A career review helped Ian move into a new job following redundancy.
Getting support after a job loss
Ian, who lives in Cardiff, reached out for careers support from Working Wales when he was given notice of redundancy, after 20 years working for an electric and gas utility company.
Ian had accessed the service back in 2002 when his circumstances changed and he needed a career change from nursing.
Now in his mid-fifties, Ian says, “I remembered how helpful and positive the service was 20 years ago. I didn’t hesitate to access support again when I was being made redundant.
I wasn’t in the mindset to look for a new job. I hadn’t had an interview in 20 years, and I felt totally unprepared. My CV was that old that it was saved on a floppy disk!”
Moving forward
Ian’s career began in nursing, and he says, “Even from a young age, I’ve always enjoyed helping people and every job I’ve had has involved helping others.”
Ian knew he wanted to work in a caring role. In a career review with careers adviser Mark Leonard, Ian accessed a free psychometric assessment to help identify the types of jobs that might suit him.
Ian and Mark identified that Ian needed support with confidence building, CV writing, interview skills and access to the Careers Wales job bulletin.
Starting a new career
Ian applied for a position and was successful. He now works in a team that supports people to manage their benefits and bills. This includes help to access emergency funds, food, and applying for grants and discounts.
Ian says, “I’m right at the heart of helping people through the cost-of-living crisis, for them to have warm homes and to keep the lights on.”
Talking about the support he received, Ian says “The practical careers support was invaluable for me to do my new job as I’d never done some of this type of work.”
Although only being with his current employer for 2 years, Ian has already been promoted. He is enjoying his new role.
If you've been inspired by Ian's story, you can book a free career review to help you make a career change.
