(This entry is mostly a draft statement to be sent to my local branch of Job Centre plus, however I am posting it on the Internet as well in the hopes that someone out there will do their research and give none of the individuals or companies the time of day)

This statement is to catalogue the events and attitudes I observed while on a Pre-employment training course that was marketed to the Job centre and myself as a gateway to ‘ACD apprenticeships.’

The apprenticeship was to be overseen by a Ms Asha Solanki, the alleged head of the company we were to be working for at a rate of £90 per week. From the outset Solanki was rude, aggressive and sparse with the facts. During our first meeting she never revealed the name of her company, nor gave a real indication to what they do. The word ‘finance’ was thrown around occasionally, but that was it.

Throughout the meeting, Solanki went out of her way to bully and cajole everyone present. She mocked people who had chosen higher education, “degrees don’t mean shit, certainly not to me.” And seemed to take pleasure in singling people out based on their past times or history. One boy -17- was mocked cruelly because he’d never had a paying job – apparently Ms Solanki was unaware of the mass youth unemployment and recession.  She also seemed to enjoy the fact that one of our number was visibly terrified of speaking in front of groups of people – thus making it her mission to single him out to talk at every opportunity. However, she did not conduct herself in a way that would promote confidence in the boy, instead it served to leave him a shaking and stuttering even more.

In my time I have both learned and worked beneath ‘firm’ and ‘tough’ authority figures. Ms Solanki was neither, she came across as nothing more than a bully who inspired no respect from the group, only the fear of making eye contact. The majority of the initial meeting was spent being told how amazing she was and that she’d worked hard for all her money (but more on that later.)

During the two training weeks, we were under the tutorage of Manchester College, however we took the course in Solanki’s office, where she would make frequent visits to undermine both the tutor and the efforts of the group. For the most part I cannot criticise Manchester College, nor the staff from there who worked with us, the course was certainly useful, any and all negativity came from Solanki.

If we were undergoing a presentation, Solanki would seat herself in the centre and –for lack of a better word- heckle the groups. She was also heard making inappropriate and unprofessional personal remarks concerning group member’s appearance, for instance, saying that one boy looked like “a donkey.”

During the meeting and her visits Solanki spoke to the group like dirt, the inference seemed to be that unemployment made us lower than criminals. She seemed convinced none of us had any skills worth bringing to the table, other than for use in the call centre. She was even overheard telling a tutor that; “they have these wild and wacky ideas of what they’ll be doing if I take them on.” At this point no one had expressed any particularly ‘wild and wacky’ ideas, save for some of us wanting to work in different departments, e.g. I.T. and Data Processing – two areas which were advertised on the information sheet.

The sheer lack of productive communication was evident during our first day. We were asked by the tutor to do a presentation on the company and what we knew of it. This exercise promptly fell apart as it was evident that no one knew anything about the company, other than its name (which in due time we discovered wasn’t wholly accurate.) Even the tutor revealed that she knew nothing about the company or its practices.

It was only from our primary tutor, David that we learned the ‘real’ name of this company, SMD Exchange. David should be commended for his professional yet honest attitude towards the situation. He told us that he disagreed with Solanki’s methods which he described as “tearing you down bit by bit…she obviously enjoys it.” He explained to us that if it were up to him, Manchester College would have nothing to do with SMD Exchange, however Solanki is friends with a local councillor.

Curiosity got the better of me and I looked up SMD Exchange, within fifteen minutes I had enough information to be suitably outraged by this company and its practices. Formerly known as Cartel Client Review (CCR), the company was run by Carl Wright

carl-wright

 

Wright is known throughout the financial world for being a conman who leaves a trail of destruction in his wake – yet always manages to leave with a large pay packet. CCR was shut down by the Ministry of Justice for demanding £500 upfront from customers, yet rarely – if ever sticking to their end of the bargain. However, the company made roughly £20 million, yet claimed to be unable to refund its clients.

After CCR came to an end, Grass Roots Financial (GRF) sprouted in its place. Literally – it even occupied the same office as CCR (which can be seen in the above image of Wright, that office is now the SMD Exchange headquarters). In no time, GRF was under investigation too. The company now had acquired the habit of not paying employees as well as customers, one person went three months without being paid. A spokeswoman for GRF strenuously denied that Carl Wright was even involved. Who was that spokeswoman? Carl Wright’s P.R. guru, Ms Asha Solanki.

Reading the history of these companies showed Solanki was not the ‘self-made business woman’ she claimed to be. She had ridden the coattails of a con-artist and now served as a front for his latest company, SMD Exchange. I am well aware that is a serious allegation to make, as Carl Wright has –once more- denied being involved in his latest company, with due reason. No one with any knowledge of the financial world will touch his myriad businesses with a barge pole. However, Carl Wright was sighted on two separate occasions in the office, hiding in a glass walled meeting room.

By this point, any fear I had for Solanki had dissipated. However, her unprofessional conduct continued throughout the course. On the penultimate day, she laid hands on a member of the group. During one of her ‘personal grooming’ rants, Solanki stood next to a boy and grabbed him by the face, jerking his head towards her to ‘inspect’ him for facial hair.

During many of her speeches Solanki bragged she had a ‘95% pass rate’ for her apprentices. (Meaning that percentage stuck around for 12 months.) However, what Solanki neglected to mention was that the last time the course was run she only had 3 apprentices – from a group of 20.

The rest were either repelled by Solanki’s behaviour, or disgusted when they discovered the true identity of the company.

However, an even sadder aspect of this story lies squarely in the Job Centres corner. All of us were there under threat of sanction. Yes, that’s right, if any of us were to show a sliver of self-preservation and leave SMD Exchange’s venomous office space, we would be kicked off of Job Seekers allowance for a period of at least three years. ACD Training Academy, Asha Solanki and Carl Wright and whatever company name they choose to operate under are taking advantage of desperate people, both on the customer side and the unemployed of Greater Manchester