ideas to find work.

kingfisherblue

sniggings wrote: »

Thanks, I've tried thinking of a suitable course but all seem to lead nowhere, I can't really afford to train for 3 years then still not find work as I lack experience.

I would love to be able to train for a specific job but most courses seem to be only a stepping stone to not very much.

Hence my suggestion about voluntary work. This can give you experience and has other benefits as well.

sniggings

I have not been out of work long, I have worked all my life so a commitment to work is clearly shown, I understand that in the right circumstance, voluntary work is useful and I would consider it but feel now is not the time, I feel I need training to be able to get out of the min wage range but just don't see a course that has a clear path to a job/career? College courses are either A levels and Media studies type courses and Uni courses are too academic, there doesn't seem to be a middle ground.

Do this course and you can do this job type thing.

(and I'm no bricklayer or painter decorator :rotfl:)

Racheldevon

Many voluntary opportunities will equip you with short courses, and even recognised qualifications such as the diploma in children and young people, providing you can commit to a minimum number of hours/regular hour/s of volunteering. Short courses will also update your CV, provide you with practical experience you can reflect on in supporting statements for paid work, give you a recent work based referee to use etc.

What type of career or job are you ultimately hoping to do? Perhaps this is a good starting point to work back from in terms of identifying courses/training/experience to get you on your way

sniggings

The suggestion of working in care always seems to be the default option, and as it happens I have considered it and many years ago I even volunteered to work in a Home for disabled people, I only last a few months as the other paid workers were less than friendly, I wondered if it was because I was doing someone's job that could be getting paid to do it, I was only young so ended up leaving, I also applied for a job working with young adults but was only told the job involved old people too at the interview, so I stopped the interview as I just couldn't do some of the things involved in that type of work.

As to what work I want to do? My lack of experience stops me shooting for the moon or is it stars...both then lol. I would do most any work (taking above into account :rotfl:) but if I train I would hope to be earning a good wage. It's more a case of a job to give me a good standard of life rather than looking for the dream job, cos I doubt many of us have that luxury.

Racheldevon

Ok, so whilst a dream job isn't a reality for lots of people, what would you preference be (if any) in terms of: working in a team/working alone; client group: older adults (sounds like this isn't your preference from the above), working age adults, children & young people; learning disabilities mental health; what type of sector: retail, support worker type roles, admin/office etc etc?

paddyrg

Your age can work for you if you've got the right drive - chatting with a friend yesterday who used to be an antiques dealer and retrained later in life as a chef - still started in the lower ranks of the kitchen, but his seniority meant he had more of a work ethic which caught managements eye quicker, and by applying skills from his other jobs (working out from life experience how to increase sales) he had something the kids didn't. How about a part-time catering course which will give you your food handling cert and first aid certs as well, so give you more options.

sniggings

Racheldevon wrote: »

Ok, so whilst a dream job isn't a reality for lots of people, what would you preference be (if any) in terms of: working in a team/working alone; client group: older adults (sounds like this isn't your preference from the above), working age adults, children & young people; learning disabilities mental health; what type of sector: retail, support worker type roles, admin/office etc etc?

Any job I can do I would take but my preference would be working alone tbh but that maybe is because of past experiences, min wage in my experience tends to have you working beside people you may not want to spend 8 hours each day with

I know I'm not being much help but I'm trying to keep this limited to jobs I have a chance of getting and I know at my age and education level it's very limited.

dawyldthing

i work as a support worker, and the main thing I do is helping them maintain their home, pay bills, sort finances and arrange trips and holidays. I don't really do much personal care, so it might be worth keeping an eye out for support work in particular as often its service users that need some help in everyday living and are mainly independent, just need support in accessing the community and the like

sniggings

dawyldthing wrote: »

i work as a support worker, and the main thing I do is helping them maintain their home, pay bills, sort finances and arrange trips and holidays. I don't really do much personal care, so it might be worth keeping an eye out for support work in particular as often its service users that need some help in everyday living and are mainly independent, just need support in accessing the community and the like

That sound a good option, what is the wage like? I'm guessing not great but not too bad.

The_Saver_2

I empathise.

It's a bit daunting thinking of your "ideal" job when there are thousands of jobs out there. A good starting point might be on the National Careers Service website. They have a brilliant tool (free!) where you undertake some online "tests". You will then get an assessment sent to you which outlines your strengths. If you go a step further, you can then explore these strengths (on the same website) and it'll come up with a host of possible careers for you to consider. What's more, it tells you specifically what qualifications you will need, the salary expectations etc.

In the meantime, and maybe to keep you motivated and positive, how about doing a free online course? If you go on the vision2learn website there are loads of free courses: ITQ Level 2 in IT user skills, NVQ in the Principles of Business and Administration. You do them at home and at your own pace and so there's no cost at all. They may not apply to anything you ultimately want to do but they will show any potential employer that you are willing to learn and that you are using your own time to better yourself/learn new skills.

I would still advocate voluntary work. It is likely that you will learn new skills and if you're worried about the expense of getting there, how about tying your hours and the location in with where/when you would normally do your grocery shop or somewhere near family (if you go and visit parents/friends/children). Also, by volunteering, it may open up an opportunity to apply for paid positions within the company. It also gives you something positive to put on your current CV and, possibly, another referee to add to your list.