To wonder if it's possible for someone like me to do an apprenticeship?

[Newstartin21]

Good morning, I'm posting for traffic really but it would be interesting to see if anyone else has found themselves in the same situation and what you did to change it? Any words of wisdom would be helpful...

I'm 27 and have worked in child care since leaving school, this has ranged from nursery settings to schools and being a nanny.
Apart from the odd cleaning job, most of my work experience is child care related and at this point in my life, I'm just so bored with it and feel that I've gotten everything that I possibly can out of the job. Long hours, poor pay and not much progression which doesn't give people much incentive to stay. I really want to change careers and I've applied for lots of jobs over the last couple of months but I've had no luck. I'm particularly interested in the customer service industry but I wonder if it's the lack of experience that's putting employers off? If you look at my C.V, it's all child care related. I've tried to tailor my C.V and covering letter to highlight skills that could be used in different jobs but I've failed to catch their eye.
I understand it's probably easier for them to employ someone who already has the experience than have to train someone up, but how on earth do people get the experience if their not given a chance?

I've even tried to apply for the track and trace roles as I've heard that their pretty laid back about candidates having experience but I would need to supply my own equipment which I don't have, so I'm limited on what jobs I can actually apply for. I know their crappy jobs but I thought it might at least get my foot through the door. I don't own a laptop as I've just used my phone and I've never really had a reason to buy one either, not that I can afford one now anyway. An apprenticeship seems like a good route to take but it would be less than minimum wage. I completed one when I was 17 which wasn't an issue then as I lived at home and didn't have any bills, but I now have a mortgage as well as all the other costs on top. I am more than willing to find an evening/weekend job to bump up money but I would also need to factor in enough time to complete any written work.

I'm not looking for any hand outs as I know I need to figure this out on my own and no one else can do it for me but surely there must be some sort of help for people who want to retrain and better themselves? Unless I'm looking in the wrong places, I can't find much information about this type of stuff. I feel like I'm fighting a losing battle and I'll probably be stuck in the same job for the rest of my life is it too late for me to change careers?

I'm in Wales btw if it makes any difference.

I think you may be too old for an apprenticeship??
www.gov.uk/apply-apprenticeship

Have you considered the OU??

I don't have any knowledge of the system in Wales, but have just begun to work with someone experienced in the field who has said that most apprentices are either young and have just left education, or who are older with work experience (usually in the field of their apprenticeship already).
This was an interesting place to start, which might raise a few questions you could investigate: www.bestapprenticeships.com/adult-apprenticeships/

I would also make contact with Careers Wales for advice careerswales.gov.wales/
(I have been joining some webinars recently from the English equivalent about interview practice and so on, which can always help in some way).

There are also careers/hiring fairs that might be worth attending, especially for the post-Covid changes which could have a big impact on some approaches to jobs. Even if you don't get excited by anything there, it can be interesting to see how employers in the market are directing their energies and messages.

I hope it is ok to post this too, but the best recent advice I have read was in an AMA post from someone who specialises in helping people change careers. It is time-consuming, but like everything, a few runs through makes it easier to do and you warm up to it rather than keep thinking - oh, look at all this that I can't prove. I also get the feeling that more energy might be injected into this if you could get a friend to help and both talk about these points, get them down:

Lifted entirely from an AMA by another poster - can't take credit for it but very appreciative for it.

"CV: Personal statement
3 key achievements that relate to the job
Work experience using active words like delivered, improved, designed, created ...
And then education.
No more than 2 pages.

Take a job description for the kind of job you would like to do next - in this new profession.

Get three coloured markers.

Highlight all the qualities and skills they ask for in either green yellow or red.

Green - yup I have totally done that/got that
Yellow- I’ve done that but in a different way/context/diff audience
Red- that is a gap

Then see from the colours where your experience covers it, where skills transfer and where you have gaps.

Then work our what stories you would tell for each - the evidence of your greens, the transferable skills of your yellows and the gaps of red - with red - what could you do before the job or on the job to address that gap and how would you be proactive about that. Everyone wants to learn something new in a new job, otherwise it wouldn’t be a stretch - so it is fine to not cover everything.

Great employers hire for the person. Knowledge of a field can be learned quickly, new software or skills can be acquired. Being a can do, proactive, responsible, smart and hardworking person cannot be taught."

Sorry I'm unfamiliar with how it works in Wales but in England my mum just completed an apprenticeship age 62 after a total career change.

[quote OldTinHat]I think you may be too old for an apprenticeship??
www.gov.uk/apply-apprenticeship[/quote]
Not really. People of all ages are now doing apprenticeships.

Re jobs. You need to look at your cv and applications. Pp posted good advice.

Have you got a library around? Or place where you can pay to use a pc? It may make a difference because of a structure etc

My 34 year old son is two years into an adult apprenticeship in a total career change, and his pay is way, way above teenage apprenticeship wages. (And the conditions are also very generous!) He did need to do a one year college access course but is now on track for a well-paid career. We're in Scotland, though.

I completed an apprenticeship last year with my employer, I had been with them for 4 years and already have a degree in an unrelated subject. Doing the apprenticeship meant the course was paid for and I had a day a week to study, no drop in wage. We also advertise for paid positions where you complete a degree through the apprenticeship levy. What sort of area do you want to go into? If you look for larger employers, NHS, civil service etc they will be paying in to the apprenticeship levy and have a pot of money they have to spend on apprenticeships.

I have recently been doing a lot of interviewing for an apprenticeship programme that we run where I work and the candidates have ranged from 19 to 65. You are definitely not to old.

I'm a PhD student writing my thesis on Graduate Apprenticeships in Scotland. People of all ages complete apprenticeships - they're a fantastic alternative to traditional degree study.

The Civil Service does apprenticeships. Some of my colleagues in their 50s have just finished theirs. Worth exploring? You don't need a degree either, just GCSEs,I think for the AO roles.