I am going to need a new start, and would love some friendly ideas please.

[Thislife01]

Hi,
I have not written on berw before but i am always reading and looking for advise on all sorts.
I have just been made redundant from a part time job that i thought was ok and it took me a while to find it. I was there nearly 18 months.
I am not very academic, but very personable and willing to learn. I have always dipped in and out of selling kitchens and bathrooms in between have a family etc.
I have no idea what i can do now but would love to be able to get some retraining. I have a reasonably good standard if secondary education and a level 2 in business and administration but when i was looking for work before, no one was interested in interviewing me etc.
I am 43 so i am beginning to feel i have reached the point where i am stuck. As older with not that many skills etc.
Any idea how where i can start??
Please be kind, i have taken far to many knocks.
Thanks 🤞🤞🙏🙏🙂

[sleepismysuperpower1]

a kitchen assistant? You could look for a job in a professional food setting (longer hours) or one in a care home/school. there is a list of care homes that require employees here so you can read the job descriptions to get an idea of the job (each will be different according to what they want you to do). You need to get your food hygiene certificate, I think you need up to level 2. you can see how to get the certificate here.
all the best x

[C152H]

Perhaps take some time to think about the type of job that would make you happy, if you have the skills now or need to re-train and what sort of salary you need to meet your needs?

Work out an annual budget, if you don't have one already, so you don't waste time applying for a job that won't meet your financial requirements. Some things you may wish to include are e.g. monthly mortgage / rent, supermarket costs, transport costs, insurance (house and contents, health, travel), communication (landline rental, wifi / tv package, mobile costs etc), holiday pot, family costs (e.g. school uniforms, school trips etc), savings safety net. Now you know what you need, as a minimum to get by each year.

You can then narrow down your search field by considering:

• Would you like a job inside (e.g. shop, office) or outside (e.g. gardener, dog walker)?
  
• Do you need to stay local / work near public transport or car parking?
  
• Would you like to work full time or part time? Are there only specific hours / days you can work (e.g. term time only)?
  
• Would you like to work around other people, or prefer to work alone / with a small number of people?
  

Once you've narrowed down your options, have a look at some job adverts in the field you want to focus on to find out if there is a general base level of skills required. If you don't have the exact skills now, look at where you can get further training and what the potential cost will be. (e.g. local adult education centre - your council website will have details, University, short courses available online etc. For fields like accountancy, the firm will often pay for your studies.)

So, let's say you need an annual salary of £20,000, you can work full time and you'd rather work in an office environment, around other people. From what you've said, you have great sales experience, combined with qualifications in business administration. You could try looking for office jobs on reed.co.uk, linkedIn, workingmums.co.uk etc. Alternatively, a lot of large firms now have 'return to work' schemes for mothers who have been out of the work force for a while, raising children. Best of luck!

[Thislife01]

Many thanks for your replies, i am going to take some time to think, i have some ideas so i will be looking into these and retrain if i can.