Support to career change made dream job a reality for Angela
Contacting a careers adviser after moving to a new area was life-changing for Angela Innes and her family.
Support from Skills Development Scotland (SDS) helped caring Angela career change into her dream job supporting young people in Ayrshire with additional learning needs.
After the pandemic, trained Art and Design teacher Angela and her husband Jamie decided to move from Airdrie to Prestwick for a better lifestyle.
Understanding local opportunities
The couple started a family but, as her maternity leave was about to end in 2022, Angela realised she couldn’t manage the daily commute to her high school in Dumbarton.
Hitting a brick wall in her research to find work that used her years of experience, and without any knowledge of the local area, Angela contacted her local SDS careers centre for advice.
Angela explained: “I knew I was well qualified but discovering there was so much red tape to develop beyond my role was a big knock. I had a post graduate degree, twenty years of experience and lots of training, but I couldn’t get into a career in Early Years because I didn’t have the right qualification.
“I was open to change but I didn’t know much about the local authority I was living in or have any links in the community. I really didn’t know where I could go from that point and was starting to panic.”
Personal and accessible support
Angela searched online, found information about the careers services from SDS and got in touch with the centre in Ayr, where she was put through to careers adviser, Heather Cipa.
Heather got to work understanding how she could help Angela with her situation.
Angela said: “I was invited to come in and have a chat with Heather, who encouraged me to bring my baby daughter with me. The support was really personal and accessible and Heather has a great personality, so we got on really well.
“We looked at my credentials together and the focus was for Heather to understand them and my experience. Heather started to talk about settings where my skills could be used and asked me what I liked most about my job.”
Angela explained her counselling training for working with people with additional support needs and the work she did in her school’s nurture department to support the pupils needing extra help.
Expertise to recognise passion
It was Angela’s enthusiasm for this work that got Heather’s attention. Heather explained: “Angela came to me to understand how she could look for jobs in her catchment area. I wanted to find out a bit more about her and when she talked about working with children with additional support needs her face lit up. I could tell that it was the type of work she thrived in and wanted to see if that was a path she could pursue.
“I asked Angela about the possibility of becoming a guidance teacher and we looked at what experience and skills would be needed to do that.”
Heather contacted the head of supportive education at Ayrshire College, Arlene Trapp, who agreed to meet with Angela to offer information and advice about working in supported learning.
The meeting helped Angela realise her passion to support young people through a guidance related role and confirmed that she already had the skills to get started. Her next step was to get on the pre-approved supply list for the college.
A new future
Soon after, Angela was on the college system and offered two days a week in the Kilmarnock campus, working in the Supported Learning Department, which delivers different courses and offers help with routes to careers.
Angela’s passion for the job shone through and she was offered a full-time position at the department, where she helps neurodiverse people access education or prepare for the world of work.
Angela said: “I’m much happier in my current job. The job is massively fulfilling and I’m learning every day. It’s very rewarding to watch students develop. I always try to incorporate my creative skills into my job too. It’s also only twenty minutes up the road from my home, which is absolutely fantastic for my work and life balance.”
Career service with connections
Angela was able to benefit from the expert career information, advice and guidance SDS advisers provide to customers of all ages. Local SDS teams also work closely with other organisations and services to make sure customers can benefit from other support offered in the community.
Heather said: “Angela initially came into the careers centre for a bit of direction but the support we were able to give her opened up more options and a new path for her future.”
Angela added: “Heather had all the right connections and if it wasn’t for her I wouldn’t be sitting here doing this great job.
Her expertise and links meant she knew all the right people to get me the help and support I needed. I want to thank her from the bottom of my heart.”
Angela, who recently turned 40, believes there are a lot of other women who might be in a similar situation to the one she found herself in and don’t realise they have still have options in their career.
Angela explained: “After having my daughter at 38, I thought I’d got into a position where I wouldn’t be able to use my experience and skills and would have had to have settled for something. I think there must be other women that think that about their own situation.
“I would encourage anyone in a similar circumstance to speak to a careers adviser to find out what their options are.”
Life-changing support
Now that Angela is back in a full-time job, the whole family has benefited from Heather’s support.
Angela explained: “My husband has been able to go on a work scheme that has enabled him to fulfil his personal ambitions by reducing his days at school to take on a second job as a Humanist celebrant.
“Both our working lives have changed massively through meeting Heather.”
The support given to Angela by Heather is part of the free expert advice from SDS available to anyone looking for help to make learning and career decisions.
SDS delivers career information, advice and guidance services in schools, in SDS centres and in community venues across Scotland, through its freephone helpline 0800 917 8000, and online at My World of Work.