Ok, really really need you to decide our future for us!

[Rhubarb]

Well, dh does and I may hand this thread over to him later on.

Briefly, he has 1 A Level in Psychology and around 10 GCE's, he did a year at Uni studying BSE Earth Life Studies, this was in 1988/89. He left after a year because he had a mental breakdown.

Since then he's been working in the agricultural industry and most recently he's been a qualified digger driver. Up here in Carlisle he is struggling to find work so we've been thinking of a change of career for him. He's doing voluntary work with the Red Cross to improve his IT skills and hopefully get a bit of First Aid training. He would like to get into Mental Health, but we've just been enquiring about such courses at our local Uni.

All the Diplomas in Nursing are 3 years. To get onto a course he would first have to do a Foundation Year, which takes us to 4 years, by which time he'd be 45. I'd also have to work full time to support him.

4 years is just too long. Especially for me as I don't want to work full time, I want to be with my kids whilst they are still young. I'd be working in a crappy office job and I'd be unhappy. 4 years is also too long for dh.

Where can he get good careers advice? Does anyone have any good suggestions for us? Every time we come up with a good idea there seems to be a catch. For instance I thought about Environmental Work, Forestry and stuff, but you need to study for that too, there are no bursaries for that and it is notoriously badly paid.

Please help us decide our future!

Anyone?

I'm not sure that I've got any clear help but I didn't want you to feel ignored.

My ideas are:

Care Assistant working in a Mental Health setting.

Classroom assistant.

Youth work.

Have you inquired about the bursary he would get if he did nursing?

Would the foundation course be full time or could he do it in the evenings and carry on working?

My idea - might be a silly one, but here goes. With his experience in agriculture/building, could he team up with a garden designed and start up a landscape gardening business? Or join one as a gardener with a view to progressing to his own business?

Well - do you have any tree surgeons locally? I do know someone who at a relatively late age started work with a tree surgeon and received on the job training - OK ish pay and they are never really out of work .... might tie in quite nicely with his other qualifications.

Snap Cloudhopper !!
Both of those areas of work mould together quite well!

Thanks for your answers.

Care Assistant - no. We want him to start having a career, I've done care assistant work and it is very poorly paid and leads nowhere I'm afraid.

The Foundation Year would be during the day, I did one myself. He would get a bursary yes, around £5k a year, but still 4 years is a long time out of your life. He is unsure about the whole studying issue again, I think it brings back memories of that year at Derby Uni. It is a huge commitment to remain in one place for 4 years. It is for us anyway. We are in a rented house, broke and to think about remaining like this for the next 4 years is a bit depressing.

We will look into the gardening stuff and tree surgeon, I don't think he would do landscape gardening though, you need imagination for that and again, you need a qualification.

Electrician/plumber? On the job training (with pay) plus day release at college? Would leave him with a very portable and in-demand skill?

It sounds like he has the practical skills to do landscape gardening. I wondered if he could team up with a recent graduate from an Agricultural college or something and start a business together - a bit like Handy Andy and Laurence Llewelyn, but so not like them iyswim!

Dh says no to electrician or plumber. I should get him to come on here, but he says he doesn't type fast enough!

We thought we were onto something with Nursing, but it seems we are back to Square One

Well whatever he does make sure it's the right thing. DH spent 4 years training as a teacher - meant to be a new start at 30 - hasn't taught a day since 1998

He's now a carpenter/builder and enjoying it but not earning a fortune. Agree with Zog about plumbing - but tell him to be ready for everyone else working on any future building site to hate his guts

oh x-posted. No plumbing.....ermmm....

Will enquire about Landscape Gardening. The only difficulty will be getting someone to give him a chance and take him on. They tend to set up with friends or people who have done the course.

We just need some friendly people willing to give dh a chance, but here on the borders there is a shortage of friendly people.

I think you can start as a Care Assistant in a hospital and although it is badly paid at first, there might be opportunities to study as a Grade B nurse and get the nursing qual that way. But not sure whether that option is available locally and not sure in MH whether it is a well trodden route.

I would contact NHS careers service if health appeals, because there are many other careers in Health, and different pathways in.

OrmIrian, I know what you mean. Dh is 41 and it is vital that if we put our finances and effort into a career change now that it is the right one. I just wish he knew what he wanted to do! We get an idea but then we hit loads of setbacks which makes it impractical. It's just so frustrating!

If there is a local agricultural college or adult education college, he might be able to attend an evening class in garden design or similar to see whether it sparks his interest, meet contacts and how to get "in".

I think a look on the NHS website should give a link to the careers service, but there is loads of info there about how to train.

Teaching assistant, special needs? A friend did this with almost no qualifications, but a short history of care work - mostly with the elderly.

Maybe care work might be something to try for 6 months to see if that's really what he wants to do, or to see if it opens doors or inspires him to do something similar.

Take your point about it not being a career though.

An NHS bursary for a diploma in nursing is about £6,500 I think.

He's calling the NHS Careers Helpline now. Fingers crossed!

Just to give you a bit of background, dh is very quiet, he's not a leader, he could never go into management or teaching or anything like that as he doesn't have the authority and he hates telling people what to do. But he is a great listener and has a very calm aura. He'd make a great counsellor and because he has had mental health issues himself we thought he'd be great to go into that line of work.

How do you get into counselling, does anyone know?

DH did care work for a while - he enjoyed the work and cared about the residents (adults with learning difficulties)but the pay was cra*p and he worked irregular shifts. The only time he missed Christmas Day

The University I work for offers a part-time evening course at various levels in counselling which (I think, off the top of my head) are accredited by the official British Counselling body (not sure what it's called). Has a very good reputation. Why not contact your local uni and see what they do evening wise - it's much more user friendly and supported than being a full on full time ug student. Once in to that sort of course there would be access to a lot of careers guidance, people who know what the options are etc. Certainly, there is no end of need for qualified counsellors for the students. HTH

The NHS are sending him a brochure and have told him to look for Health Care Assistant or Support Worker jobs on their websites.

I'll look up counselling qualifications too, as he can also volunteer for charities such as MIND or the Samaritans.

THere are lots of counselling evening courses. He may be able to work and study in the evenings. Try Hotcourses.
Your gp's surgery may have a resident counsellor - if so, perhaps he could approach him/her for a chat?
Sounds like counselling is more his thing.

What about training to be a social worker
Policeman
Drug/ alcohol worker
Prison officer