Shaw Trust Reviews 

Barnet:
Absolutely horrendous organisation masquerading as a charity. I was promised financial and mental health support of which I received nothing. They did a terrible job on my cv and wouldn’t let me change it, had a bullish attitude and a complete lack of understanding of my skills thereby proposing completely unsuitable work.
The harassment continued after I became self employed demanding proof of earnings despite the job centre telling me they had nothing to do with it. These people are obviously only working to quotas and this became clear to me early on.
Staff turnover is extremely high and when asked for help all they do is google information (often out of date as when I was made homeless)
These people have caused considerable distress and should be defunded.

Was told I could receive financial help to secure a job as I needed certain equipment. I agreed to pay for it up front and get reimbursed only for them to say that now I'm in a job I am not entitled to get reimbursed.

The sessions on Microsoft Teams are a waste of time. Half of the session is talking about the Privacy Statement explaining not to take photos or video recordings during the call. Then when someone arrives late, they refer back to the Privacy Statement slide. Their online Portal and My Career Hub is always having problems where you cannot login. They constantly send text reminders and emails, the texts look legit whereas the emails look automated. I suggest the Privacy Statement slide should be removed from the Micosoft Teams sessions. We already agreed to the Privacy Statement when we joined Shaw Trust, so why continue reminding us about it during the sessions?

Basically force you in to things you into things you don't want to do or you don't need help with 1 phone call every 2 weeks forced to go on to video links on Microsoft teams even when you have so many commitments already its a lot to keep on top off I also volunteer 3 days a week so I'm busy them 3 days they don't care as they will just tell the job centre I don't think it helps people into work personally

Absolutely rubbish, can not believe this is government funded. What a waste of time and money not only that they lie about insentives to gather your personal information (data)

Was filled with high hopes for this programme, but it disappointed. The one size fits all mentality just does not work for everyone. I have been on two events online and did not find them beneficial to me. The bite size learning courses I just cannot get on board with and are very brief. For me I need practical assistance rather than navigation from a portal. The advisors are polite and friendly though.

Shawtrust are causing constant harrassment with phone calls and texts even though I told them I no longer want their service anymore. I feel like The work and health programme is of no benefit to me as I like to look for suitable work as and when I feel I am able to without pressure, and i was basically manipulated to take part in it even though i knew it would be of no use anyway. I am feeling very distressed and it is affecting my mental health as they won't leave me alone and I feel I am being targeted more than helped.
This company and its staff don't care about helping people, it seems they only care about money and the funding they receive.

This organization doesn't help you find work as they claim. I am appalled by the treatment I received during my 6 months with this company. Be aware, they aren't above getting your review deleted if it doesn't suit their narrative.

Edit: The reason my review is marked as verified is because Shaw attempted to have my review taken down, and I had to send Trustpilot a previous email exchange with Shaw as proof of my time with this organization. Only then did I receive the bog standard response on Trustpilot from Shaw about emailing their customer care team.

they were not able to find me any work.
For most of the program was in Covid though for me
but it's now ended today.
The man was very friendly and was happy with him.

Basically job centre bully boys who pressure you into getting any job regardless if it's the right one for you or in a location you can't get to. They then threaten to tell the job centre that you've refused work when you haven't. Awful company.

Awful experience with this company. Can’t believe they get money from the government to waste on this. They refuse to reply to my emails and continue to bombard me with emails and text messages even though I’m now working. Stay clear of them.

A horrendous company that forces you into signing a 6 month commitments and most people are very vulnerable and sign up. This place is absolutely horrendous it does nothing to find you a job other than constant harrasment on there weekly or 2 weekly meetings. A very strange women has been forcing me to do meeting even though I'm on a training course 9 till 3 pm everyday which I've been put on by the Jobcentre. This place is being paid for by the tax payer it's a an absolute disgrace and I'm assuming it's useful to the tories because if you get fully sanctioned made homeless you're classed as Been employed. The Jobcentre and these companies are milking the tax payer and are physically and mentally abusing vulnerable people on benefits most of whom can't actually work due to physical and mental illnesses. It's not much that can be done so everyone affected log everything complain to your MP and join organisations to expose these companies to the public. Don't just write a review here. Unite expose and eventually charge these people with crimes against humanity.

I really enjoyed working as an employment advisor, this role is the best if you are a people's person because you get to use your EQ more than in other roles that are out there on the market. Most of the participants were nice and so were my colleagues.
I enjoyed my role but this is a toxic organisation, lack of career progression, its all about nepotism and friends of friends, if you are doing well on your role, they will email you pdf's with well done and ballons and nothing else, but they will reject you if you are trying to get a different role within the organisation and promote people that are not actually doing their job. It is all about keeping you where you are if you are good at your job and kill your confidence. I had an interview within the organisation and they have rejected me on my birthday the the area manager booked me in twice to provide feedback (that I never actually asked for) and both times she failed to attend the meeting. I messaged her on teams but she never responded (yeppp ghosting me). Whoever I worked for before on my bday the minimum they did was wishing me happy bday, so I was entirely disgusted all the time I got their emails with well done, when they actually never let me progress further on my career.
It was not like I can't take a rejection, but the way they handle situations is confidence killer and rude.
All the ideas management comes with doesn't last long,cause all of them are really bad and never work out.
They treat participants and employees as numbers, they don't care about people, they are just greedy, they need numbers, claims because everyone founds them and as a charity never get to declare anything.
At the end of my employment I booked a day holiday so they can come collect their laptop, they confirmed collection day but they forgot to book that and I was waiting all day at home for the laptop to be picked up but no one showed up, yes this is full day holiday wasted for nothing. I asked them to arrange collection on a Saturday, but they said it's not possible, so I become liable to post their laptop.

I'm writing my review as a participant of Shaw Trust, I was referred to them by my work coach from the Jobcentre. I initially agreed to join their programme because I had never heard about them before, so I figured I'd give them a try and I have only been with them just under two months at the time of writing this review.

In the first month; I had been attending introductory sessions and once all of those were out of the way, the job searching became more of the focus for their next sessions. I was also assigned an employability advisor in the beginning and was given weekly review meetings to attend with them, but I felt I never really connected with them on a personal level.

Throughout my time with Shaw Trust however, there was air of uneasiness about the programme that I couldn't quite pinpoint so I tried to ignore it. I have remained polite and respectful as I do with any new organisations I go into, and this point will become important later on.

About two weeks ago from today, I had received a call from one of their job hunters who had a job offer after speaking to my employability advisor. The job hunter told me what the job was about and I agreed to be put forward towards it, then a recruitment agent who managed the job got in touch with me and gave me a little bit more information in regards to it. Now, here is where the drama started with the organisation.

The employability advisor had told me the hours for the job were 8-6, I queried them about it because I felt those were a bit too long for me. They said the hours would end up being 8-4 so I agreed to be put forward, then both the job hunter and the recruitment agent again recited the times as being 8-6. I told the recruitment agent that I would think about it and then later on in the day, I declined the job offer as it didn't seem flexible to me.

The job hunter then contacted me and -demanded- to know why I declined the job offer, I told them my reason for doing so and they became aggressive during my call with them. I felt very vulnerable but remained neutral and they said they would get in touch with my work coach to explain what had just happened, claiming that I will be sanctioned because of my decision. I then took some time to recollect myself after the phone call and reached out to the recruitment company to apologise for any upset I had caused due to my refusal of the job, the co-founder reached out to me and I explained my side of the situation to them and further apologised for the whole ordeal.

I thought this would be the end of it so when it came time for my weekly review meeting with the employability advisor, I again had told them my side of the story and apparently the recruitment agent who contacted me had claimed that my attitude was bad. I was in no way disrespectful to them in my e-mail to them, I was simply explaining why I was declining the job offer and that was that.

After the review meeting, the employability advisor moved me on to an 'advisor' on the intervention team who seemed wholly unsympathetic to my side of things. They seemed to have the same tone of aggression as the job hunter, where if I don't change my mindset and bend to their will that they will get me sanctioned. This has made my decision in wanting to leave the programme, but apparently it is not possible to do so.

So, this has been my experience with Shaw Trust so far. I realise this is a bit of a long-winded review, but I wanted to present the full extent of my experience to anyone looking at the reviews.

For a charity claiming to support unemployed people with 'complex needs' into work, I have a few questions;
- Why does the organisation need to have something like an 'intervention team' if a participant and an employability advisor don't get along?
- Why should job hunters or even advisors on the intervention team threaten unemployed people to take any job and if they refuse they will get sanctioned? That is not support, that is coercion.
- Why is it difficult for a participant to leave the programme if they don't feel it is working for them?

I wish for any potential or current participant to be careful with them, it is definitely like walking on eggshells around them and that is not a good feeling to have.

Thank you for taking the time to read my review.

Got a call from the Shaw trust.asking for my bank details as new to jets program and to move forward with my great opportunity of finding work.im not a thicko and realized this is a scam.as sounded Indian with UK mobile number like Shaw trust advisors.so cannot believe you any more so unless you can guarantee you are genuine you are toast adieu

I worked for shaw trust for 2 years. Since I've been there I've seen my general manager have reports made against them, three times to be exact. The last time they were put on suspension after numerous staff and customers! complained about his actions/attitude towards staff and students. I since have left to start a new career and in this time have been told that not only are they back carrying on as normal, but they have also been promoted. As a bystander I understand that shaw trust is supposed to protect vulnerable individuals. I find this news to be extremely disturbing and in fact quite disappointing. Especially to dismiss (from what I know) 7 staff complaints and allow this person to be promoted!!. Clearly shaw trust does not care about welfare of staff or their vulnerable consumers.

Shaw Trust deliberately disregard the rights of unemployed people.
The Shaw Trust – in my experience, with their so-called Brent branch – try to bully and harass people who are unemployed into their services. The Shaw Trust treat the rights of unemployed with contempt, particularly when people choose to refuse their ‘services’ and their onslaught of self-serving meetings, and choose or decide to find work by themselves, in your chosen way, confident in using their own skills and abilities.
The Shaw Trust employees ask numerous personal questions over the phone to fill their databanks (including demanding your bank details) most of which have nothing to do with supporting people into employment; information that is mostly private and inappropriate to ask. They will never tell you what they do with the mountain of information they demand to know either. If you dare point out that you are capable of finding work without their services, they will involve the Job Centre to give their behaviour legitimacy and to act as a threat – presumably to sanction your benefits for not ‘co-operating’ with them.
The Shaw Trust’s real reason and desperation to coerce ‘the unemployed’ into any job they find or deem to be suitable, is to claim huge sums of money from the government/social fund for themselves.

I remember our first meeting back in November 2021 when I was such an emotional wreck with zero confidence, however gradually as the weeks went by with your an imaginable support I was able to dig myself from the dark hole I was in.

You (Kate) has been such a great support to myself and you most definitely help me to regain my confidence and make me believe I could do this and yes look at me now.

I couldn't ask for a better person to help me with my ordeal, you have made me believe there's light at the end of tunnel and truly so there is.

Kate you are truly a remarkable lady with a good heart, positive attitude and great ability of thought and understanding about one's feelings.

If I have to rate you, I will give you 10 out of 10 without any form of hesitation.

What can I say about you Kate, keep doing what you doing and certainly you will recognised by the organisation. You will always have my vote and you will always have a special place in my heart.

I went in to the programme thinking that it was just going to be more of the same false promises. I was pleasantly surprised and found everyone to be helpful and knowledgable. The help I was given was world class and I am very grateful.

I have been with Shaw Trust for a little while before doing my job now and they was absolutely amazing, they helped me out where I needed help and managed to get me into employment and have helped me with all the processes that was needed for the job role also and after I started well deserved 5 stars
From S.W