(no subject)
Of all the unmitigated, unbelievable, ignorant, prissy, stuck-up, self-righteous bitches...
For the last year, ever since I was let go from my job, I've been working towards getting funding from HRSDC (Human Resources & Social Development Canada, aka Employment Insurance) to go back to school for a career change. It's been a long, exhausting process. I've got doctor's notes stating that I need to change careers for my health, I've done huge amounts of labour market research, I've done interviews with employers and employees, I've gotten admission into one of the most exclusive Costume Design programmes in Canada.
My case manager has been very enthusiastic about my chances of getting funding from the start. The counsellors at the government-funded 'Career Options Exploration' programme I was required to attend were positive about the idea. The head of the programme at Capilano College assured me they'd had several other people receive full funding from HRSDC in the past.
Finally everything was ready and I put my application in - and it was rejected in 24 hours. Why? Because 'There's no job market in this industry.'
Apparently 'job market' is defined ONLY as 'full-time, year-round high pay employment'. The bitch at HRSDC who reviewed my file informed my case manager that because the industry is pretty much exclusively contract work and often seasonal, it doesn't count. Never mind that Vancouver is the third busiest location in the world for the film industry, after Los Angeles and New York. Never mind that the theatre industry here is huge and growing rapidly. Never mind that the pay can be as good as $50 an hour for those contracts. Never mind that I found ten different job postings in an hour's search on the internet specifically for costume design. They're 'not relevant', because they're 'only on contract'.
When my case manager asked if we could send her additional information to show that there IS a job market, the answer was a flat out 'no'. When my case manager asked if I could contact the woman directly to plead my case, she was told 'she can call if she likes, but I'll tell her exactly the same thing'.
Then she had the unmitigated gall to add 'We're not rejecting her, just the job. If she wants to submit an application for something reasonable and decent, we'll be happy to fund her.'
Decent?
Decent?
Clearly this is a woman who has made up her mind that anything to do with the arts is going to result in just another starving artist living on welfare. There aren't many creative jobs that aren't contract or self-employment work.
I'd like to know just what she would consider 'reasonable and decent'. Since my doctor's note made it clear that I can't handle working in an office environment and all my tests and personality profiles and everything indicate that I need to be doing something creative.
And where the hell does she expect me to pull an acceptance to another programme from at this late date? Sure, I could probably get a late admission to a college for some basic programme like office admin, but that's exactly what I just CAME from doing.
So since my file was reviewed by someone who is clearly an Autumn Person (someone who drains the magic out of the world around them simply by their staunch refusal to believe in anything that's not mundane), I'm now left scrambling to come up with $8500 tuition by August 22nd, which is when my tuition for first year is due. Not to mention living expenses for the year. And I've spent all this time NOT working, because getting even a temporary job at McDonald's would have meant HRSDC would turn down my funding because I'm already employed. I also won't be able to hold down a part-time job while I'm studying, because the hours of the programme are erratic and extreme. There will be weeks when I'm at school working from 8am to 10pm, Monday-Saturday.
I'm applying for student loans, of course, and I'll try to convince my bank to give me an extension on my existing line of credit. I don't hold out much hope for the latter, since I haven't been working for a year and already have a fair bit of debt from my disasterous attempt at university seven years ago.
I'm so frustrated and upset right now, I can't even begin to express it. I could get another office admin job easily enough and go back to making $2500 a month - but it would kill me. Literally. Everyone I know has remarked on the extreme change in my personality since I left my last job. I'd forgotten just HOW badly it drained me to try to fit myself into the 'normal' mould. I'd been forcing myself to carry on at a job that made me utterly miserable for so long, I'd forgotten what it was like to actually be happy with my life. That's why my doctor has been so enthusiastic about writing any sort of note I need to show that I have medical reasons for needing to change jobs.
I can't go back. I only hope I can find a way to go forward. If anybody has any suggestions for making thousands of dollars in twenty days, I'd love to hear them.
For the last year, ever since I was let go from my job, I've been working towards getting funding from HRSDC (Human Resources & Social Development Canada, aka Employment Insurance) to go back to school for a career change. It's been a long, exhausting process. I've got doctor's notes stating that I need to change careers for my health, I've done huge amounts of labour market research, I've done interviews with employers and employees, I've gotten admission into one of the most exclusive Costume Design programmes in Canada.
My case manager has been very enthusiastic about my chances of getting funding from the start. The counsellors at the government-funded 'Career Options Exploration' programme I was required to attend were positive about the idea. The head of the programme at Capilano College assured me they'd had several other people receive full funding from HRSDC in the past.
Finally everything was ready and I put my application in - and it was rejected in 24 hours. Why? Because 'There's no job market in this industry.'
Apparently 'job market' is defined ONLY as 'full-time, year-round high pay employment'. The bitch at HRSDC who reviewed my file informed my case manager that because the industry is pretty much exclusively contract work and often seasonal, it doesn't count. Never mind that Vancouver is the third busiest location in the world for the film industry, after Los Angeles and New York. Never mind that the theatre industry here is huge and growing rapidly. Never mind that the pay can be as good as $50 an hour for those contracts. Never mind that I found ten different job postings in an hour's search on the internet specifically for costume design. They're 'not relevant', because they're 'only on contract'.
When my case manager asked if we could send her additional information to show that there IS a job market, the answer was a flat out 'no'. When my case manager asked if I could contact the woman directly to plead my case, she was told 'she can call if she likes, but I'll tell her exactly the same thing'.
Then she had the unmitigated gall to add 'We're not rejecting her, just the job. If she wants to submit an application for something reasonable and decent, we'll be happy to fund her.'
Decent?
Decent?
Clearly this is a woman who has made up her mind that anything to do with the arts is going to result in just another starving artist living on welfare. There aren't many creative jobs that aren't contract or self-employment work.
I'd like to know just what she would consider 'reasonable and decent'. Since my doctor's note made it clear that I can't handle working in an office environment and all my tests and personality profiles and everything indicate that I need to be doing something creative.
And where the hell does she expect me to pull an acceptance to another programme from at this late date? Sure, I could probably get a late admission to a college for some basic programme like office admin, but that's exactly what I just CAME from doing.
So since my file was reviewed by someone who is clearly an Autumn Person (someone who drains the magic out of the world around them simply by their staunch refusal to believe in anything that's not mundane), I'm now left scrambling to come up with $8500 tuition by August 22nd, which is when my tuition for first year is due. Not to mention living expenses for the year. And I've spent all this time NOT working, because getting even a temporary job at McDonald's would have meant HRSDC would turn down my funding because I'm already employed. I also won't be able to hold down a part-time job while I'm studying, because the hours of the programme are erratic and extreme. There will be weeks when I'm at school working from 8am to 10pm, Monday-Saturday.
I'm applying for student loans, of course, and I'll try to convince my bank to give me an extension on my existing line of credit. I don't hold out much hope for the latter, since I haven't been working for a year and already have a fair bit of debt from my disasterous attempt at university seven years ago.
I'm so frustrated and upset right now, I can't even begin to express it. I could get another office admin job easily enough and go back to making $2500 a month - but it would kill me. Literally. Everyone I know has remarked on the extreme change in my personality since I left my last job. I'd forgotten just HOW badly it drained me to try to fit myself into the 'normal' mould. I'd been forcing myself to carry on at a job that made me utterly miserable for so long, I'd forgotten what it was like to actually be happy with my life. That's why my doctor has been so enthusiastic about writing any sort of note I need to show that I have medical reasons for needing to change jobs.
I can't go back. I only hope I can find a way to go forward. If anybody has any suggestions for making thousands of dollars in twenty days, I'd love to hear them.