THERE’S never been a better time to start looking for an inspiring career.
Certainly that’s the message from Tina, a work coach from Manchester who spends her days helping jobseekers skill up and get into work.
Work Coach, Tina Snelling, says you should think positive!
And she should know, as Tina, who is in her early fifties, recently moved from a freelance career in marketing after work dried up when Covid-19 hit.
“I tried to think positive. It was a great opportunity for me to spread my wings – and it really has been. I love what I do.”
Although the pandemic has brought about huge changes in the job market, the good news is that there’s record numbers of vacancies across the UK right now – 1.2 million jobs on offer between September and November 2021 with opportunities you can step into almost immediately in sectors like social care, hospitality, manufacturing, IT and green careers, which support the transition to a low-carbon economy.
Plus, the Government is doing everything it can to help with a whole host of schemes and training – and Jobcentre Plus-based work coaches like Tina – all designed to equip workers with the tools and skills they need to find rewarding opportunities, including older job hunters over 50.
For Tina, it was a case of researching what was available and keeping an open mind. “I found the Department for Work and Pensions was running a big recruitment campaign for work coaches – not a job I’d ever considered, but I like people and thought it could be a rewarding role,” she explains.
“I did two months of quite intensive but very interesting training and started in March 2021.
“My role is very fulfilling. I build a relationship with my customers – some of them are going through tough times and I’m there to help. I meet some amazing people and it’s satisfying to feel I’m having a positive impact on their lives.”
One of the people benefiting from Tina’s expertise and the help on offer is her client Steve, 63, a single grandad from Manchester. After three decades in the military, he was working at Manchester airport as a baggage handler and in ground-to-flight communications when he was furloughed during Covid. Then, in September 2020, he was made redundant.
“Steve’s someone with presence and character of mind so, taking his military background into account, we decided to explore the security sector,” Tina says. She signed Steve up with Job Entry Targeted Support (JETS), a six-month programme for people who have been out of work and claiming benefits for 13 weeks or more, and it proved a turning point.
Talking with a Work Coach helped Steve get into the security sector
Steve says: “Tina was so supportive – she helped me out in umpteen ways. I felt quite downhearted at times – I was bored at home, missing the lads and the team spirit at the airport. I worried, too, about how I’d find a job in my sixties. But when I had my fortnightly meetings with Tina, she really motivated and lifted me up. She gave me so much confidence.”
Through JETS, Steve was given more advice about different sectors that could be open to him, plus help with his CV.
“They updated my CV and added things that I would never have thought of – like how I was a fire marshal and first aider in the Army,” Steve says.
Meanwhile, Tina helped him enrol on a course to receive an SIA (Security Industry Authority) licence, an essential to work in the sector, as well as further training in customer service, diversity and health and safety. She also provided him with bus tickets to get back and forth to courses and job interviews.
Finally, in November 2021, Steve’s hard work and Tina’s support bore fruit and Steve was taken on as a security officer in a supermarket.
Steve says: “It’s a really enjoyable job – I love shouting at people. No, seriously – I’m firm but polite. I try and have a laugh with customers but can be serious when required.
“When I told Tina I’d got the job, she was over the moon. I can’t speak highly enough of her – if you’re over 60 and worried about finding a job, the help and advice of a work coach is amazing.”
For support, advice and on-the-job training as well as information on benefits, check out jobhelp.campaign.gov.uk