Gifts and they couldn't understand why I didn't want to work Saturdays as well. They couldn't understand that a 49 year-old guy just being thrown straight into that was simply f*cked, because I also had an hour and a half travelling on public transport/walking there and back each day on top of the 12-hour shifts.
I was that f*cked that I wasn't even washing when I went home.

For anyone who has been out of work for any length of time, unless they have somehow managed to keep up their morale and motivation and keep fit (and risk getting their benefits stopped for not being available for work whilst trying to stay fit enough to take a job up!) then just to be thrown straight into physical full-time employment is not easy. Why can't people running these things realise this?
A return to routine, a return to fitness, a return to regular eating and sleeping requires a period of adjustment.

A good friend of myself who used to be an accountant in London was forced to give up a part time computerized accounts course to work in this Bootstrap bookshop. The accounts course would have benefited him much more than learning how to put books on a shelf in alphabetical order! This same charity also sends people to unload lorry's at supermarkets and to work as porters & cleaners in hospitals. These used to be jobs that employed people, but not any more. Why would a company employ a staff member even at minimum wage when they can get a worker totally free. To the company owners this is even better than slavery. You used to have to house & feed a slave, these same companies that use so called Bootstrap volunteers don't even have to give them that little amount! How can they have the nerve to call the people working there volunteers when they are forced to do the work.

A good friend of myself who used to be an accountant in London was forced to give up a part time computerized accounts course to work in this Bootstrap bookshop. The accounts course would have benefited him much more than learning how to put books on a shelf in alphabetical order! This same charity also sends people to unload lorry's at supermarkets and to work as porters & cleaners in hospitals. These used to be jobs that employed people, but not any more. Why would a company employ a staff member even at minimum wage when they can get a worker totally free. To the company owners this is even better than slavery. You used to have to house & feed a slave, these same companies that use so called Bootstrap volunteers don't even have to give them that little amount! How can they have the nerve to call the people working there volunteers when they are forced to do the work.

Tesco use forced labour via bootstrap 's and it's wrong. Companies should only be allowed these workers if there is a reasonable chance in gaining a full time job within that company (subject to suitability of course)

No company should have a continuous supply of free labour.

No offence to the book shop but retail training, is it really training?
Isn't it just politeness and common sense?
If these are not aptitudes already held they are not capable of learning anyway.

As a volunteer worker at Rebound book shop, I was, and still am enjoying my work experience and feel that I have got my confidence back
after eight years away from retail. I can
recommend the Bootstrap experience to anyone who is serious about looking for permanent paid work. The help and support I have received in applying for jobs and building my confidence during my time here has proved really valuable to me.

mr booklover wrote:
As a volunteer worker at Rebound book shop, I was, and still am enjoying my work experience and feel that I have got my confidence back after eight years away from retail. I can recommend the Bootstrap experience to anyone who is serious about looking for permanent paid work. The help and support I have received in applying for jobs and building my confidence during my time here has proved really valuable to me.

Nice to hear someone working at Rebound finally getting involved in this discussion. I've been into Rebound and it's fantastic. It's the only real bookshop Blackburn has, and the forthcoming coffee shop will make this a viable longterm fixture. I started volunteering prior to gaining full time employment, and just having something to do during the day (after being out of work for quite some time) and feeling I was having a valuable input boosted my confidence and increased my overall morale. It looks great on a CV if you're willing to volunteer, as it shows a clear eagerness to work. This isn't an issue of free labour, it's an issue of easing people back into work, increasing their skills base in retail (as that is what this particular establishment is aimed at) and giving them the confidence to feel that they can have a valuable input and that they are worth something. It's also nice to see the Veteran being used again - it's a lovely old building!

Bootstrap Enterprises trading as (or affiliated to) Ingeus are providers to the Work Programme.
.
They are contracted to the Department of Work and Pensions to find work for those palced on this programme and are paid for each individual placed into employment.
.
I mention this for information. It is not clear to me that the placements highlighted in the story attract revenue under the scheme.

I worked at Rebound last year and it helped me loads. I got miles more confident and they helped me find a job! So what if its voluntary, some people need that to get them out of the house.

I worked at Rebound last year and it helped me loads. I got miles more confident and they helped me find a job! So what if its voluntary, some people need that to get them out of the house.

The same people who are complaining about this are, no doubt, the same people who complain about the benefits system and are critical of people who are on benefits but don't want to work towards changing their situation. You can't have it both ways. Don't knock people who want to volunteer to make their lives better, or the organizations and people who are trying to make a difference in people's lives by encouraging and supporting them to find a paid job. As for retail being 'common sense' and '...if they don't have the aptitudes they're not capable of learning anyway'...what a narrow minded and ignorant perspective. Many people who are out of work; (as I once was before I got my career started as a result of building my confidence AS A VOLUNTEER); lack confidence, self esteem, motivation or are just out of the habit of meeting and mixing with new people. So yes, we are capable of learning, if we are allowed an opportunity to get out there and try new things whilst being around people who understand and are willing to support us. So please, stop commenting on things you clearly haven't got enough information or experience of. Empathy and broadening your mind set are perhaps skills you need to work on? And another thing, one of my friends is working at the shop and does it entirely of his own choice, nobody is making him work there. He enjoys having a purpose and finds them really supportive. He has also started to read books, which he had never really enjoyed before! Now surely that can't be a bad thing?!

mr booklover wrote:
As a volunteer worker at Rebound book shop, I was, and still am enjoying my work experience and feel that I have got my confidence back
after eight years away from retail. I can
recommend the Bootstrap experience to anyone who is serious about looking for permanent paid work. The help and support I have received in applying for jobs and building my confidence during my time here has proved really valuable to me.

I'm very happy to hear of someone finding this scheme a rewarding experience but trust me you are in the minority.You were very lucky not to have been placed in an understaffed back street factory being made to work like a dog for free.
Me thinks you wouldn't have 'volunteered' for this because this is the reality of the way Bootstrap Enterprises work

bethechange wrote:
The same people who are complaining about this are, no doubt, the same people who complain about the benefits system and are critical of people who are on benefits but don't want to work towards changing their situation. You can't have it both ways. Don't knock people who want to volunteer to make their lives better, or the organizations and people who are trying to make a difference in people's lives by encouraging and supporting them to find a paid job. As for retail being 'common sense' and '...if they don't have the aptitudes they're not capable of learning anyway'...what a narrow minded and ignorant perspective. Many people who are out of work; (as I once was before I got my career started as a result of building my confidence AS A VOLUNTEER); lack confidence, self esteem, motivation or are just out of the habit of meeting and mixing with new people. So yes, we are capable of learning, if we are allowed an opportunity to get out there and try new things whilst being around people who understand and are willing to support us. So please, stop commenting on things you clearly haven't got enough information or experience of. Empathy and broadening your mind set are perhaps skills you need to work on? And another thing, one of my friends is working at the shop and does it entirely of his own choice, nobody is making him work there. He enjoys having a purpose and finds them really supportive. He has also started to read books, which he had never really enjoyed before! Now surely that can't be a bad thing?!

I'm not knocking people who do volunteer work in order to improve their lives and self asteem i admire them.The people i have worked with have not volunteered they have had no choice in the situation.The fact is if this scheme wasn't made available to my firm they would have had to employ people and pay them therefore reducing the number of unemployed.

whatstheworldcomingt
o wrote:

mr booklover wrote:
As a volunteer worker at Rebound book shop, I was, and still am enjoying my work experience and feel that I have got my confidence back
after eight years away from retail. I can
recommend the Bootstrap experience to anyone who is serious about looking for permanent paid work. The help and support I have received in applying for jobs and building my confidence during my time here has proved really valuable to me.

I'm very happy to hear of someone finding this scheme a rewarding experience but trust me you are in the minority.You were very lucky not to have been placed in an understaffed back street factory being made to work like a dog for free.
Me thinks you wouldn't have 'volunteered' for this because this is the reality of the way Bootstrap Enterprises work

In response to last message, I can assure you that I have not been forced to volunteer my services for nothing. I was informed by the Job Centre that my benefits
would not be affected one way or the other. As for the comment about working in a back street factory like a dog, I cannot think of any such business.

mr booklover wrote:

whatstheworldcomingt

o wrote:

mr booklover wrote:
As a volunteer worker at Rebound book shop, I was, and still am enjoying my work experience and feel that I have got my confidence back
after eight years away from retail. I can
recommend the Bootstrap experience to anyone who is serious about looking for permanent paid work. The help and support I have received in applying for jobs and building my confidence during my time here has proved really valuable to me.

I'm very happy to hear of someone finding this scheme a rewarding experience but trust me you are in the minority.You were very lucky not to have been placed in an understaffed back street factory being made to work like a dog for free.
Me thinks you wouldn't have 'volunteered' for this because this is the reality of the way Bootstrap Enterprises work

In response to last message, I can assure you that I have not been forced to volunteer my services for nothing. I was informed by the Job Centre that my benefits
would not be affected one way or the other. As for the comment about working in a back street factory like a dog, I cannot think of any such business.

As i said i'm very happy for you but you are in the minority and have obviously led a very sheltered life.

After reading all these comments on here it's clear that there are certain people who feel they should be watered and fed at everyone else's expence and that any work they are required to do is to much for them for them to handle.
It would seem like it's excuse after excuse for some people but then to have the audacity to comment on other people who have busted their balls and made something of their self by going to the library each day on the free internet, doing voluntary work for whoever, getting out there and sticking up their hand and are enjoying what they are doing as it gives them a sense of being, then get slated on here tells a story of it's own.

Back in December of 2010, I was employed by Ms. Potter, via Bootstrap Enterprises, in partnership with the Government's Future Job Funds (FJF) Scheme on a six-month contract. During my spell at Rebound, I worked with many trainees who were assigned to the shop via the New Deal programme as part of their Job Seeker's Allowance (JSA) agreement, and from my observation there were very few who were unwilling, and unhappy, to work voluntarily at the shop.

I, personally, also enjoyed my experience at Rebound, and my term there has paid dividends in my personal and working life. Prior to my time at Rebound, I had very little experience in a working environment, having spent all of four months in six years since leaving school in work, not due to a lack of trying, but to lack of experience and GCSE's (I left school early). I was a shy, unconfident and somewhat troubled person, and my self-esteem was at an all-time low. But what I lacked in experience and confidence, and it was these reasons why Ms. Potter employed me over the more experienced candidates - because I was a figure that needed the experience and guidance most.

Ms. Potter's guidance and support has been invaluable to me; I look back over my time at Rebound and realise just how far I have advanced on these issues - I am a more confident, more outgoing and certainly a more happier person. True, I may have been earning a wage, but I cannot express my gratitude to Ms. Potter and Bootstrap for granting me the opportunity where other employers and establishments wouldn't - I can honestly say I would have worked there for nothing, as I am proud of what I achieved.

Since my contract ended, I have continued to work there voluntarily to strengthen my CV further, and to iron-out any idiosyncrasies and issues I maintain. Additionally, there are facilities in place in the shop to help search and apply for work, of which Ms. Potter and her deputy encourage and guide us to do. Akin to my six month term, I am still enjoying working there albeit unpaid. Why? Because it is helping me personally, it is keeping me in a routine and motivated - such is the purpose of Bootstrap Enterprises, and Rebound Book Shop.

The fact that anybody can claim this as "modern-day slavery" is ludicrous beyond belief. We volunteers are in such establishments to build bridges for ourselves, yet you make it sound like we are slaving away to build the pyramids for the Egyptians. In a United Kingdom in a recession, with unemployment and benefit claims at a high rate, it should come as music to your ears that a minority of unemployed people are more than willing to work voluntarily to help then gain employment, adverse to being the lazy, working man's tax-endulging "dole-dossers" the media and majority pigeon-hole all the unemployed people as.

Back in December of 2010, I was employed by Ms. Potter, via Bootstrap Enterprises, in partnership with the Government's Future Job Funds (FJF) Scheme on a six-month contract. During my spell at Rebound, I worked with many trainees who were assigned to the shop via the New Deal programme as part of their Job Seeker's Allowance (JSA) agreement, and from my observation there were very few who were unwilling, and unhappy, to work voluntarily at the shop.

I, personally, also enjoyed my experience at Rebound, and my term there has paid dividends in my personal and working life. Prior to my time at Rebound, I had very little experience in a working environment, having spent all of four months in six years since leaving school in work, not due to a lack of trying, but to lack of experience and GCSE's (I left school early). I was a shy, unconfident and somewhat troubled person, and my self-esteem was at an all-time low, and it was these reasons why Ms. Potter employed me over the more experienced candidates - because I was a figure that needed the experience and guidance most.

Ms. Potter's guidance and support has been invaluable to me; I look back over my time at Rebound and realise just how far I have advanced on these issues - I am a more confident, more outgoing and certainly a more happier person. True, I may have been earning a wage, but I cannot express my gratitude to Ms. Potter and Bootstrap for granting me the opportunity where other employers and establishments wouldn't - I can honestly say I would have worked there for nothing, as I am proud of what I achieved.

Since my contract ended, I have continued to work there voluntarily to strengthen my CV further, and to iron-out any idiosyncrasies and issues I maintain. Additionally, there are facilities in place in the shop to help search and apply for work, of which Ms. Potter and her deputy encourage and guide us to do. Akin to my six month term, I am still enjoying working there albeit unpaid. Why? Because it is helping me personally, it is keeping me in a routine and motivated - such is the purpose of Bootstrap Enterprises, and Rebound Book Shop.

The fact that anybody can claim this as "modern-day slavery" is ludicrous beyond belief. We volunteers are in such establishments to build bridges for ourselves, yet you make it sound like we are slaving away to build the pyramids for the Egyptians. In a United Kingdom in a recession, with unemployment and benefit claims at a high rate, it should come as music to your ears that a minority of unemployed people are more than willing to work voluntarily to help then gain employment, adverse to being the lazy, working man's tax-endulging "dole-dossers" the media and majority pigeon-hole all the unemployed people as.

It seems that the governments re-branding of slave labour is popular amongst some, mainly those who have no idea what's really going on here.
.
The government is creating a myth that 'work experience' is in short supply and that it is paramount to gain employement in vacancy's which are essientially unskilled roles.
.
With every new charity popping up having easy access to 'bootstrap slaves', they are popping up at an alarming rate.
.
charities are a fantastic cash cow, the goods are donated, the staff are deceived slaves or in very rare circumstances volunteers, charities only pay 20% of normal business rates and the people at the top of the scam can milk plenty of cream off the top for themselves. Charities are also protected from FOI requsests.
.
I wonder if any anti-slavery charities use 'work placement slaves' .
oh the irony.

Local Degenerate wrote:
It seems that the governments re-branding of slave labour is popular amongst some, mainly those who have no idea what's really going on here.
.
The government is creating a myth that 'work experience' is in short supply and that it is paramount to gain employement in vacancy's which are essientially unskilled roles.
.
With every new charity popping up having easy access to 'bootstrap slaves', they are popping up at an alarming rate.
.
charities are a fantastic cash cow, the goods are donated, the staff are deceived slaves or in very rare circumstances volunteers, charities only pay 20% of normal business rates and the people at the top of the scam can milk plenty of cream off the top for themselves. Charities are also protected from FOI requsests.
.
I wonder if any anti-slavery charities use 'work placement slaves' .
oh the irony.

It is not a myth, it is a fact that work experience is in short supply. Do you visit the DirectGov website often? A large majority of the job vacancies on there read either "Experience is essential" or "Exprience is preferred but not essential". Having had MANY job rejections over the last eight years of my life for the reason "You lack the experience provided for this role", I know all too well that employers are not willing to take on inexperienced people anymore. Your hypothesis is unfounded rubbish; I assume one still believes we live in the sixties, where people can walk into any establishment and ask for a trial, and being granted one. I have tried this routine and it simply does not work; all I have had in reply is "Drop us your CV and we will consider you for future vacancies." Where is the experience if nobody is willing to give it? Nobody should have to go to University and gain a degree or a diploma in a field completely unrelated to be considered for a job in retail; it is not hard work and anybody, if given the chance, can pick up the routine with ease. Like aforementioned, I have only experienced great things from my placement at Rebound, so climb down of your high horse - it is unfair to be criticised for doing our greatest to gain paid employment.

NoSaintButNoSinner-
8 years of rejection, blo_dy hell, for coffee shop/unskilled work.
You could have gone to college then university and got a degree. With 8 years unemployed I would have studied to acheive a proper career.
.
8 years, christ. You should have 'experienced' making coffee in that time at least.
.
good luck getting a job, im sure a few more months 'experience' will have Starbucks thinking you might be ready to take the giant step up.

Local Degenerate wrote:
NoSaintButNoSinner-
8 years of rejection, blo_dy hell, for coffee shop/unskilled work.
You could have gone to college then university and got a degree. With 8 years unemployed I would have studied to acheive a proper career.
.
8 years, christ. You should have 'experienced' making coffee in that time at least.
.
good luck getting a job, im sure a few more months 'experience' will have Starbucks thinking you might be ready to take the giant step up.

I wish it was that simple. Back then I had a traumatic experience at school, which made me drop out without any qualifications. A lack of confidence prevented me from pursuing further education, and it was about three years after I realised I had no idea what I wanted to do, but a career in retail is where I decided to go. Yes, it has been an eternal struggle, but I am starting to get somewhere - even if, for the most part, I have been considered, or shortlisted, for interviews. Prior to employment at Rebound, I had nothing to show for my efforts in finding work.

Regardless, if Starbucks decided that I am ready for what you call a "giant step up", doesn't that prove that the experience gained at Rebound has propelled me to the next step? Isn't that is what pursuing a career is all about, i.e. starting at the bottom of the ladder and working your way up? Nobody is saying it is easy, it is difficult. But at least I am actually doing something to help me climb that ladder.

Local Degenerate wrote:
NoSaintButNoSinner-
8 years of rejection, blo_dy hell, for coffee shop/unskilled work.
You could have gone to college then university and got a degree. With 8 years unemployed I would have studied to acheive a proper career.
.
8 years, christ. You should have 'experienced' making coffee in that time at least.
.
good luck getting a job, im sure a few more months 'experience' will have Starbucks thinking you might be ready to take the giant step up.

I wish it was that simple. Back then I had a traumatic experience at school, which made me drop out without any qualifications. A lack of confidence prevented me from pursuing further education, and it was about three years after I realised I had no idea what I wanted to do, but a career in retail is where I decided to go. Yes, it has been an eternal struggle, but I am starting to get somewhere - even if, for the most part, I have been considered, or shortlisted, for interviews. Prior to employment at Rebound, I had nothing to show for my efforts in finding work.

Regardless, if Starbucks decided that I am ready for what you call a "giant step up", doesn't that prove that the experience gained at Rebound has propelled me to the next step? Isn't that is what pursuing a career is all about, i.e. starting at the bottom of the ladder and working your way up? Nobody is saying it is easy, it is difficult. But at least I am actually doing something to help me climb that ladder.

I visited this shop last week and was highly impressesed by the vast array of books on offer. The presentation of the shop is so far removed from what you'd expect from a charity shop its unreal and the helpful and enthusiastic staff are indeed a rare find in this day and age. Its about time we had a decent bookshop in Blackburn. Well-done rebound.

This whole idea of being forced to work there is ridiculous and I do not understand where some people here get the misguided idea that we are forced into it kicking and screaming...quite seriously, some of the trolls on this discussion are quite laughable and obviously do not have anything better to do than look down there noses at people who are unemployed, yet do get their **** out of bed in the morning, get on a bus and volunteer their time.

The idea that immigrants and these "forced volunteers" are taking all the jobs and keeping the country in a recession is ludicrous, for the record you need look no further than the bankers that gambled with other peoples money (illegally and with nothing less than fraud on a global scale I might add) and had to be saved by the very people they stole from in order to pay themselves huge bonuses and the governments insistence of driving taxes ever higher and driving businesses away to other countries or outright ripping companies apart and selling them to the lowest bidder. Rail, British gas, British telecom, they have all gone the same way. There are very few homegrown companies now that still that are British owned.

This is not a conspiracy plot people, we are not lizard aliens in disguise looking to take over the world while at the same time stamping your forehead with the barcode of the devil; it is a bookshop, staffed by regular INTELLIGENT people who for whatever reason have not been able to get a job. I myself am under no illusions, coming from a small town where the buses do not run after 8pm finds me between a rock and a boring place, I cannot get out of here to get a 2-10pm shift job, I find it a struggle to even find a night job that is within travel distance and 6-2pm? Forget it. Buses barely even run ona regular schedule during the day, let alone at 5am I would need them to at least in order to get anywhere.

THIS is one of the reasons for fewer jobs, the complete breakdown of anything resembling local work for anyone and the complete lack of anything resembling a properly run transport system when they do find it.

The idea that it is the work of the immigrants why you do not have enough beer tokens on the weekend is complete crap and quite frankly it makes me worry for intelligence in the gene pool when some people actually believe that, have you noticed that in times of relative peace that some leader somewhere will always find a reason to make a stranger a scapegoat in order to make people direct their anger at them instead of actually looking at the mess the ruler is making and being peeved at it?

It has happened all throughout history with the jews for obvious reasons, the muslims with the crusades, the dutch after the great fire of London and now Eastern Europeans...all leaders, both great and small will foment hostility to foreigners and quite frankly, they do not care about you one little bit, all they care about is their own power and any promises made in a campaign will be quickly forgotten until four years later you will elect another idiot who will carry on the same cycle...and so on it goes, just like the wheels on the bus, never stopping (if they are running of course)

Now, after that little detour from the whole point of this article...books.

Do you know of any other bookshops in Blackburn where the people there have actually opened one and marvelled at the funny black splotches contained within without holding the sign of the cross and hissing in terror?

Those of us currently there at the shop are there out of choice, for whatever reason we all love books or writing and have no problem holding a conversation with anyone about such authors as Charles Darwin (he nattered on somewhat about evolution) through Roald Dahl (had a dark side that always seemed to have kids either being changed into mice or being put on the rack) David Eddings (pre-eminent fantasy writer of the classic Belgariad series) Adam Smith (An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations) to Emile Zola (The Miller's Daughter)

You can go into any large bookstore in the world and find a moron behind the till and they might even be able to find you the Z section if you draw them the alphabet, but how many of them will be able to guide you to any book within seconds, like I did last week with 1001 Arabian nights where the girl in question went to WHSmiths and they didn't even know what it was??!

Yes, we are underemployed, we are however not stupid and we freely give our time, at least in that shop...or at least I do and I know of many others that do too...

Seriously, what is the harm in actually getting out of bed in the morning and going to help out a local charity in some way?

If I was an employer I would be looking for someone who has slightly more on their CV than a few GCSEs because they do actually look at that stuff, any one of hundreds of thousands of people come out of school every year with the same qualifications, if someone can show they have a little more abou them though they stand out.

But I guess for some here standing out and going against the flow is terrifying...so they sit, and whine and moan on the comments sections against those who do.

By the way, for all those moaning that there are no jobs because people who volunteer take them, heres one for you, cleaning toilets (jobcentre plus ref. BCK/43628) but I guess you are too good for that?

And for all those that posted positive comments, thank you, it took a lot of work to get it all up and running but I think it is worth it and now Blackburn has itself an awesome little second hand bookshop again :)

For the record i have been in full time employment for over 2 decades.
Fact Bootstrap are allowing employers are to abuse this scheme.
By the way if you really wanted a job you would do whatever it took even moving house but failing that you carry on sitting on your a@@e reading books and i'll carry on working to put clothes on your back and food in your belly.

For the record, you assume I am on the dole, I never said I was, I freely give my time to this bookshop ;)

The simple fact is though that for some people employers have absolutely no intention of hiring them for a myriad of reasons, quite out of their control...if you go to an interview have you noticed that they always seem to want social animals when all the job entails is being in a dark hole pushing boxes around on your own?

I could've taken a volunteer job at Argos in one of their stores in the warehouse but I flat out refused, I have been in warehouses all my life and could've learnt nothing there, I chose the bookshop because for a start I do love books, and I do know what I am talking about when I discuss them...the only reason I am underemployed at the moment is due to circumstances out of my control...

Do you honestly think I want to be sat on my a$$ leeching off people who think they are better than me for hours every week rather than collecting a wage and having the money to be able to do the stuff I love such as travel?

I want a job, but bosses are simply not hiring people due to various reasons I touched upon in a previous post so I fill my days keeping busy actually doing something rather than being in the pub or mugging little old grannies in the street.

For someone who claims to be in full time employment I would think you would applaud that, rather than having the attitude of a bigot that I am nothing more than a leech.

God help you if the situation ever changes and you find yourself without a job......

There are many thousands of people out there in the world that do nothing more than hang around the streets, drinking tennants super strength and harassing passers by for a "quid" that your commenting time would be far better directed at, and yet you insist on attacking a bookshop and organisation that actively gets people actually doing something constructive with their time, why is that?

What is your real problem with people who have trouble finding a job, or at least finding some boss who has got the sense to see past whatever has happened before?

Do you have the power to hire people, because I know of quite a few people who would love a job, and get a wage to contribute...but no, I doubt some here have that power, I am betting they are simply low level dog-bodies who are slowly realising how tenuous their career paths are.

Did you know for instance that nearly 35% of jobs in England now are part time?

Do you have any idea that to actually travel to those jobs that make up a full time job would likely take more time than actually working?

The world of having a job as soon as you leave school or getting fired is gone, you have nothing but endless rounds of bureaucracy and weeks of waiting to endure...maybe you should get fired from your job of "two decades" to find out what it is really like out there then maybe you will get off your high horse and taste reality.

whatstheworldcomingt
o wrote:
For the record i have been in full time employment for over 2 decades. Fact Bootstrap are allowing employers are to abuse this scheme. By the way if you really wanted a job you would do whatever it took even moving house but failing that you carry on sitting on your a@@e reading books and i'll carry on working to put clothes on your back and food in your belly.

It's very noble of you to carry on working your dead end job that's taken you twenty years to achieve feeding and clothing the nations jobless. Its good to see the small amount of tax you pay from your minimum wage job being streched so far. I do feel sorry for you however maybe if your hard earned money wasn't going to the nation's jobless you could scrape enough of it together to move out of garden village darwen. You've got to question where you've gone wrong in your career if after twenty years your stuck in a cesspool like garden village. Gutted.