Can I afford to retrain?

MrsJT_2

Hi All,

Hope everyone is ok I'm after a bit of advice please and success stories if possible as I don't see how I can afford to retrain

So before I had my little one who is now 8 months old I had a good 21k a year job but I'm going nowhere I'm stuck in the same position and its not exactly a career. I also work 40 miles away from home so are out of the house for at least 12 hours a day which now my little one is here is not even an option in my opinion and even if it was by the time I've paid out petrol and childcare I won't have enough left to pay the bills.

I've been looking at other admin jobs more locally but they don't pay as well as my current job, I know I can take a cut in regards to the petrol usage but then I'll have to pay childcare and I really want a career that give me potential, job satisfaction and that I value as helping others.

I would like to either become a Teacher or a Social Worker I have worked in admin in both of these sectors and both are close to my heart due to the nature of helping children. However, I have found that both require you to already have a qualification and the best I have is GCSE's 4 at Grade C which include English, English Lit, IT and Business Studies but I got a D in my maths which I am looking at retaking at my local adult college.

How can I gain a place and work towards a degree if you need qualifications first? On the other hand I could go into full time education but can I really afford to do this? We just about manage to get by on my husbands wage and my SMP, does anyone know what I would be entitled to as a full time student? and then on top of that I will still need to pay for childcare and pay the bills.

Any help would be much appreciated, I don't want to be stuck in a dead end job but can't see a way of doing what I want to do

Thank you for taking the time to read, I hope you can help

saintjammyswine

Contact the local FE College and ask if they have ESF Workplace Learning funding. This covers training for people in employment, self-employment or volunteers. It can fund Literacy & Numeracy qualifications as required or other courses up to Level 2 or even Level 3 depending on circumstances.They may also have other funding available.
You could also try Next Step who provide excellent, free advice on careers and training.

MrsJT_2

Thank you for your advice saintjammyswine :beer:

Dunroamin

If you want to be a teacher you could look at studying for a degree part time with the Open University, although you'd need to get a GCSE grade C Maths equivalent as well.

Alternatively you could look at doing an Access course at your local college which would allow you to start a degree in Social Work or a degree leading to a career in teaching.

Full time degree courses are quite well funded for those from low income households with a package of loans, grants and bursaries.

dizzyrascal

If you study full time your childcare costs are covered too.
Social work degrees are funded with a bursary but it's not a lot of money.
I think you will need to find out first what it is you want to do and then create a plan.
Try to get some work or volunteering experience in the areas you want to work in. You might think that social work sounds fun but it's very hard dealing with child protection issues (you mentioned working with children). Also I'm not sure that the hours will be as family friendly as teaching.
Whatever you decide to do you will need a good network of friends and family whilst you study.

MrsJT_2

Thank you all!

To be honest I'm more pushed in the direction of Social Work, both will entail a tremendous amount of hard which I am not afraid of. I think I would be more inclined to protect children and guide them rather than teach them, I feel that although Social Workers are frowned upon they do make a huge difference to the lives of children and their families plus there are so many working areas, such as Initial Assessment, Looked After, Adoption, Fostering the list goes on.

England have a shortage of Social Workers, Midwifes etc you'd think the government would be wanting to help people making it easier for them to retrain.

As the hours both are realistically full time with a lot of the school hols being used for planning and preparation, plus if I were to work term time when my lo goes to school I want to be involved with her school work as in assemblies, plays etc and I wouldn't be able to if I were a Teacher myself, I would want what is be best for my daughter and being there for her plays etc I personally think is important.

My husband has an income of 19k which isn't classed as low but he has to pay out over £180 per month for a child from a previous relationship so with that and the cost of living and travel expenses we only just get by with that plus my £600 a month SMP

I need to get a plan together as suggested and find out what help we are definitly entitled too.