I think I’m unemployable

[elsaandanna]

I’m 58
I have been a self employed childminder for nearly 30 years but stupidly didn’t take out a personal pension.
The number of childminders has halved in recent years. And I can see why.
Ive had enough too. But I can’t retire as I still have bills to pay. I’ve got a polytechnic degree from the 1980s. I had some office experience but I had my kids and I became a childminder when my kids were young and since then the time just sped up! I’d like my home back now my kids are grown.
I don’t want to work with children anymore. I’d have to take a pay cut in a new job but I think it’s worth it. I’ve had a chat with the free National Careers service. They have looked at my cv and emphasised my admin skills. Job application forms have changed so much in 30 years. I feel too old and too institutionalised. I tried a couple of civil service positions and got nowhere. People can’t see past me being a childminder.

Does your local authority have a service for people struggling to get back into work? They can sometimes get you placements till you build experience. If you have time you could look at volunteering with something like CAB to add to your CV. Pay not good in charity sector but they are often more open minded about what skills they value. Hope you find something soon.

I’m similar in that I’m 58 and feel unemployable, except that I’ve worked in admin and HR for the past 30 years. Now, however, the job market has seriously changed in the past few years. Technology has increased and employers are looking for a different set of skills. Not sure of the answer or the way forward.

I think the problem is that while you have the skills, you're up against people who have the skills and direct experience and that is always going to be tough.

The employment market is incredibly tough at the moment, a lot of admin work is now expected to be done by AI or automated in other ways, and it's always that much harder for older women.

So I think it could well be very tough for you to find employment in a field totally divorced from your experience - and in that sense it might be very hard for you to be immediately employable in a different role and sector.

Is there a halfway house? I know you say you don't want to work with children but is there a compromise where you are doing office management/admin for a nursery chain or school - showing you have the skills to navigate the regulation that comes with working with children, have the ability to interact with the kids without them being your main job, etc.

I would say (as someone who retrained in her 40s and got a new career) that the only way to not be seen as a childminder is to retrain so that you have a shiny new qualification. I too was completely unemployable after 17 years as a SAHM, except that during that time I did a degree and so I had a recent qualification. If I hadn't done that, I'd still be unemployed.

I know that your situation is slightly different, because you've been working all this time, but being a childminder for 30 years only really qualifies you to keep doing that. You could probably get work as a cleaner, as a care assistant, maybe in a supermarket stacking shelves, delivering food or packages, but it's all minimum wage jobs and most of it is quite physical - would you be up for that?

Most admin jobs these days will require a good level of competence in Microsoft Office programmes (Outlook, Word, Excel, Powerpoint, OneNote), able to use Teams, and above all you need recent experience - no one is going to look at 30-year-old admin experience and hire you based on that, because everything has changed in that time. Most offices are paper-free these days, no one has a phone on their desk any more, everything is digital.

@elsaandanna jassy has given very good advice. Admin in schools and care homes ( they don't all smell of cabbage!).

Admin in charities and even the national trust.
Take the first offer because jobs are scarce. Over 50 employment is as bad as in 2008. I've friends still unemployed after two years and they're early fifties. Good luck.

Try to get some training if you can. It demonstrates a willingness to learn. And obviously the knowlege you pick up could be of direct help to get you into a new career i I did a course on cybersecurity a few years ago that my council funded. It was online.

I had a quick Google and there seem to be a few websites that will help you find a government-funded course eg this one

https://courses.theskillsnetwork.com/courses/find-a-course?search=&tag=&funded_location_england=england&learningMethod%5B%5D=1&sortcourses=&formInput=1

@cheezncrackers that’s depressing. I think maybe you have the stereotypical view of childminding. Hard to tell a tone from what you wrote. I’m not offended as I expect you meant it helpfully.
My job is pretty physical so I’m ok with that but no disrespect to cleaners etc I’m more intellectually stretched doing childminding due to the volume of admin, local authority, Osfted, accounts, contracts, training courses etc. I don’t just sit and play Peppa Pig games all day.

Have you thought about teacher training so you can teach childcare?

I just did a free Skills Bootcamp course in IT admin as I didn't have up to date IT experience and it was brilliant, really recommend having a look at them as lots of different courses and completely free! (Think you can just do one per year)

Do teacher training and teach childcare. You have 30 years experience you would do well and get your home back.

I thought the same re Teacher training. It doesn’t take as long because you’ll be a college tutor. Or you can be an assessor to assess childcare students. Good luck anyway. I hope you find something!

I agree with teacher training or TA work which seems very common for ex childcare workers.

i can see what cheez is saying- childminder admin isn’t transferable to an admin job, and admin jobs are few and far between as not really needed anymore.

tbh courses and most qualifications won’t really make you more employable although you might enjoy them.

Could you be an Ofsted inspector, look into routes to social work, or working with families with SEN as a personal assistant?

Like you say, you've got a good complex skill set.

If I become a TA ( which I would not want to) it would be a massive pay cut although the hours are shorter and there’s school holidays! But my days of working with children are coming to an end.
One day I might have grandchildren and that will be enough! If I’m still minding when they come along it will be like endless work

I know an ex-childminder who moved into being the manager of a community hub.

Admin jobs aren’t easy to get. Most need experience (which is obv the catch 22), plus you need to be conversant in all Microsoft programs (Word and Excel most used), plus Outlook/Teams/Sharepoint/Copilot maybe.

Emphasise the admin you’ve done in your role as a childminder in your CV (maybe best to do a functional one, not chronological).

Try not to stay out of the market too long - even if you are doing voluntary roles to keep your CV up to date. I made the mistake of having 8 years as a SAHM and even though I studied and got an MA then covid hit and it was impossible to work. I then lost confidence I could make the jump back into work...now AI filters out my CV twofold: because I am a woman and have had a break in employment. Just keep something chugging on (dated to current month on the CV) and I would recommend using initials on CV if they use AI to filter pre-interview. Don't throw yourself under the bus!

@SmallDFartyCarNRGIm still childminding. So no gaps in my employment but also no time to volunteer.

That will be fine then, I just think people can underestimate how strict AI is on any gap at all. Good luck anyway, whatever you decide to do next.

I know someone who moved from nursery nurse to being a receptionist in a Probation office. It's surprising the skills overlap if you have basic record keeping related IT skills.

It is not an easy job as it requires empathy, patience, clear verbal and written communication and the ability to keep calm while multi tasking (I told you there is an overlap!). It would be a pay cut but does have a DB pension scheme - not as good as most civil servants as it is a local government scheme but still good, after 10 years you would have a pension of about £5500-6000 per year.

I know nothing about childminding, so there was no 'tone' to what I wrote, other than a realistic one. It's tough out there and I didn't want to sugarcoat it. It sounds like you have a lot of admin experience relating to being a childminder, so how much of that would translate well to other kinds of job? If you're used to dealing with the LA, Ofsted, etc, then working in a school office or in the LA offices or something like that might be your best option. But if you want to do something totally different you're going to find it hard. There has to be some kind of bridge between what you've been doing for the past 30 years and what you want to do next.

Ex childminder here, i actually went to being a nanny then retired, but others I know went into Ofsted or a Company which trained childminders. One went to work for the council with children that could only see parents in secure settings. Others went into Welfare work. As you said there are very few childminders left now.

Could you maybe look for work as a childcare assessor for apprenticeships? You would need to research the course specifications and maybe do a course in assessing. Look at private training companies and local colleges. Also there are free admin courses available to get you some accreditation for what you probably did anyway

I’d rather see if I could get something like a work coach at theDWP or probation service. I just can’t face more years with children. I need a break before grandchildren arrive.

Well I can tell you that the civil service is pretty non discriminatory on age as I got a job in DWP aged 58. You will need to demonstrate the 'behaviours' and 'values' they are seeking through examples of work you have done and experiences you have had. Use the STAR method to respond. Maybe also be careful what you wish for as work coach is a pretty stressful job.