Last night Paul and I found ourselves watching something called Fairy Jobmother on Channel 4, not our proudest moment, but hear me out. The premise of the show is that recruitment specialist, Hayley Taylor, takes 5 people who are long-term unemployed (12 months or more) and pretty much overcomes all of their protests and shortcomings when it comes to finding a job.

I started watching last night’s episode with my usual snorts of derision and disbelief at the fact that these people who had no disabilities were not just going out there and getting work but as the show unfolded I found my opinion changing.

What Taylor does is not rocket science. She addresses issues of confidence and the kind of job seeking and job interview appropriate behaviour that those of us who have spent the majority of our lives in gainful employment take for granted… things as simple as what you should wear, being able to explain your skills in a sensible manner, turning up on timeand dealing with someone telling you what to do. And she does it with a firm hand and a refusal to listen to excuses. Her motto is that there are jobs out there but looking for one is hard work so focus yourself and get on with it.

By the end of the show four out of the five had secured a job. These were not glamorous or high paid jobs but things like part time cleaner, kitchen porter and garbage truck drivers’ assistant but they had all made a culture shift within themselves and it’s the culture shift within individuals that leads to culture shifts within families and communities. Three months on all four were still in work and one had been promoted.

There is no point in debating how the work/benefits situation happened in the UK. It is what is. What is important is that the government is spending money on getting people the simple skills and support that it takes to get a foot on the job ladder as well as a bit of a reality check. Growing up in a family where everyone is gainfully employed, education and hard work are encouraged and rewarded and support is easy to get, often makes those of us who have had the hand up, think that getting into and being in work is something simple. But without all of that, would it be as easy?

Why not train some of the public sector workers who are going to lose their jobs as part of the cuts as fairy jobmothers? Give them five vulnerable people at a time to work with for two weeks and target them on the number of people getting work and keeping it for 6 months or more. Alternatively why not go “big society” and work with employment related businesses about getting volunteer hours from their staff to help people. I bet loads of the people at the job board I work for would be willing to use their charity days to help people write their CVs or practise interview techniques… or am I oversimplifying things?