Increasingly however, change may also be necessary as a result of economic or political factors which sweep away job opportunities which were available in the past. In recent years fishermen, steel workers, oil-rig staff, civil servants, opticians, bankers, teachers, the military and a whole army of office workers have been forced to consider alternative employment.
When exploring the possibility of a radical change in career, begin by taking a good look at yourself. During your life you will have picked up a good many skills. Some of them may be specific and highly technical - learned through previous employment - but others will be transferable, good for a wide variety of situations. In previous work you may have been responsible for supervising staff, handling money, dealing with the public, investigating complaints, training new staff, writing letters, or setting up schedules and timetables. Out of work, your voluntary activities may have given you management, coaching, fund-raising or negotiating skills. Qualities are important too:
- What sort of person are you?
- What things are important to you?
- Do you like a regular office routine?
- Do you like change?
- Are you good at dealing with difficult people or are you better at handling paper or machinery?
- Are you methodical?
- How do you feel about standing up and making presentations?
- Do you like to see a job through to the end?
- Are you self-motivated?
Alternatively, try dissecting your ideal job and identifying those elements of the work which particularly attract you. Could there be a similar job, at a lower level perhaps, which has a large proportion of the same elements? Maybe you can't become a primary school teacher but, having brought up a couple of children yourself, you may be an ideal candidate for a job as a school assistant working alongside teachers in a primary school. If the teaching and learning environment interests you, you could consider becoming a training officer in a small company, a technician in a school or a tutor on an adult education program.
No matter whether your career change is a willing or a reluctant move, it will affect every aspect of your life and it requires careful thought.
Further information
Individual Excellence, Phil Lowe and Ralph Lewis (Kogan Page, 1992)
The Daily Telegraph Guide to Changing Your Job After 35, 7th edition, Godfrey Golzen and Philip Plumbley (Kogan Page, 1993). Both are excellent books filled with practical help and advice on this subject.
More for women: Portable Careers: How to Survive Your Partner's Relocation, Linda R Greenbury (Kogan Page, 1992)
Career development loan
Sometimes the job that you want is just one or two steps ahead of you. You feel that you have the right attitude and temperament but there is an aspect of the work that you haven't been trained for. CDLs aim to provide assistance to people who want to undertake work-related training but are unable to raise sufficient funds to pay for it out of their own pockets.
Anyone can apply - you don't need to be unemployed or in receipt of any benefit. Loans can be used for almost any training which lasts between one week and a year. The training can take place at a college, a private school or you can study at home through a distance learning package. You can study full time or part time and, if your chosen course is longer than a year, you can use the loan to pay for up to 12 months of it.
CDLs are administered by three banks: Barclays, Clydesdale and the Co-operative. You apply for a CDL just like any other loan but you don't need to have an account with that bank to get one. You'll need to convince the manager that your ideas are sound and that you can achieve what you set out to do. The government believes that loans are better than grants because you have to pay loans back and therefore you'll do your homework carefully before committing yourself.
You can ask for any amount of money from £300 to £5000 to cover course fees, materials and, if necessary, living expenses, but you must find a minimum of 20 per cent yourself (£20 for every £100 borrowed).
The government pays the interest on the loan during the study period and for up to three months after the training ends. During this time you have what is known as a 'repayment holiday'. You don't start repaying until the training ends and, it is hoped, you're earning money - having found a job thanks to the new skills you've acquired.
Obviously there is a risk involved in taking out a CDL. You need to be fairly confident that your labour market research is accurate and that there are employers out there looking for people with the skills you intend to acquire. You also need to be confident that you will be able to pass the examinations to gain the information you want. See also Grant-making trusts.
