Originally Posted by mojopinuk

I have spent two years of my life actively seeking employment. It hasn't exactly been a barrel of laughs, as I'm sure you can imagine. It's been pretty demoralising, and I've spent a large periods of time feeling rather depressed and frustrated at the whole thing.

A few weeks ago an opportunity arose to go to a training college for a year and take a course in IT, with assistance provided in helping me find employment as a result. Infact the assistance would be there from day one, trying to help me find exactly the area of IT I want to go into, looking for actual vacancies in the field and even the college stepping in on my behalf to try and arrange employment in these places for me. I went in for my interview a few weeks ago, which went well. They then requested my paperwork from the job centre and I'm currently in the position of simply waiting for this to be processed and hopefully then being offered a place on the course.

However it is OF COURSE sods law, that just about an hour ago I recieved a phone call and was offered a job that I interviewed for a week or two before my interview at the college. It isn't a done deal yet but the way it was presented to me is that it's mine if I want it and I just need to complete and return the forms they have just e-mailed to me.

I'm going to do this, as the start date for this job would be next month and so I have nothing to lose at this point. However the requirements for the college course state that I must be unemployed and claiming the job-seekers benefits that I am claiming now, as the course is entirely funded and so they don't offer many places per year but the ones they do offer are for the unemployed, looking to get back into work. As soon as I accept this job and sign off of these benefits, then the opportunity to go to the college is gone.

I'm happy to have been offered a job, but I should have known that it would happen this way!