TIME FOR A CHANGE?

Time for a change?

Many of us reach points in our lives when we could do with a change of job or career. Sometimes it can prove helpful to speak to someone; to get a bit of guidance and advice on what options are open to us or how we can best forge ahead towards our personal goals.

A number of innovative ways of helping people with careers advice, guidance and information are available in west London...

An increasing number of service providers and agencies recognize the importance of ongoing careers advice, guidance and information. The outdated image of the careers advisor being someone who thrusts advice into the disinterested ears of bored schoolchildren is just no longer a reality in a society in which the world of work has become so much more complex and prone to rapid change.

As adults, many of us will experience changes in our work. We may face unemployment or redundancy and find it difficult to get back into work with our existing skills. We may complete a long period of study and not really be certain which is the best avenue for us to pursue once back on the employment market. Or we may experience a lack of fulfillment and challenge with our existing career and want something that offers us more scope to grow and take new opportunities.

We may even be perfectly happy with our current career but simply curious about what other paths might be open to us as individuals with particular interests and skills.

Across west London, a number of providers are now exploring innovative ways of offering the kind of face-to-face professional information, advice and guidance that can help us take advantage of the opportunities open to us. We could even think about how to create opportunities for ourselves by making the right choice of training or learning.

A good example of these easy-to-use information, advice and guidance (IAG) opportunities are the drop-in careers advice sessions being run by the Hammersmith & Fulham AES Information, Advice & Guidance Team.

These are being run at a range of convenient venues in the borough including libraries, education centres, job centres and community centres...

Nottingdale Technology Centre
Mondays, 9:30 - 13:00
Macbeth Centre
Mondays, 09:30 - 12:30 Tuesdays, 17:00 - 20:00 Wednesdays, 13:00 - 15:00 Thursdays, 13:30 - 15:30
Barons Court Library
Tuesdays, 11:00 - 13:00
Sands End
Tuesdays, 14:00 - 17:00
Fulham Library
Wednesdays, 13:00 - 15:00
Fulham Job Centre
Fridays, 10:00 - 12:00
Bryony Centre
Fridays, 14:30 - 16:45

"There's no need to make an appointment, just drop in and the advisor will be glad to see you", explained Connie Colli, one of the community-based careers advisors.

" There really isn't a single type of person we see. Some people come because they have been out of work for a while looking after their children and now want to get back into a career. Some people come because they have an idea of the kind of job they would like to do but don't know where to start applying or what kind of training they should consider to get there. Some people speak to us because they want to know all the types of job options open to them after completing studies. Really, we are here to help anyone with a question or query about work and learning. It's not just for people who are thinking of committing to a specific course or career."

And for anyone who has dropped by one of the sessions, it's pretty evident that many adults are starting to see the benefit of sitting down with a qualified careers advisor to review their individual options.

Furthermore, if your query can't immediately be dealt with, you don't have to go away empty handed. As Connie points out, "If we don't have answers for someone immediately, we can always consider booking an appointment for additional support or to go through using some of the specialized careers resources that we have. We can also follow up by phone or email."

The service offered by Hammersmith & Fulham AES is just one of a number of specialist information, advice and guidance services available to the residents of west London.

The Wayahead -West London site gives details of this west London providers services in a range of west London boroughs. In addition to services available to adults over 20, they offer a range of specialist services aimed at younger adults between 16 and 20. The front page of the west London site also has links to some excellent online resources on careers and the world of work.

The national Connexions initiative aimed at younger adults also has a comprehensive site specifically for their west London partnership. Their site offers detailed information about their services and where to find them in west London in addition to a collection of good links to online resources dealing with work, career and wellbeing.