Can’t get a job, too thick for education

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I can’t get a job, I will apply for anything and have been. I have anxiety and depression, I have 2 children, and I’m wanting to go back to work after the time off being a stay at home mum for too long, I’m bored, I need the money, the confidence and something to do. But my GCSE’s are very C and D grade, I am too thick to go back into education, as much as I would love to. I just am getting no replies or the replies I am are saying no thanks. It’s getting me down worse than ever.

You are never to thick for education. It's never too late to try learning again. You might find that in a different setting and now that you're older you'll do better this time. Don't put yourself down. Try some adult education courses from your local council and good luck.

What are your interests and what would you like to study if you could?

Interests in anything medicine related but I can’t do much with that, I definitely can’t be a doctor! 😅 I would probably study nursing but it’s difficult and I really am not good at anything.

Have a look on nhs.jobs and I bet there are lots of support worker of healthcare assistant jobs. If you have lived experience of anxiety or depression and have been a SAHP you have lots of the skills they would be looking for. You can apply for flexible working and part time hours and they might find your NVQ. Good luck, don’t be put off, a degree isn’t everything

I would suggest that while you are job searching you try some voluntary work, so that you can add that onto your CV and get a reference. Also have you tried agencies that are looking for cleaners, drivers, working in hotels or kitchens, factories, hospitals, shops etc. You need to put time and effort into looking for a job or volunteer. The job centre should be able to point you to some local opportunities

Interests in anything medicine related but I can’t do much with that, I definitely can’t be a doctor! 😅 I would probably study nursing but it’s difficult and I really am not good at anything.

How about being an HCA? Healthcare role but no specific qualifications needed for entry www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/explore-roles/wider-healthcare-team/roles-wider-healthcare-team/clinical-support-staff/HEALTHCARE-ASSISTANT

If you did want to go down the nursing route, the way to go about it would be to do an Access to Nursing course at a local college. Working as an HCA first would stand you in excellent stead to get into a nursing degree course (they're competitive).

You might want to look at some of these courses, which are funded by the government as they are for essential skills. They are free for most people, you study at home, online but they have very good tutor support. Most end up with real world qualifications you can put on your CV. They have health ones and office and customer service ones. They helped me get back into work.
www.vision2learn.net/courses

Around us quite a few of the Mums have jobs in care homes, think they often have vacancies.

nobody is too thick for education.

My son is 14 and just embarking on his GCSEs, he has ASD and a learning difficulty. He is unlikely to come out with 8 GCSEs, never mind a clutch of grade 8 and 9s. We've looked at next steps for him and there are about 30 courses at our local college he could get on to with 2-4 GCSEs. He has lots of opportunities even with a limited number of probably very average GCSEs.

Have you looked at your local college to see what you could access? You don't need to be over ambitious to start with, why don't you look at doing something just for fun to get you back into the habit of learning and give you some confidence.
Also don't underestimate the positive impact of your life experience on your learning. I went back into part time education at 30 and full time at 40. At 40, I had a lot more to offer than the 22/23 year olds on the course, I did a lot better than them, not because I was any more intelligent but because I had life experience things to relate it to, and also because I had given up a good job, I quite simply wanted it more so worked harder.
Good luck, I'm sure there is something out there for you

Definitely get to your local college and see what they offer, mine do courses for getting back into work, free Maths and English GCSE, etc

I was in the same situation as you, I was interested in medicine and enjoyed typing, so once my children were at school I did a 2 year AMSPAR Medical Secretary course.

I am now a medical secretary in NHS.

Its never too late to learn.

Do a professional skills training course like admin or a baristas course or something. Not all education is acamedic.

I’m sure you’re not too thick for education.
Do a course in something you’re interested in and get help with getting a good cv done.

Try looking at Access courses. They enable entry to HE courses and you can resit any required gcses alongside. Primarily aimed at mature learners who may not have had the opportunity to progress or achieve at the usual point in education, although increasingly younger students take them as an alternative to A level or NVQ. You can get advanced learning loans to cover fees if needs be. Speak to your local college to decide if that is an appropriate route and whether you meet entry requirements.

I’d apply for care home work and then look at HCA work once you have a few years under you belt.

HCA jobs are hugely over subscribed here. Could also look at phlebotomy (blood taking)