What can I do to be very widely employable?

[Buglife]

I'm just going back to work after Mat Leave and its dawning on me my job has become a total skills vacuum and has no progression available for the foreseeable future, if not forever now (public libraries). I always saw it as a career I could stay in and it's strange to be in a position to be thinking about what to do with the rest of my life. For the next year or two before DC is at preschool I want to do as much as I can to make myself well trained and very attractive to employers (I can only work Part Time until then realistically) because to be frank I just want a well paying job for a while, something with progression and transferable skills. While I think what my new forever career dream is, if I have one! Working with out of date systems at work mean I need to update computer skills from my 10 year old ECDL I think. I was looking at Pitman courses, things like Executive PA, Accounts etc, would they be good to get kind of 'high level' admin jobs? I know it sounds boring but I just want to make sure on paper I have specific skills that employers need. I have 12 years of full time work experience in libraries but also a couple of other sectors which looks good enough but I just want to be able to have something solid on my CV. Any ideas about what to brush up on/train in for this?

There are always jobs for accountants and book keepers in the local paper

Yes, I've been looking at courses that Pitman Training do, there's a comprehensive one which covers Sage, Bookkeeping, payroll etc and AAT Level 2 qualification. I suppose what worries me is that I think 'that's not really my thing' but surely with hard work I can make something my thing?! I just want to feel I'm doing something practical and sensible for the future. I feel like a 32 year old school leaver who is just shrugging and going 'I dunno' when asked what they want to do!

I do hate people asking me to imagine my dream job. I know what it is but I live in a rural area and can't train here or go elsewhere as dh is frequently abroad and I have two little children to take care of. I do the work I can get, as many do.

Watching with interest

Think carefully before you splash out on any courses. I do a lot of recruitment, and I tend to be more interested in the work that people have done than in the qualifications that they've got - all the theory in the world is fine, but I want to know that they can do the doing! So try to get some experience in whatever field you choose!

I definitely wouldn't train in something unless you are genuinely interested. Pittman is VERY expensive so I have always been wary. I can thoroughly recommend Keynet training for secretarial courses. Lewis college seem good too. What I did was looked at the International Career Institute and looked at all the courses then made a note of anything of interest and am now studying a medical Secretary course with Keynet which I am enjoying a lot. If you find a pitman course you like shop around to see who offers similar as my mind is still boggling over pitman prices.

I'm a PA (have been a long time) and I wouldn't recommend going that route. Companies have culled admin staff in the last few years so workloads are higher and there are lots of candidates so salaries have stagnated. I've worked at CEO level but there is generally nowhere to go after that as if you're good companies want to keep you in that role/not pay for professional development. Very difficult to find a decent PA role that is part-time as they very often want you on call 24/7.

How about project management? Not necessarily a part-time role either though...

Thanks for the replies! I started back at work today and remembered I do like this job of mine! But everyone is hanging on by their fingernails to the jobs they have, never mind any real chance of moving up at all. It's become a kind of dead role unfortunately.

Kampeki thanks for that, I think after so much time off I feel a lack of confidence in my work skills and so feel like I need to prove I have a specific 'learning' behind me! But it's true, I may pay a lot of money and find I'm no more 'qualified' than I was before. Also looking into wages for Legal Secretaries and part time Accounts Assistants etc and they aren't much more than I earn now. But there are certainly more jobs out there for them. Getting back into Academic libraries where I started would be the ideal as they are still pumped with money (and God, working for universities can set you up in a job for life, or at least it did 9 years ago!) but I've got two within commuting distance and again, jobs are hard to get. I'm in no desperate finacial straits but I'd like to be proactive in looking forward to the rest of my working life.

Tenant liaison officers are in demand. Basic IT and good communication skills are what is required. Money not bad too.

Office jobs tend to be very few and far TBH.

Great if you can get back into Uni work.