Skills Launchpad Plymouth
Support for adults aged 50+
Supporting the over 50s in Plymouth
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Are you at the mid-point of your working life and thinking about a career change?
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Perhaps you need support to review your skills and CV, or to get advice on starting your own business? You may be looking to develop new skills through training or education, or even share your own skills and experiences with others. Whatever your goal, we want to help.
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With a wealth of skills and experiences to draw from, people aged 50+ have lots to offer the workforce and in this section you will find lots of information and signposting to help you navigate your options.
If you need any further help, please email skillslaunchpad@plymouth.gov.uk.
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Getting online
The way you apply for jobs has changed. You may need to complete a digital application form, or at the very least submit a CV and cover letter, and that means accessing a computer, and having access to an email address and telephone number.
If you have good digital skills and access to a digital device (such as a mobile, laptop, PC or smart tablet) you won’t have any problem with this, and you’re probably already set up with an email address. If you don’t though, please don’t panic. There are lots of courses to help you gain digital skills (click here), and libraries have public use computers that you can work from if you need to.
Looking for work
You can print off a CV and hit the streets to find jobs advertised in shop windows, but the majority of jobs are advertised online. To get started, click here for our ‘Find a job’ resources, including a list of recruitment agencies.
Volunteering
If you aren’t sure what kind of working environment is right for you, volunteering is a fantastic way to test out different jobs to find out what you prefer. It will also help you to gain experience and develop soft skills that are useful in all careers. You may also choose to volunteer as a way to give back and share your skills and experience with others.
Plymouth has lots of great volunteering opportunities with organisations including: University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust, St John's Ambulance, Age UK Plymouth, Elder Tree Befriending, Trevi, Shekinah, The Box, Barnardos, Devon Mind, The Zone, Devon Wildlife Trust, Gables, Devon and Cornwall Police, Ocean Discovery Rangers, National Marine Aquarium, Clean Our Patch, Nature Plymouth, Citizens Advice Plymouth and Moor Trees.
You can also explore vacancies broadly by visiting Volunteering | PLYMOUTH.GOV.UK or https://govolunteering.co.uk/
Changing careers
Whilst it’s likely you have a wealth of experience in a specific job area (or more), that doesn’t mean you can ONLY do jobs in that sector. In all jobs you develop transferable skills that you could make use of in a completely different role. To explore different careers and find out what jobs involve and if it’s right for you, check out the National Careers Service website here.
English and maths
You may be fed up with being asked about whether you have your English and maths GCSEs, or a functional skill in numeracy and literacy, but these skills matter and can really help you to get better jobs and earn more money in the long run. Here in Plymouth, there are a number of training providers who can help, including Achievement Training, City College Plymouth and On Course South West.
Multiply
This fully-funded programme is designed to help adults without a maths GCSE at grade C (or equivalent) to improve their numeracy skills. Locally, training is less focused on skills that won’t benefit you in daily life, but designed around tasks such as helping children with homework and budgeting money. It can boost your employability too.
Training providers in Plymouth offering Multiply include, On Course South West, Focus Training Group and Real Ideas.
Digital skills
Having digital skills is very important to access services and for daily life in today’s society. Whether you would like to improve your skills using digital devices, mobile phones, laptops, computers or smart tablets at home, at work or for studying, there is a range of courses that can help you, whether you are a complete beginner or have more advanced digital skills.
If you’d prefer to do a digital skills course in person, contact City College Plymouth on 01752 305300 or On Course South West on 01752 660713 to discuss upcoming courses.
Alternatively, if you have access to a computer and would like to take a look at online digital skills courses, take a look at the links below.
Retraining and upskilling – whilst you will have many transferable skills, sometimes further study or training can help you to take your career in a new direction. Whether you are starting from scratch or looking to become a trainer or teacher yourself, you will find great links to the further study and training opportunities available in Plymouth here.
Skills Bootcamps
Skills Bootcamps are intensive nine-week skills accelerator courses that will enable adults to build up specific sector skills and fast track to an interview with a local employer. These high quality training programmes are delivered free of charge to self-employed, employed and unemployed adults to meet skills needs and job vacancies in the city.
On Course South West run Bootcamps focused on content related to digital and green careers (here) and City College Plymouth offer a Green Skills Bootcamp and Retrofit Bootcamp (here).
As you know, a CV is a short, written summary of your skills, achievements and experience. You often use it in the first stage of applying for jobs. Employers may ask for a CV instead of an application form but it’s important to adapt it to each job description.
There is help available so that you can create a CV that stands out and gets you through to the interview stage.
National Careers Service
The National Careers Service is not only a national service for adults aged 19+, but also has a really informative website. Click here for lots of free advice including; writing your CV, completing an application form, preparing for interviews and job hunting.
If you’d like to see someone face-to-face for support with your CV, sign up as a member of Skills Launchpad Plymouth here and we can put you in touch with a local National Careers Service advisor.
JCP Plymouth
If you are a Universal Credit claimant, ask your Work Coach for help with your CV and they will be happy to support.
Think that apprenticeships are just for school leavers and young people? Think again!
Apprenticeships are open to people of all ages. They are real jobs with real training, meaning you can earn while you learn and gain a nationally recognised qualification from level 2 up to degree level, depending on the role you are working towards.
Get started with our Apprenticeship pages here.
There is lots of support available to help you stay in work, even if you have health concerns or a disability, including seeking reasonable adjustments or flexible working arrangements. We’ve outlined some of the key support packages below:
The Health Adjustment Passport
Completing this document can help individuals to identify support or reasonable adjustments that they may require in the workplace due to a health condition or disability. It covers several aspects of support including travel to work, accessing work premises, the need for specialist equipment or IT and various types of support worker. By completing this process, you can have an informed conversation about the support you require and access information on how to apply for an Access to Work grant if you have a need for support in the workplace. Find out more here.
Access to Work
If you have a physical or hidden disability, or mental health condition which makes it hard for you to do your job or get to work, Access to Work will look at the reasonable adjustments made by the company you work for and see if they give you the help you need. This could include:
receiving counselling or job coaching
making changes to the equipment you use to do your job
moving your equipment if you change where you work
providing interpreters such as: British Sign Language, video relay service support, lip speakers or note takers
helping to make changes to your vehicle so you can get to work
paying taxi fares or a support worker if you cannot use public transport.
giving you access to a support worker or job coach to help you at work
giving disability awareness training to people you work with.
To be eligible to apply, you need to have a paid job, be self-employed, want to access a job interview, start a job or work trial, or gain work experience. More information here.
Menopause and the workplace
Whether you're experiencing brain fog, mood swings, hot flushes, painful joints or other symptoms, this life transition can last anywhere between four and 14 years.
Women should be able to expect support and assistance during what is, for many, a difficult time. This includes feeling able to talk to managers about menopausal symptoms and how these might impact on their work, as well as looking at suitable adjustments that can be made where reasonable. Being able to manage symptoms effectively via support in the workplace should be an important factor in helping women to experience an easier menopause transition.
Please see the links below for more support if you are impacted by menopause:
Financial help with HRT ​​​​​​​
Boots- Menopause awareness​​​​​​​
Able Futures
Once you are in paid employment (self-employed, temporary or permanent), and whether you are attending work or off sick, if you are having problems with your mental health Able Future is a free service that can support you if these issues are impacting work. This could be a loss of motivation, focus, punctuality, attendance, relationship with colleagues etc. The team’s aim is to help individuals learn ways to cope better with mental health challenges and move forward to a more enjoyable future.
Get started or find out more here