Help me come up with re-training/courses on mat leave

[CrawlingOutOfTheTrenches]

Hey,

I'm about half way into my maternity leave and really need to leave my current job for so many reasons. I need to return for 3 months due to enhanced maternity pay, but I want to have a plan so I can start applying for jobs after my return.

In my current role I work with vulnerable/complex needs clients. Which in part I enjoy, but there is no time/enough staff to do the job properly. Previously you had lots of staff good at their jobs, who had been there some time. All 'senior' members of staff have left, apart from me. Lack of flexibility and work from home seem to be the main reasons for staff leaving. There doesn't seem to be any room for negotiation on this. My commute is 1hr 30mins, so for me some flexibility is needed. I don't want to be outing about my job, but think similar to a social worker. You do days on duty and you start early and cannot leave until everything 'urgent' has been dealt with.

So lovely people of mumsnet, please can anyone give any suggestions of jobs/sectors that allow hybrid working and flex in hours. Or courses which might help my prospects and that can be done in my own time.

I am good under pressure, and working with clients who are upset/distressed. I have previous admin experience. I am not good with numbers, so anything in a financial setting probably wouldn't work for me. Otherwise I'm open to pretty much any suggestions you have for me.

TIA

You need the Mature Study and Retraining board, here:

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/mature_students

It sounds a stressful job. Why not take time to see what jobs are available and hopefully with less stress.

I also left a healthcare job a few years ago and it was a brilliant decision so I don’t want to be a naysayer. I definitely think you should follow your heart.

However, the job market is horrendous at the moment, especially for entry level roles (which if you make a career change, you could be looking at). There have been loads of redundancies across many fields and so you’re getting a massive amount of people making career changes and so competition for lower level roles is insane. Employers know this and they’re no longer saying people are overqualified; they’re taking really experienced people for entry level roles.

My fixed term contract ends soon and I’m pregnant. I’ve been looking for a job for four months but not got anything. It’s looking like I’ll be forced to be a stay at home Mum for a bit. To give context, I have self funded myself through a couple of HR qualifications and I have three years experience in HR. But I can’t even get a minimum wage role. I’m not showing yet so it’s not my pregnancy counting against me.

I support and respect what you’re saying about needing a career change but unless you have savings or a partner who can fund you if you’re out of a job for a bit; now is a bad time!