Re-Training Options
Redundancy is the ideal time to consider retraining. Perhaps the job you’re leaving isn’t all that you hoped for, and, in a way, your regret about leaving it is mixed with a measure of satisfaction that you now won’t have to spend the rest of your life doing it. It may be that you feel your skills need to be freshened up for you to remain competitive in the employment marketplace. Or you may be sick of the whole career track that you find yourself in, and want to find a way to pastures new. If you have already acquired valuable skills in the course of doing your last job, you may just want to get them certificated. Retraining is obviously what you’re looking for. But what are your options?
Standard Educational Qualifications
Even if you’re an older person, you always have the option of pursuing school-level or college or university-level qualifications. The practicalities of doing that are explored more fully in articles elsewhere on this site. Here, it suffices to say that in recent years, many educational institutions have developed a greater awareness of the needs of adult learners who want to upgrade their skills. They have reoriented themselves to meet the needs of that market. So wherever you find yourself, you usually won’t have to worry about feeling as if you’re the odd one out.
Getting Advice on Retraining
Modern economies are dynamic. The government has recognised that the era when most people would acquire some qualifications at school or university and then stay on a single career track for the rest of their life, are over. Now, the emphasis instead is on continuous re- or up-skilling and “lifelong learning”.
It is not very well known but the government actually offers a free careers advice service, available to anyone at anytime, not just when a redundancy is occurring. These LearnDirect and nextstep services, as they are called, can be accessed via the web, by phone or through an in-person appointment.
Large-Scale Redundancies
When the redundancy you’re involved in is a large-scale one and will have a significant effect on the local economy, special help is available. Through the Rapid Response Service of Jobcentre Plus, staff from the local Jobcentre can be deployed to consult with the workforce which is due to be made redundant. Advice on retraining options, and funding to pay for them, is part of what’s on offer. If you’re not sure about what to retrain for, they can provide information about skills which are in demand locally.
The Rapid Response Service has a large amount of discretion. They are designed to be flexible and their focus is on getting you back to work. So if, for example, you had a concrete job offer with the precondition that you complete a course on, say, Desktop Publishing before taking it up, the Rapid Response Service might be able to arrange funding for the course.
eLearning
In the digital age, many electronic learning options have become available. This can be especially valuable if you cannot afford to take time out form working and so have to combine your aspirations for retraining with the demands of a job. Many universities and colleges now run distance learning programs which you can follow from home. Of course, in nearly all cases you will need a computer and access to the Internet.
The government supports eLearning through a service called LearnDirect. It offers a number of electronic courses in a range of subjects, designed to increase your skills and improve your qualifications.
Retraining Options – Conclusion
In the modern age, most of us will have to retrain at some point in our lives to keep up with the evolving world of work. Often technology is what precipitates the need for change; fortunately, technology also makes that change easier to bring about.
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