Is it too late to change my career?

As part of Adult Learners Week, we’re sharing our answers to some of the common questions we’re asked about changing careers and learning new skills as an adult.

We recognise that changing careers can be daunting, especially if you’ve been out of work for a significant amount of time. However, it’s never too late to learn, with some interesting stats about apprenticeships and adult learners revealed in this short blog.

How can I change my career?

If you’re considering changing your career and/or profession, we’ve got some top tips and steps to take if you’re thinking about exploring new opportunities.

This could be your communication skills, project management skills or problem-solving capabilities – all of which are useful, transferable skills to use when starting a new career.

If you already have a career in mind that you’d like to pursue, then you’re already one step ahead! However, if you’re unsure as to exactly what type of job role or position you’d be keen on, then you should research the industries and roles that are available in the area you’re interested in.

It may also be beneficial to speak to a careers advisor. Our enrolment and advice team will be happy to lend any and all advice on this, so please get in touch with us if you’d like to speak to someone about pursuing a career in a whole new industry or specialism.

Changing career is a marathon, not a sprint. It may take some time to learn the skills and complete the training required for you to be able to pursue a new opportunity within a new industry, so stay patient and try and absorb all the learning and training you can!

What learning options are available if I want to change career?

There’s many ways in which you can look to develop and learn new skills if you’re seeking a new career. We’ve provided a summary below of some of the options we have available:

Apprenticeships

An Apprenticeship is a job with training provided throughout, allowing you to earn as you learn and gain recognised qualifications as you go.

Apprenticeships take between one and four years to complete, cover 1,500 job roles in a wide range of industries and are available to anyone not in full-time education.

Our delivery partners, Just IT, have a range of Apprenticeships available if you’re interested in learning on the job in a digital or IT role.

Pre-Employment Training

If you’re currently unemployed but looking to pursue a new career, we have a wide range of pre-employment training courses available that can help introduce you to new key skills, increase your confidence and overall employability to prepare you to enter full-time employment.

Digital Skills Courses

If you’re interested in all things digital, we have a variety of short, online courses available. Our Essential Digital Skills (EDSQ) course will introduce you to digital technologies and you’ll achieve a Level 1 qualification on completion. We also have our Digital Bytesize course, with three pathways to choose from to learn more about Digital & IT Skills, Digital Technologies and Creative Skills, with Level 2 qualifications on completion.

Higher Level Skills

Our range of fully-funded Level 3 training courses focus on introducing you to new skills and practices in your chosen area, to enhance your employability and improve your CV. The courses available include Principles of Management, Social Media for E-Commerce, Networking & Cybersecurity and Principles of Special Educational Needs.

Aren't Apprenticeships just for school leavers?

This is a common misconception. While Apprenticeships are a great alternative to further education for school leavers, over half of all UK Apprenticeships since 2021 were taken up by people aged over 25.

When it comes to IT careers, there’s a wide range of Apprenticeships and Skills Bootcamps available via our delivery partners, Just IT, with careers in Software Development, Cybersecurity and IT Technical Support just some of the areas in which you can get started with a career in tech.

Is it too late to change my career?

The short answer is “NO!” It’s never too late to change careers.

When you consider that an average worker will spend over 100,000 hours at work during their life, then it’s worth pursuing a career you’ll enjoy!

Also, the average age that someone changes career in the UK is 39 – so you won’t be alone if you’re thinking of pursuing something new.

One example of a learner who decided to seek a new career was Sean, who enrolled on our Digital Bytesize course to learn more about new Digital Technologies.

Sean was apprehensive at first, but soon discovered he had a lot of transferable skills he could use to further his knowledge in this area.

Interested in learning new skills?

Get in touch today and speak to one our friendly career advisors. They’ll be happy to lend some advice about the best routes available to get you into work within a new career, whether that’s in digital, IT, education, management or something else!

The B2W Group has a fresh approach to transforming businesses by up-skilling their current staff or bringing an apprentice into the business to add a dynamic and dedicated individual to the team. All of our courses are available through various streams of government funding so are a cost-effective way to provide high-quality training within the workplace.

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