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Phoenix From the Flames:

Rebuilding Your Skills for a Brighter Future

By Amy MercerPublished 3 years ago 4 min read
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Phoenix From the Flames:
Photo by Vasily Koloda on Unsplash

An ongoing consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic has been the impact on people’s careers. There has also been rising uncertainty over when life might return to normal. By August, more than nine million people were furloughed under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, and businesses went to the wall on an almost daily basis.

The UK economy has dropped back into a recession for the first time since 2008 with redundancies hitting their highest level since 2009. The unemployment rate has soared to 4.5 per cent in the three months up to August, having been steady at 4.1% for the previous quarter.

As a three-tier system is rolled out across the UK to help combat the COVID-19 crisis through the winter months, concern is growing for the lasting damage that has been caused to the hospitality, retail and arts sectors by ongoing closures.

Here, we explore the options for the UK’s unemployed within these suffering sectors. In particular, we’re giving focus to the creative opportunities available to recently furloughed or unemployed workers to help them get back on their feet.

You’re never too old

Facing redundancy after years of loyal service is hard to take. Plus, the uncertainty that comes with it means people are faced with tough decisions—try to find something else in the same sector or seek out opportunities in a new area.

The fear of being too old to change careers should not hold you back. Many educational institutions are geared up for making those transitions easier, with foundation degrees, apprenticeship schemes and the rise of free digital courses paving the way.

One day you could be learning the physical elements of your newly chosen career on-site, while the next you may have your head in books getting to grips with the theory that drives the full execution of that role.

Full-time, part-time, and distance learning courses are available via reputable organisations. These courses can help adults change career, return to work, or develop the skills needed to start their own business. Financial support packages and loans are also available to help cover the cost of fees and study.

When adverts go wrong

The arts sector has come under the microscope as shows, concerts and live entertainment faced cancellations. It has resulted in a £1.57bn Culture Recovery Fund being set up to support the industry. Socially distanced outdoor concerts supported musicians late in the summer but talk of theatres not reopening until April 2021 has led to further uncertainty. An ill-advised Government advertising campaign was quickly pulled after it suggested people in creative fields should retrain in other industries, including engineering and computing.

The advert went viral through a series of memes that highlighted the irony of creative roles being needed to create the advert telling people to ditch creative careers.

These are just a small drop in the ocean of creative opportunities out there. Take Fatima, the ballet dancer in the advert. She doesn’t need to leave the arts industry. She could retrain in performance art and other sectors of dance. She could even put her dance experience knowledge out there for other people to learn from by becoming a dance or ballet tutor.

The Government has also set out plans for the Lifetime Skills Guarantee, which aims to help people retrain throughout their lives, regardless of their age. The full details are still to be released but will see adults without an A-Level or equivalent qualification be offered a free, fully funded college course.

Even the world of the Government-advised cyber sector needs creative people in it. Cybersecurity may call for a scientific approach, but websites need designers and marketers. If a website doesn’t have the right look, the right words, and isn’t marketed in the right way, it won’t keep users’ attention.

Going digital isn’t all bad

The Government’s intended message that retraining is possible is correct though. The internet has made previously inaccessible industries that bit easier to infiltrate. It wasn’t always here though. Many people aged 40–60 might never have seen potential in a field that just wasn’t an option when they were looking at career prospects.

There are now thousands of courses available through the internet. There are computing and other digital-related jobs, but also a whole spectrum of other choices. In fact, Google provides a range of free courses through its Digital Garage. These have been approved by top entrepreneurs, industry experts, and world-leading employers.

The education sector continues to adapt to COVID-19 measures with a rising number of courses going virtual in the current climate. The fact colleges and universities reacted quickly when lockdown restrictions were introduced means thousands of people have had access to courses they wouldn’t have considered when setting out their resolutions for 2020. By offering adult education courses at a time when job security is low and competition for roles is tougher, these institutions are enabling people to add qualifications to their CV. This will support them as the job markets reopen.

The most difficult hurdle in changing career is fear. Retraining is the first step to achieving new goals though. It builds confidence and will allow you to climb the ladder in a new career. Either way, do what works for you!

Sources

https://www.fenews.co.uk/press-releases/52956-removing-barriers-to-adult-education-supporting-the-recovery-of-our-workforce-and-increasing-personal-development

http://www.apprenticeshipguide.co.uk/apprenticeship-choices/

https://learndigital.withgoogle.com/digitalgarage

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/coronavirus-government-advert-ballet-dancer-retrain-it-cyber-oliver-dowden-b987403.html

https://academy.hubspot.com/courses

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-54520521

https://www.york.ac.uk/news-and-events/news/2020/quality/free-course-lockdown/

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About the Creator

Amy Mercer

Artist & Content Strategist

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