istop user testimonials
Kirsty is 20 years old and has been working as a hairdresser in her nearby village of Trimdon. The newsagents there has an istop kiosk so Kirsty has been visiting regularly during her lunch break, as she was keen to change her career.
After about three weeks, Kirsty printed off a vacancy she liked the look of. She then attended an interview and was offered the position immediately. She started work on 14th of October as a Care Assistant at Willows Dene Care Home.
Lee is 34. Having been working in a bedding outlet, Lee decided he wanted to change his job. As his local job centre was closed when he finished work, he visited his local store and noticed that the istop kiosk had JobCentre Plus access.
He started to call in every night after work to print off jobs. He is now working as a delivery driver for a transport company in Gateshead.
49 year old Karen used to work as a care assistant in a local care home. One day she dropped into her local cafe for a cup of tea and she noticed the istop kiosk. Out of curiosity she explored the local job information and was very impressed by all the opportunities she could see in her line of work.
She decided to go back the next day to explore further. She then saw a vacancy for a Senior Care Assistant – just the sort of promotion she wanted. Karen starts her new job in the village of Tow Law in two weeks’ time.
Jalal is a 20 year old University student living away from home. He returned home from University in mid June 2008 and started to visit his local Post Office where he regularly used the istop kiosk to look for employment. Within one week of being home he had printed off the job details for an agency called Prime Time Recruitment.
He accepted their job offer and started work in the first week of July. Jalal has now returned to University, but the job he found has allowed him to pay off his student debts. In addition the company have kept him on their books and have guaranteed him work during future University holidays. He now knows he can come home, earn money and pay off his next set of student debts.
He says, “The istop kiosk is invaluable as I live only two minutes’ walk from the Post Office where the kiosk is located. The nearest Job Centre is in Spennymoor, which is at least half an hour’s bus ride away and it’s costly on fares which I no longer have to pay.
Using the kiosk drastically reduced the time it took me to find a job as I could visit it every day and it gained me employment, which quickly allowed me to pay off my student loans”.
Ibrahim was so impressed by his son’s experience (Jalal) with the istop kiosk he decided to visit the Post Office for himself. As a 61 year old retired teacher his pension is not paying him as much as he anticipated and his wife is about to be made redundant from her job which makes their financial situation uncomfortable.
He wanted a part time job, preferably locally, so he would not have to incur any travel expenses. He explains, “The journey to the Jobcentre was making me reluctant to look for employment”. However, after his son’s success, Mr Thompson visited the Post Office and used the istop kiosk three to four times a week during September.
As a result of locating a job on the kiosk he now has a part time job with Premier waste Management half a mile from his house which he started on the first week of October.
"The istop kiosk has been a lifeline for my family. I just popped into the Post Office and found a job … it is the best community project that I have seen in a long time."
Wendy is 44 years old and had been looking for work since May 2008. She does not drive, so any job she could consider would be dependent on local bus services.
She was visiting her local Jobcentre twice a week at a cost of £4 per visit. Wendy had seen the istop kiosk in the Post Office. “Upon using the Jobpoint site I realised that it was the same as the Jobcentre kiosk … but the Post Office was only five minutes walk away for me”. She visited the kiosk everyday until she found a vacancy that matched her needs. She attended the job interview and was offered the position, all within two weeks of first using the istop kiosk.
Wendy has now been employed since the start of September 2008 as a care assistant with Safe Hands in Northumberland.
Jadwiga had been looking for a job for three months. She had visited her local Jobcentre regularly but, due to the travel time and costly bus fare, she could not go as often as she would have like. In addition she says, “I found the experience a bit unpleasant”.
Having visited her local Spar, the staff showed her the istop kiosk with its Jobpoint pages linked to the Jobcentre.
“I was amazed at how easy it was to use and print off the information. I visited the shop almost every day to check for jobs”.
As a result of printing off a number of job vacancies on the istop, she has now been employed at Horndale Post office since 26th July 2008.
Jadwiga says, "The istop kiosk is amazing … going into the Jobcentre felt degrading … it was much more pleasant to call into my local shop to find a job."
Linda had been using the istop kiosk for four weeks until she found a job advertised via Jobpoint on the 23rd August. She is now delighted to be employed at Dorothy Perkins in Gateshead
“The local Jobcentre closed some time ago and the nearest is 10 miles away. I could only visit once a week due to costly bus fares and time issues. The istop kiosk is only two minutes walk away and I could visit it every day.”
Donna had been looking for work since January 2008. She needed to find a job to fit round her children and family responsibilities.
“There is no local Jobcentre here, even the nearest was too far away so I had been looking in my local papers and by word of mouth.”
Donna took a part time job in a local pub. While still looking for something more suitable, an istop kiosk was installed in her local Londis store. “I used it three to four times a week and after two weeks a vacancy appeared that was suitable. I applied and started my new job on 22nd September. I think the istop kiosk is great.”
28 year-old Gary lost his job with Cramlington Roofing three months ago and had been claiming unemployment benefit during that period.
He visited the local Jobcentre only once and when he returned he visited his local Post Office and ended up discussing his experience with the staff there. They demonstrated the istop kiosk located in their store. “I found it very useful as the jobs advertised were all very local.”
Gary used the istop kiosk three to four times each week applying for several jobs advertised via the Jobpoint pages on the kiosk. He soon found employment with Border Laird, which is about nine miles away from where he lives.
Gary says, “ I think the kiosk is a great idea, its very easy to use and better than going to the Jobcentre”.
Michael is 26 and recently lost his job in the building trade. He had been out of work for three weeks during which time he visited the istop kiosk in the local store on a daily basis searching for work.
He received his first payment of his job seekers allowance and then one week later found a job via the kiosk. Michael has been employed since the 7th October, as a general labourer with GMI in Newton Aycliff.
Having been working outside the local area in Nottingham, 21 year-old Lee found himself without further work so he returned to his hometown.
His family told him about the istop kiosk’s Jobcentre facility now in the local shop. He started to visit the kiosk on a daily basis and this led to Lee finding full-time employment for the local company in Co Durham.
Having started work on 7th October 2008, Lee says, "The kiosk has made finding a job so much easier. It’s like having a Jobcentre just across the road"
Maxine had been looking for employment for the last six months. She relied on public transport to access her local Jobcentre. “This was very costly for me in time and travel expenses,” she says.
Coincidentally Maxine's mother had started work in Pegswood Post Office where an istop kiosk was now installed. Maxine's mother was able to access Jobcentre information on the kiosk, print off job details and forward them to her daughter. As a result, in August Maxine found a new job at a local hotel.
Maxine's mother says, “The istop kiosk has been invaluable in helping my daughter back into full time employment. The kiosk’s very easy to use and the print facility makes life simple and practical for people who are not able to use computers.”
Craig is 21 years old and lost his job with Hydro Aluminium in June 2008. He had been unemployed for four months and claiming job seekers allowance. Craig visited his local Mills store after a family member told him about the istop kiosk there. He printed off some 20 job applications from the Jobcentre Plus - jobpoint - displayed on the kiosk.
After spending the next few days telephoning and sending out his CV, he attended an interview at a local security firm. Craig was offered the job and started work on 14th October.
Full time Mum, Leiza, had been on benefits since 1999 when her daughter was born. She recently finished a college course in teaching and computer studies and was keen to get back to work.
Armed with a Level 3 Teaching Assistant and Computer Studies qualification, she had been using the istop for three to four weeks to find a job. Not being a driver made it difficult for her to apply for jobs that were simply too far from home.
Leiza compromised and found a job on the istop kiosk, applied for the position with McKays Clothing and started work on August 12th 2008. The job is not exactly what she wants to do, but her wages are funding her driving lessons so that once she can drive she hopes to find the teaching assistant’s post she longs for. Leiza still visits the istop kiosk three to four times per week to look for work in her chosen field.
She says, “Going to my local Jobcentre was a draining experience and having the kiosk in the shop has given me extra enthusiasm and help to get back into employment. The istop kiosk is very easy to use and gives out very specific information without any fuss.”
