Lia's Story

Lia needed support to find a new job that allowed a flexible work-life balance.

Facing redundancy

Lia is 42 and lives in Pontypool, south-east Wales with her family.

Lia had been working as an operations manager for seven years until she was made redundant in October 2022. Lia had previously worked in human resources (HR).

For Lia, redundancy felt like she was stuck at a crossroads. Her job, although full-time, was home based with quarterly visits to London. This allowed her some flexibility. This worked well for her family life, which includes supporting a child with additional needs.

Thinking back on being made redundant, Lia recalls, “I needed to think outside of the box and maybe move into a different industry or role that offered a variety of work patterns, including evenings or weekends. I initially thought about moving into working in healthcare”.

Accessing support

Lia contacted Jobcentre Plus (JCP). Because she was unemployed and job searching, she was eligible to start claiming Jobseekers Allowance (JSA).

To help find a job that was right for her, Lia needed guidance support and a career review, so JCP referred Lia to Working Wales.

Lia says, “I’d heard about Careers Wales, but wasn’t sure what they did. I’d not heard of the Working Wales service”.

Rather than a face-face session in a career centre, Lia opted to access support on-line via Teams. This allowed Lia the flexibility she continued to need whilst now going through the job searching process.

Careers adviser, Rhianne, who is based in Torfaen, started working with Lia and together they went through the career review. This included looking at Lia’s experience, skillset, and aspirations, whilst taking in to account any barriers she faced.

Lia spoke about the need to work flexibly, and her thoughts around working in the care sector. Because Lia had been made redundant, she could access funding for training. They researched the option of an NVQ in health and social care.

Rhianne suggested Lia take a free psychometric assessment, which helps to shape possible career choices. Care work didn’t show as a particularly strong focus for Lia. So, they decided to not venture down the care route any further. Instead, they looked for similar roles still within HR.

Accessing Working Wales’s job bulletin and finding employment

It was hard for Lia to find a job in HR that was local to her. Rhianne suggested subscribing for free to the Working Wales job bulletin. The job bulletin matches you with jobs that are local and relevant.

Through the job bulletin, Lia was matched with potential jobs. She found though that she needed extra qualifications for some of them as well as the years of industry experience that she had.

Lia found two potential part-time roles within HR that matched her current qualifications. With application and interview support, Lia was successful in being offered one of the positions.

The role Lia accepted is a part-time HR assistant, which is local to her. She is enjoying the role and is already finding that it works well around her family.

Looking towards the future

Lia is keen to gain additional industry recognised qualifications and plans to start a CIPD course, level 5 in people management.

Reflecting on the careers support she accessed, Lia says, “Having someone knowledgeable and impartial to listen to me and who ‘got me’ was so important. The guidance I received helped me to find my way. I’ve been able to come out the other side and achieve the outcome that I wanted”.

If you've been inspired by Lia's story, you can book a free career review to help you make a career change.

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