Arras People is working with the JobCentre Plus

Arras People launches its JobSearch Support Services for Newly Unemployed Professionals (Programme and Project Management) after winning the tender on the 2nd April. The services were launched on Monday 6th April and will run for two years.

Find out more about this service and how you can access it for free through your local JobCentre Plus branch.

What is the JobSearch Support Services for Newly Unemployed Professionals?

As part of the Government's response to the economic downturn DWP has introduced a range of additional services for all customers. This includes additional help for people at risk of losing their jobs, extra support for newly unemployed customers and a wider range of support options after 6 months of unemployment.

An element of that response, the Jobsearch Support Service for Newly Unemployed Professionals, is targeted principally at professional or executive jobseekers in receipt of Job Seekers Allowance (JSA) who have become unemployed after a period of long term employment. Eligible customers will have little or no experience of current job search channels but will have the confidence and motivation to seek work independently.

The provision delivery model is a one-day package of focused, intensive job search support for customers.

If you are currently an unemployed programme/ project management professional and are in receipt of Job Seekers Allowance, speak to your dedicated Advisor at your local branch of JobCentre Plus. Your advisor can refer you onto the services at Arras People.

You can also use the following reference: BOY / 29867 / Arras People to help speed up your access to the service.

I'm not currently unemployed but I've just received a notice from work that I'm at risk, can I be proactive and speak to someone now?

The service would also be available to people engaged through the Job Centre Plus Rapid Response Service (RRS) who are under notice of redundancy or haven't yet claimed Job Seeker Allowance. Contact the JobCentre Plus for more information.

What kind of services can I gain access to?

The services provided will be very similar to our existing Project Management Careers Clinics, participants will have a dedicated one-to-one with an Arras People consultant and receive personalised guidance and advice on areas such as personal stocktaking, CV advice, project management market intelligence, new opportunities and job leads, advice on analysing vacancies, employer selection techniques, job applications and techniques & interviews.

Can I use this service if I'm not receiving Job Seekers Allowance or not currently unemployed?

Arras People provide a project management careers clinic service for anyone loooking for guidance and help in their career. This is a paid for service (currently £30) for one session. See the Project Management Careers Clinic service for more details.

What should I do if my local JobCentre Plus has not heard about the JobSearch Support Service?

As mentioned above, the JobSearch Support Service for Newly Unemployed Professionals has only been introduced this year, and some advisors may not have been aware of its existence. There is an easy way around this - inform them directly that you want our service.

You can do this by simply handing them a piece of paper with the following details:

SERVICE: JobSearch Support Service for Newly Unemployed Professionals
COMPANY: Arras People
REFERENCE NO: BOY / 29867 / Arras People

With this information, your JCP Advisor should have all the information they need to refer you to Arras People.

What do our customers say about our performance?

One satisfied JobSearch Support Service customer was Lawrence Shipp, who was assisted by consultant Nicola Thorp:

"I have had experience dealing with Arras in the past, as they have considered me for a couple of jobs in the last 6 months or so.

I went to my local Job Centre in November and asked them about help regarding job searching and CV writing, etc. I subsequently filled out the paperwork and was contacted by Nicola a week later.

I have had several dealings with Nicola. In those situations, her attitude and help has been nothing short of outstanding in each case. She went through my CV with me, line by line, and noted what to change, and how to improve language to make it sound more pro-active. We whittled it down to a very succinct and easy-to-read 3 pages, something I could not have done without her (and others there) help. I know it is much better, because I have asked subsequent recruiters for input on it, and they were impressed with it.

She also tutored me in how to look for hidden jobs, gave me interview tips and what-not to do when it comes to looking for jobs.

She has been a very big help, and deserves to be recognised for that. As someone who has dealt with IT recruiting in this country for 15 years now, I can assure its reputation is less than stellar overall, as you probably are aware.

Nicola's forthrightness, attitude and demeanor are a breath of fresh air in the industry, and it does nothing less than give Arras a reputation for hiring quality people, in my humble opinion. Please feel free to ask me anything else about my experience with your company, or otherwise.

I made sure I notified the JSA of the job you did, and recommended you for continuing services through them.

Thank you for listening, and for Nicola's time."