Am I unattractive to employers?

[StillSmiling92]

I'm almost 28 years old. Average GCSE's, terrible A levels, good Access to Higher Education (level 3) qualification and university drop out.

I have a 4 year old who starts school in September and I've mostly been a SAHM living off my partner. I've also been cleaning part time for 1 year now and worked in retail prior to that.

So, being a mother and a university drop out I know that employers would likely throw my application in the bin (childcare and lack of expertise). Not for retail roles, but for professional roles such as accountancy or software development for example.

What can I do to improve my circumstances when I'm not eligible for any training or funding?

Please help

What kind of job do you want?

Yes, we need to know your interests. What would your dream job be? What subjects did you enjoy at school?

Accountancy and software development do require particular qualifications though, it’s not something you can just walk into even if you haven’t had a career break.

I doubt you're in a worse position than anyone else as regards unskilled work.

But you're not going to get 'professional roles' without professional qualifications - whether that's through a degree or apprenticeship.

Have you had any contact with expert careers counsellors? I'm sure there are ways and means to fund some types of training in your particular situation.

Finance and accounting perhaps. I've looked at a few appreticeships, but they're aimed at younger people.

Not sure I could even do an apprenticeship with my age.

You would be unlikely to get a professional role without a professional qualification. Have you thought about completing your degree either at your old uni or taking your credits and applying to the second or third year at a different uni? You could possibly look for an apprenticeship and gain a qualification that way, or you could join a company at entry level admin/customer service etc. and take advantage of company training schemes to train and work your way up.

I would try some volunteering, maybe in an office if you can (the job centre helped my DS with this). Then office temping and see where that takes you.

My DD temped last summer while home from uni, just inputting stuff, and was offered a role that would have led down an accountancy route.

Yes you can do an apprenticeship at your age. I teach apprentices. They range in age from 20 to 50.

Art and English, but hate them now. I can barely write well anymore and art is a bore.

I did psychology for 1 year at university and dropped out in 2nd year due to depression and having to care for DD.

A family member works for a council and they have apprentices considerably older than you - might be worth looking at public sector?

Accountancy at a chartered level requires so many exams, it's expensive unless you have a sponsor, and when my other half was studying and working full time, it took over his life.

I'm not sure what quals you need for other accounting related positions, it depends what you want to do. Maybe look into AAT, this might help www.aatqualificationsnavigator.org.uk/

Hmm ... I'm no expert but I've heard of plenty of middle aged or older people being accepted for apprenticeships!

Not sure I could even ... is the wrong spirit with which to begin. Do the research first, then choose from the options you discover. I do know how easy it is to talk oneself out of things - but at 28 I doubt anything is impossible.

Sounds like you need to do a bit more thinking and research. I know it's chicken and egg and there's no guarantee of the job if you do the work, but IMHO, being a mum and age are not an issue.

You have got to be qualified and show passion for the area you want to go on, if you want a professional role. You have to fight for it, and that's not coming across at the moment. Work out what you want so you can get excited about it.

You can do an apprenticeship at any age, but obviously the pay won't be great. You can also go back to uni and do a degree if you want to, as everyone is entitled to four years of funding and you have only used one.

I'm just trying to look for a way in to something. I wouldn't consider university again as I'm not eligible for any government funding- I would have to pay the fees myself. Plus my writing ability has declined in recent years so I wouldn't feel confident in pursuing that again out of fear of failing.

I sometimes feel like being a parent gets in the way of my aspirations. I need a way to rediscover what I like. I'm in homemaker role right now and have been for years. I automatically clean and do mum stuff. But something inside me wants something for myself.

It may be easier to volunteer with your DC school, join the PTFA and offer to help, e.g with treasury role. That way you can gain more recent experience and think about your strengths and areas to develop.

To be honest you need to look into some free possible CBT courses and change your way of thinking. Your OP and subsequent messages are really negative - defeatist - and that’s not a good place to start.

You need to start having some self belief to believe you can and you will! A good idea is to simply wake up in the morning and tell your self this!

Your childcare isn’t your employers problem - if you want a job you apply for it and sort your own childcare.

You haven’t ‘lived off’ your partner he’s supported the family and you’ve taken care of your child.

Maybe start looking into some alternative - vocational career routes - doing quals whole
you train I know a lot of people have done this in accountancy.

Perhaps when colleges are open see if you can access a careers advisor. Good luck BUT first steps first start to believe you can!

Software engineer here, and also an interviewer at a large tech company (for up to and including senior roles) 🙋🏼‍♀️

I couldn't give two hoots about whether you went to uni or dropped out, or if you have kids! As long as you can explain yourself well and complete the task set for the interview, then it's most likely going to be a thumbs up from me. If you taught yourself via YouTube I'd be even more impressed, as that takes dedication and discipline.

If you want to go into a career that requires a degree or diploma, could you look at the Open University? My mum used to study once me and my brothers went to bed.

Good luck, OP. You'll be great whichever path you chose!

You haven’t ‘lived off’ your partner he’s supported the family and you’ve taken care of your child.

+1 to this!

Apprenticeships are not just for school leavers and your age would not be a barrier.

I know an accounting apprentice in her 30s who left school with no GCSES. She’s doing her AAT currently and hopes to go further.

You need to find some where that offers in house training. It might be a lower salary to begin with but it’s a foot in the door.

We have staff that have less qualifications but because they have experience they earn a great wage.

Would you consider call centre work?

Sounds like you’re afraid of failing but really in your situation you need to just take the plunge. As pp have said you can apply for an apprenticeship - they might say no, but try anyway! They might say yes. I also think if your writing ability is worrying you then that’s the first and probably quite a nice easy going thing to look into improving first to give you a confidence boost. What is it about your writing that worries you or you think isn’t up to scratch?

We have older apprentices these days. We habs one who's close to 50.

For any other work in an office, you don't really have work experience, so a traineeship of some sort is your best bet.

I don’t think this is a great time to be looking for a job to be honest. If anyone’s even hiring now you’ll be competing with a lot of people who have more experience who’ve just lost their jobs and if most offices are currently operating WFH policies they won’t trust a new hire to do that.

If I were you I’d spend some time thinking about what it is you want to do work on your CV and see if you can find relevant online courses.

If the driver is money, e.g. your partners job is at risk then I’d forget about the professional roles and try and get a supermarket job. They’re all hiring.

Consider a bookkeeping qualification or the AAT accounts technician qualification.
Think about what you want then gather the skills and quals. It might take awhile but you'll get there.