No idea what to do.

[FenellaFieldmouse]

I'm early 50s, working in retail part time after over 15 years being a sahm. Split from ex so on my own financially. I have a degree and a post graduate qualification (education) but really don't want to go back to that and am barred from retraining because of the financial implications.
There is no prospect of getting anywhere in my current job, even extra hours are not available.
My youngest still needs to be walked to and from school or will require childcare.
I have no burning ambitions or the vaguest idea of a career I would like. I just want a decently paid job and am finding it very difficult to find anything.
I've done the careers advice website thing and it suggested broadcast journalism

Helpful suggestion from that website, Fenella. Yeah, just show up at the BBC and start reading the news.

How old is your youngest? How much longer are you likely to need childcare? Are there after school activities or clubs that could fill some of the gap? Could you look at an admin position in a school, maybe? The pay isn't great but the hours and holidays are generally more friendly for working parents, and your education background would be an asset there.

Thank you for replying.

My youngest is 9 and in year 4. There are some clubs, some free and some paid for. That's a good idea as an alternative to formal childcare.

I have applied for school office jobs but I think my lack of office experience and even recent IT is holding me back, I didn't get interviews. I don't know if it's worth offering a local school voluntary office work to get my hand in or should I do the further ECDL at a cost?

Some sort of office volunteering and IT training you can point to would help to open up many more avenues to you. They would also show that you're a candidate who is really serious about preparing yourself. So, it sounds like you're already devising a plan for the way forward. Maybe you need to draw yourself up an action plan - even if it's just in your head. Use the fact that you're working part-time now to prepare for future employment, get yourself up to date on Word and on Excel. Check out your local authority to see what adult education courses they offer. Focus on building skills and some admin volunteering if you can find it. I would say a reasonable time-scale would be until the summer holidays, so you don't have a bigger childcare headache, and then start applying for jobs as you approach the end of the holidays with your brand news skills in place .

Best of luck to you.

Thank you for your advice and good wishes!