Can a single parent go back to college aged 30?

[BruceTheMoose]

I've never been unemployed. Always worked full time from 16. I had to go part time when I had Dd 5 years ago (her dad left me when I was 36 weeks pregnant) as I have no family support and the hours I was doing didn't fall in between childcare hours. I also have mental health problems and was very depressed and this stopped me from finding a new job as I had zero confidence. I didn't even want to be alive and was merely existing. The job was retail and absolutely soul destroying and it's taken me 5 years to finally pluck up the courage to leave.

I'm currently trying to get better and making positive changes in my life to overcome my mental health problems. I feel like life is too short to be stuck in a job I absolutely hate and I want to better myself and eventually get off benefits.

I went for a new job also in retail but for a better company. It seemed great! Better hours, more money, more opportunity to progress and it was within walking distance of my house. I was so excited to start. I was completely mislead in my interview and made to believe they would be able to accommodate the hours I could do. They're now backtracking and are making it difficult for me as I'm struggling to find childcare. They won't let me leave on time and change my shift the morning of and it's just causing my mental health problems to slide back down.

I want to just leave but I know I can't so I'm applying for any job I can just to get me out of there.

I really want to go back to college or do something to help me eventually get a better job and stop being a drain on society.

I want to go back to college and do some sort of admin or accounting course. I can't see any company taking a 30 year old with no experience seriously so I figure a course might help me!

I know I'll get flamed for this as I'd be even more of a drain that I already am, but I figure I can be a drain for a shorter time and hopefully help me get a better job or I can just carry on living on in work benefits and be a drain for much longer.

Would I be able to go back to college full time and get financial help? Is this even possible?

I feel like there's no hope for someone like me and I'm scared I'm going to end up falling back into severe depression. I don't want to be suicidal again. I want to actually live my life and better myself.

Please don't be horrible to me and tell me I'm a benefit scrounger, I already know this. I know it's not the tax payers responsibility to support me but I don't know what else I can do. I genuinely just want some advice and to try and get a better life.

Can anyone offer any positive/helpful advice?

As your child is of school age you would need to claim Universal Credit and you would be expected to seek work.

What qualifications do you have currently? Have you looked at part time study? Admin courses are unlikely to lead to a job without experience, and for accounting you'll be competing against graduates and/ or people with experience.

Also worth looking at apprenticeships, or other roles that would allow you to study alongside work.

Would I have to look for work as a full time student?

Ideally I'd prefer to be working part time and study part time but I figured studying full time would take less time. Studying with the job I have now would be impossible so I'm hoping I can find something else soon and then look into courses.

I have no qualifications apart from a couple of GCSE's. Hence why I want to go back to college.

Apprenticeships are only for young people aren't they?

I would certainly not think that you are a scrounger for going to college to improve your employability. For one, If you end up on a higher salary you will pay more taxes overall. You do need to think carefully to make sure whatever course you do has career prospects. Do you know how many people with things like "events management" or most arts courses actually end up doing a relevant and better paid job? As long as you can afford to live with whatever part time work and benefits are available to you then go for it.

Well apart from the fact that 30 isnt old (!) no apprenticeships arent just for young people, by which I imagine you mean school leaver/teens.
I work in the Dept for Education, in my team we currently have two apprentices, one is in his 50s and has no qualifications, the other is in her 30s and is in fact quite well qualified but wanted a change in direction. They are expected to study towards their NVQs in their own time but also get half a day in the office for study and the time to do their asessesments. Apprentices in the civil service start on the salary for the job, in out case as its entry level admin role its just under £20k plus pension.
Apprenticeships are extremely varied, and in your situation well worth looking at I would have thought.
Good luck

Check impact on your benefits as i don’t think UC so accommodating of students as TC were

Apprenticeships are definitely not only for school leavers or young people. And they can go up to degree level these days.

Search here:
www.gov.uk/apply-apprenticeship

PP is wrong: as an apprentice you must spend 20% of your working hours studying off-the-job (none in your own time).

Also or instead you might find a chat with the national careers service useful:
nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk/

Or just go to your local FE college and have a chat with them about your options.

You could do AAT Accounting one day a week & work 4 days, some firms will also pay for it or there are all sorts of grants/bursaries available for mature students (ask the college admissions). It’s an interesting course (if you like that kind of thing) & if you do all three years you get some letters after your name & can take it further. Also there are companies all over the place that employ bookkeepers on a part time/freelance basis where you do as much or as little as you can handle either onsite or from home on your own terms.

www.totaljobs.com/jobs/part-time/self-employed-book-keeper

It’s the kind of job you can do after the first year to support the next two.

No advice about the practicalities I'm afraid, but OMG you are NOT a drain on society! You work! And you look after a child!

I was referring specifically to apprenticeships in my dept. The practicalities of how an apprecticeship is organised will vary greatly depending on the job, the qualification being studied, the level of qualification etc. Apprenticeships in retail, catering, office based, engineering or whatever will look very different.
In my dept the entry level apprentices get half a day, plus assessment time, plus time to meet assessers which includes instruction or tuition, plus time before assessments to revise. This equates to the 20%. They do need to study in their own time to get through the assignments and revise/practice for assignments. You can tell who puts the time in by their results.
We have higher level apprenticeships where they do go out on day release to college, out of term time they get their day a week. Again, if they want to do well and not just scrape by, they need to put the time in and not do the bare minimum

My company would take a person on in an admin role with no experience. The salary would just be adapted to reflect that you had no experience and then as you gained experience it would increase.

I went back at 31

I was on benefits though, the old style income support and PIP. I had MH problems due to abusive ExH and lost my job when pregnant.

I did Access Science. Student Finance loan of £3000 for tuition fees which are written off when I graduate Uni. College paid for some childcare but not all of it - I had to rope in DBro for that.

I’m a single parent, 10 years older than you and was stuck in Retail also. I’ve just completed an HNC in Administration and IT and heading to do my HND next year. I have no expectations of this course leading to a particularly well paid job, but if it gets me a Mon-Fri desk job with the chance of progression/ further study then that’s good enough for me. I have LOVED being at college and wasn’t the oldest doing the course.
I’m in Scotland so funding will be different, but with 2.5 days at college ( bursary/Loan) and working approx 10 hours a week ( Tax credits) I had the equivalent of what i’ll probably be earning full time.
The course covered basic accounting too which would be a good base knowledge if you wished to develop this further.
Go got it! Any other questions, just ask.

I started university nearly 2 years ago. I did a foundation year and am about to enter my second year of my degree. You aren't too old. I'm a lot older than you! If I get switched to UC before I graduate it will definitely be tight but my degree will definitely lead to a well paid job. More than I can expect to ever earn without it and I'd still be on UC anyway in that position.
My advice is to look really hard for a course with a good outcome. I can expect a starting salary between 30 - 36k (I'm not in the SE). You may need to do either Access or foundation if you decide to go down the degree route. You are only 30. You potentially have another 40 years to work. Its worth doing. Good luck.