Apprenticeships are a great option for young people that are trying to break into a new career. But people often get the wrong idea about apprenticeships and think they are only for young people. However, they are just as effective for older adults too. Unfortunately, this misconception about apprenticeships means many adults are missing out on a golden opportunity to further their careers and find fulfilling work. Here’s why apprenticeships are such a great option for a later life career change.
Learn New Skills To Change Careers
Deciding what you want to do for the rest of your life is difficult and sometimes impossible. You should not feel like you should have to stick with one career your entire life. Many people find that their dream career doesn’t turn out the way they thought it would. But once you have already dedicated so many years to a certain career path, the idea of changing can seem daunting. If you want to start from scratch and pursue a different career, you may need to learn new skills to qualify for the position. Apprenticeships are one of the best ways to do this because you get trained on the job. You dive straight into learning practical skills that are directly applicable to your chosen career. This means you can quickly get qualified and start pursuing your brand new career.
Earn While You Train
Financial worries are the biggest thing stopping people from changing their careers in later life. When you have a mortgage and a family to provide for, you can’t afford to leave your job and go back to school full-time. This leaves many people trapped in jobs they don’t really like, with no way to break into a new career. But there are some great organizations like ABC Heart of America that offer paid internships so you can earn while you train. This makes such a huge difference because it makes it possible to retrain for a new career while also supporting yourself financially. Even if you earn less than you were at your previous job, you’re still bringing money in, which makes things much easier for you and your family.
The other big benefit is you have no debt at the end of it. If you decided to go back to college to train for a new career, you would have to cover the cost of all of the fees and then manage without an income too. This means you will be left with debt for the majority of your life, and that’s never a good position to be in.
Opportunities For Self-Employment
If you are fed up with your job and think that you might want to work for yourself instead, apprenticeships are a great place to start. Opening a business from scratch is a big risk. If you have financial concerns, you might not want to go down this route. But if you do an apprenticeship, you can learn a trade or train as an accountant, for example. These are all great options if you want to start working for yourself.
If you are planning to change careers in later life, don’t think it’s impossible. An apprenticeship is definitely something you should consider and may be the best option for you. If you are not sure what direction you should take, you could work with a career strategist, coach, or counselor to help you along your journey. Here’s to YOUR success!
Carolyn R. Owens has over 25 years of proven experience and serves as a Career Strategist, Leadership, and Life Coach. She is the Chairwoman and CEO of Infinity Coaching, Inc., where they help you up-level your skills so you can up-level your income. Infinity Coaching, Inc. provides one-on-one and group coaching, organizational training, and personality assessments. Carolyn is certified to give both The Energy Leadership Index Assessment and Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) Assessment. You can find out more about both assessments and other products and services athttps://infinitycoaching.net.
