Using Jobcentre Plus

One successful applicant from Cardiff said: "When I found Jobcentre Plus on TV it was a huge relief. It was so easy to navigate the site I started searching immediately and got a job in a couple of days. I don't have a computer so this is perfect for me."

Pete, 38, from Ilkeston in Derbyshire has regained faith that he will find a job now that he has started using Jobcentre Plus on Looking Local.  Having spent the last couple of years with nowhere to turn, due to health problems which made searching for a suitable job impossible, he has now won five job interviews and been shortlisted for one. He is sure it is only a matter of time before he gets accepted for a job that will transform his life. Pete can't get to the job centre because of trouble walking and lack of cash for the bus fare.

However, he has now discovered Jobcentre Plus while experimenting at home with Virgin Interactive and realised he would find it very easy to search for jobs using it. For the first time, Pete was able to apply for as many positions as were suitable, as soon as they were advertised. Pete has found the electronic application process on Jobcentre Plus very straightforward and has applied for more than a dozen jobs already.

"I was so lucky to come across Jobcentre Plus when surfing Virgin interactive. I can't get to the job centre myself, and I certainly can't afford broadband subscriptions to get onto internet job sites, so this is perfect for me." 

Karen, 44, from Cardiff, found Jobcentre Plus on Sky Interactive by chance while watching one of her favourite programmes, and is delighted with the job and extra income she has found as a result.

Karen needed a part time job that fitted in with looking after her mother, whom she visits every day. Buses are infrequent where she lives and an expense she can ill afford, so she rarely visited the job centre and subsequently often missed any suitably flexible opportunities that came up.

It was a huge relief therefore when she discovered Jobcentre Plus and realised how easy it was to navigate the site. Encouraged, she started searching immediately and secured a job which fitted in with her commitments within a couple of days. She is now working as a commercial cleaner three hours a day, has the extra income she wants and can still help her mother when she needs to.

"Jobcentre Plus is cheap and simple to use and helped me find a job very quickly. I've never used computers so wasn't really aware of internet based job sites and wouldn't feel comfortable using them anyway. I never had the need to use the internet before and now I definitely don't thanks to Looking Local." said Karen.

"Looking Local saves me the time and bus fare to go to the Job Centre which is some distance away. I prefer it to the JCP jobs phone line as you have to pay local call rate and I can't afford it. Using Looking Local to job search very useful, handy and convenient."

Simon Lee lives in the Welsh valleys, 22 miles from Cardiff.

"I would just like to thank you for making this service available through the TV. I'm out of work at the moment and no money to travel around to interviews, so this really helps me. Thank you."

Gary Marshall, Lea Valley.