A Newcastle man has gained IT skills and found work following operations which left him unable to return to his career in construction.
John Shrimplin, from the Walker area of Newcastle found himself facing a late-life career change following a full double knee replacement which left him unable to handle the heavy manual labour he had done all his life. Refusing to give up work, the former builder, 63, knew he needed to gain some new skills to find new job opportunities.
John says, “The job centre referred me to Newcastle Futures for advice on what direction to go in next, and it was them who recommended I try the computer and internet courses at the Thomas Gaughan Community Centre. I knew I couldn’t go back to work as a builder after my operations and I’d need some new skills to get into a different line of works so I thought ‘why not?’ I definitely wasn’t ready to give up work for good.”
It was these computer courses that were to help John find his new direction. He says, “Before coming to the centre I had no experience of computers at all, I’d never even tried one! I was nervous to be honest. Like trying anything new, you get frightened of showing yourself up. The staff were excellent though and I found it all really interesting.”
For Hazel Lapidaki, the Resource Centre Manager for Newcastle Futures, who use the Thomas Gaughan Community Centre for outreach services, John’s experience is all too familiar. She says, “We do a lot of work now all across Newcastle that’s a direct response to the current economic situation. Although we continue to work with the long term unemployed, increasingly we’re now seeing people who have been in the same job for decades but because of redundancy are back in the job market without the computer skills they need to search for work.”
John sympathises, “I honestly think the internet is the only way to find work now. You only have to go to the job centre to see that everything is ‘apply online’ or ‘email your CV’. Before I learnt how to use computers, I just wasn’t hearing back from employers at all and it really could be quite disheartening.”
Fortunately John was soon putting his new skills to good use, “I wrote up my CV on the computer and I was soon using job search website and applying online.”
For John, learning new skills at the centre made a real difference to his attitude to work. He says, “To be honest when I first started looking for work after so many years in the same kind of job, I didn’t have a clue where to start. Going to the centre gave me the confidence to realise all the different kinds of jobs I could give a try.”
John’s now about to start work as a cleaner for the local university and he couldn’t be happier. He says, “Although it’s a cleaning job I will need to use a computer for some tasks so I’m pleased I get to keep up my new skills. And it’s just great to finally get back to work. I was determined not give up and since learning how to use a computer, my new skills mean I don’t have to!”
John Shrimplin, from the Walker area of Newcastle found himself facing a late-life career change following a full double knee replacement which left him unable to handle the heavy manual labour he had done all his life. Refusing to give up work, the former builder, 63, knew he needed to gain some new skills to find new job opportunities.
John says, “The job centre referred me to Newcastle Futures for advice on what direction to go in next, and it was them who recommended I try the computer and internet courses at the Thomas Gaughan Community Centre. I knew I couldn’t go back to work as a builder after my operations and I’d need some new skills to get into a different line of works so I thought ‘why not?’ I definitely wasn’t ready to give up work for good.”
It was these computer courses that were to help John find his new direction. He says, “Before coming to the centre I had no experience of computers at all, I’d never even tried one! I was nervous to be honest. Like trying anything new, you get frightened of showing yourself up. The staff were excellent though and I found it all really interesting.”
For Hazel Lapidaki, the Resource Centre Manager for Newcastle Futures, who use the Thomas Gaughan Community Centre for outreach services, John’s experience is all too familiar. She says, “We do a lot of work now all across Newcastle that’s a direct response to the current economic situation. Although we continue to work with the long term unemployed, increasingly we’re now seeing people who have been in the same job for decades but because of redundancy are back in the job market without the computer skills they need to search for work.”
John sympathises, “I honestly think the internet is the only way to find work now. You only have to go to the job centre to see that everything is ‘apply online’ or ‘email your CV’. Before I learnt how to use computers, I just wasn’t hearing back from employers at all and it really could be quite disheartening.”
Fortunately John was soon putting his new skills to good use, “I wrote up my CV on the computer and I was soon using job search website and applying online.”
For John, learning new skills at the centre made a real difference to his attitude to work. He says, “To be honest when I first started looking for work after so many years in the same kind of job, I didn’t have a clue where to start. Going to the centre gave me the confidence to realise all the different kinds of jobs I could give a try.”
John’s now about to start work as a cleaner for the local university and he couldn’t be happier. He says, “Although it’s a cleaning job I will need to use a computer for some tasks so I’m pleased I get to keep up my new skills. And it’s just great to finally get back to work. I was determined not give up and since learning how to use a computer, my new skills mean I don’t have to!”
