Advice - complete retraining - Construction

nettyt

Hi All,

I m after any advice you may have. My partner is currently looking at a complete career change, he's been running his own business for the last 10 years but unfortunately it has become a victim of the recession. Therefore we are looking at alternative career options and see this as a good opportunity to train to do something different. We have been thinking about work in the construction industry something leading towards Project Management or perhaps Quantity Surveying. He has no previous experience or training however having experience of these industres from a recruitment perspective I feel that this would suit his personality perfectly. We just need some pointers on where to start?? Are there adult apprenticeships available (he's 34) or would he need to become a full time student initially? Any tips would be gratefully received.

Oldernotwiser

He can certainly do a degree in these area; whereabouts do you live?

nettyt

Hertfordshire. Would there be on the paid on the job training available too? 3 years out of work whilst training is not reallly feasible!

Ewarwoowar2

Construction is the last job market your hubby wants to be entering right now:

http://www.cnplus.co.uk/news/construction-job-losses-total-48000-in-three-months/1988896.article

It was predicted earlier this year that 70% of the construction workforce will be out of a job by the end of the year.

Has he thought of teaching or something else in the public sector e.g. nursing, rehab, etc..

Oldernotwiser

There are full and part time courses at the University of Hertfordshire but I agree with EW that now isn't a good time to be moving into construction.

What business has he been in up to now and what qualifications does he have?

nettyt

thank you for your response. I understand the construction industry has been hit hard in the past year, having worked as a recruitment consultant in the industry I have seen the huge downturn in the market however we are looking for something longer term, obvisouly with training etc he's not going to walk into a top job straight away so are hoping that if he trains now when the market does pick up he can hopefully make a good career for himself. We need something that offers prospects and career development but that also suits his temperament and natural abilities hence thinking about the construction route. We also want something that would open doors for us should we decide to move overseas in the next few years.

Just kinda brainstorming at the moment though so any ideas gratefully received and once again thank you both for taking the time to respond and give advice

nettyt

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

There are full and part time courses at the University of Hertfordshire but I agree with EW that now isn't a good time to be moving into construction.

What business has he been in up to now and what qualifications does he have?

He's actually been running a courier firm which until the economic downturn was doing very well. However, this is something that he has not found rewarding and has been keen to make a career change for some time. Unfortunately he does not have qualifications but like I say we know it will be a struggle but guessing any career move will be difficult. We have savings which will cushion us a bit for the short term.

We are really just trying to find ideas of what he would be good at and enjoy but are not naive and know it will be tough and hard work. I came up with the idea of construction management as he is very organised and is very good at dealing with people at all levels. He has renovated properties before getting his hands dirty aswell as managing the project and although this was small scale and done for his personal gain rather than professional it was something he really enjoyed and I think was so good at hence why I think this could be a good career move for him.

Getting headache just trying to think of ideas at the moment!!

dmg24

I agree with others who have noted the downturn in the construction industry. The problem is that when the market does pick up, he will be competing with all those that have been made redundant before. They will all have prior experience and be likely to be willing to take pay cuts to get back into the workplace.

I hope he finds something suitable, but I really don't think this is the way to go.

Oldernotwiser

I am being very repetitive, I know, but I suggest that he makes an appointment for a (free) careers guidance interview with Nextstep; they should be able to help him assess his strengths and decide on a future direction.

Ewarwoowar2

nettyt wrote: »

thank you for your response. I understand the construction industry has been hit hard in the past year, having worked as a recruitment consultant in the industry I have seen the huge downturn in the market however we are looking for something longer term, obvisouly with training etc he's not going to walk into a top job straight away so are hoping that if he trains now when the market does pick up he can hopefully make a good career for himself. We need something that offers prospects and career development but that also suits his temperament and natural abilities hence thinking about the construction route. We also want something that would open doors for us should we decide to move overseas in the next few years.

So he wants a great job, with good long term prospects, career development, allowing him to live abroad in the future, presumably well paid and at management level in an industry that's going through the worst recession ever with no end in sight. He also has no relevant qualifications and wants to find a training scheme that will pay him as he trains.

Please let me know if he finds anything, I think there's about a million people looking for the same job

Seriously, I'd have a good think about what areas of the economy are likely to grow over the next 10 - 15 years e.g jobs aligned with the care of the elderly, drug research and development, etc The whole doing up houses and building tower blocks is gone.

nettyt

Ewarwoowar2 wrote: »

So he wants a great job, with good long term prospects, career development, allowing him to live abroad in the future, presumably well paid and at management level in an industry that's going through the worst recession ever with no end in sight. He also has no relevant qualifications and wants to find a training scheme that will pay him as he trains.

Please let me know if he finds anything, I think there's about a million people looking for the same job

Seriously, I'd have a good think about what areas of the economy are likely to grow over the next 10 - 15 years e.g jobs aligned with the care of the elderly, drug research and development, etc The whole doing up houses and building tower blocks is gone.

like I said we are just brainstormng at the moment and this is one avenue we are looking at. We are not anive and we ont expect him to walk into anything but I dont see the harm in having aspirations and dont see the point of shooting people down who are genuinely trying hard to get on in life.