Seeking a New Challenge? Here’s How to Find the Best Careers to Retrain for in the UK

But, whether you’re looking to re-enter the workforce or want to leave your current role and make a fresh start, what do you need to consider? Here are a few essential questions to ask:

• Why are you changing careers? Do you want to pursue a long-held passion or move on to something with less pressure?
• What are the financial implications? Consider whether changing careers will mean taking a pay cut, and whether this is something you can afford.
• Is it a career change or a tweak? Sometimes simply making lateral moves can offer the opportunities or the fresh start you’re looking for.

For more advice on what you should consider before retraining, read our article on retraining at 50.

So, what’s actually involved in retraining for a new career?

Read on to find out more, including the best jobs to retrain for in the UK, where to find them, and how to use your existing skills to find success and fulfilment in a different role.

How to Utilise Your Existing Skills

Whatever your previous experience, chances are you’ve got a wealth of knowledge and skills to bring to the table. This puts you in a great position to retrain and find a role that complements your current skill set whilst also offering you a new challenge.

The UK government’s National Careers Service website has some really useful information on identifying skills and upskilling, including advice on how you can discover your transferable skills. They also have a handy skills health check which can help you narrow down where your skills would be best placed.

It’s also useful to think about what you enjoy and what comes naturally to you, as well as skills or tasks you’ve received recognition for. For example, is there something that your current colleagues rely on you for? For example, do they come to you to help solve problems or help them with their communication?

What Skills Do Employers Look For?

Employers tend to look for a mixture of soft skills and hard skills, so don’t automatically rule yourself out because you don’t tick every box. Establishing your strengths will help identify where you might want to upskill.

For example, if you have all the soft skills required, but only some of the hard skills, you may be able to do a course to bring you up to speed on the more technical or job-specific aspects of a role.

What Are Soft and Hard Skills?

Soft skills are also known as people skills or interpersonal skills, and usually refer to social competencies and personality traits. These are more difficult to measure than hard skills, but are often learned through experience – something over-50s have plenty of!

Some examples of transferable soft skills include:

• Problem solving
• Leadership and people management
• Communication
• Teamwork
• Critical thinking
• Situational awareness
• Time management
• Empathy
• Common sense

Hard skills are more technical, job-specific skills that are often learned through formal education or training. These tend to be more measurable than hard skills and are specific to a job. Examples include foreign languages, computer programming, copywriting or data analysis.

What Is the Best Career to Retrain For?

The number of job vacancies in the UK reached a record high of 1.3 million in May 2022. Whilst this has fallen in the last year, job vacancies are still high – so if you’re looking to retrain and find a new challenge, there’s plenty out there to choose from!

Of course, the main impetus for changing careers should be to follow your passion or to find a role that works for you. The best career to retrain for is the one that makes it worth your while!

However, there are always industries with more demand, so let’s look at the current trends you can capitalise on.

Hospitality

In December 2022, the ONS reported that the hospitality industry had the biggest shortage of workers. Pubs, hotels, restaurants and cafés all suffered the most. The industry is still desperate for staff, so could be a good option for those seeking a new challenge.

If you like working with people and have an interest in food, drink or customer service, hospitality could be for you. It also makes a great change from the 9-5 office job, so it’s perfect if you’re looking for something less sedentary with more opportunities to meet different people in later life.

Public Services, Including Healthcare

It won’t come as a surprise that public services are crying out for talent. Teachers, social workers, nurses, prison staff and paramedics are just a few examples of some of the most in-demand roles in the UK right now. In fact, it was reported that in the first quarter of 2023, there were some 202,000 vacancies in the health and social care sector.

Roles within health and social care, education, and emergency services are vital in the basic functioning of society. If you love helping people, these careers can be highly rewarding. Plus, these roles tend to offer a fairly decent pension.

However, if you’re looking to reduce your hours or stress levels, bear in mind that certain roles within the public sector may not be the best choice. It’s really important to keep your motivations and priorities in mind when looking at the different industries and careers you could retrain for – the last thing you want is to leave a role you don’t want, only to find yourself in the same position, especially later in life.

Tradesperson

If you’ve tried to get hold of a builder in the last few years, you’ll know they are about as in demand as it gets. But it’s not just the more active end of the manual labour spectrum, such as construction. Plumbers, mechanics, boiler engineers and electricians are also in high demand, and probably always will be, due to the nature of the work.

If you like working with your hands and solving problems, a career as a tradesperson could be for you. If you’ve already got some technical skills in one area, you may find it easier to retrain in another – even if you don’t, there are tonnes of courses out there to get you started.

Administration and Support

If you’re looking for a desk-based job, an administrative role could be for you. A career in this area is great for those with experience in an office environment or computer literacy skills. It’s also more structured than other options and could offer an opportunity to reduce stress and provide more headspace for activities outside of work.

If you’ve logged a few years behind a desk, chances are you could offer a whole host of knowledge and experience in an administrative role.

Driving Instructor

Yet another hangover from the pandemic is huge waiting lists for driving lessons. In January 2022, 78% of driving instructors had a waiting list for new students, with a Covid backlog and significant demand leaving many people waiting six months to start learning to drive.

If you enjoy driving and like the idea of teaching others, a career as a driving instructor could be a great option. It’s a very flexible way of working, with options to be an independent instructor or work for a local franchise or national driving school.

Accounting and Finance

A report from KPMG and REC reported that the accounting and finance industry had one of the highest numbers of permanent vacancies. This is great news if you’ve spent most of your working life running numbers, or have a penchant for spreadsheets and sums that’s never been realised.

Are There Any Companies Looking to Employ People Over-50?

In short, yes! There are certain companies with a good track record of employing people over-50, including Boots UK, Barclays, Aviva, B&Q and Age UK. Check out our jobs board to get started with your search.

How Will I Fund My Retraining?

If you’re able to access free training through your current employer, and decide to make a move within your existing company, you could save yourself a few bob. However, if you’re looking to upskill in other areas and will be accessing paid, external training, you’ll need to consider funding.

Some may be in the fortunate position to have saved a bit of cash over the years, in which case, you might be able to use this to help fund your retraining. But for the rest of us, what options are available for over-50s looking to upskill and retrain for a new career?

Government Grants

There are a number of grants and bursaries available to adult learners looking to retrain. Often you do not have to pay this money back, which is always nice to hear, particularly if you’ll be taking a pay cut when you start your new career.

There are also industry-specific grants and bursaries. For example, help with training costs is available from the NHS, as well as for social work and teacher training.

Apprenticeship Schemes

Apprenticeships aren’t just for school leavers! They provide a great way to continue working whilst retraining, and are particularly good for learning vocational skills such as hospitality, plumbing or hair and beauty. The government website has loads of local apprenticeships to choose from – or you could apply directly to a company that you’re interested in.

Following the Spring 2023 budget, there are even more options for over-50s looking to retrain. The introduction of returnerships brings together three programmes to help people get back to work and pursue exciting new challenges and career opportunities.

The scheme combines Apprenticeships, Skills Bootcamps and Sector-Based Work Academy Programmes (or SWAPs), targeting over-50s who are looking for a career change or want to get back into work.

From 2025, adult learners will also be able to apply for a Lifelong Learning Entitlement loan of up to £37,000 to help them retrain or upskill, no matter what stage they’re at in their career or life.

Student Finance

If you plan to go back to university to retrain as a mature student, you’re entitled to apply for a tuition fee loan or finance for part-time study. There’s no age limit for tuition fee loans or part-time study loans, and these are usually paid back once you start working, through the UK tax system.

Can I Complete My Retraining for Free?

If funding your retraining isn’t an option, there are numerous free online courses which will not only help you save money but also help you establish whether the new path you’ve chosen is right for you, without shelling out.

At 55/Redefined, we’ve partnered with Maguire Training and ProAge to offer members over 20 free online training courses. These take around 20-30 minutes to complete online and cover everything from problem solving to marketing.

Online courses are a great way to build your confidence, learn new skills and help you land your dream job. If you’re not sure which is the best career to retrain for in the UK, online courses are a good place to start.

Where Can I Find Careers to Retrain for in the UK?

Once you've established the best career to retrain for in the UK, and have decided what’s right for you, there are lots of places to look for retraining opportunities.

We’ve already covered apprenticeships and returnerships, but there are other options too.

The Open University is offering a Midlife MOT for people in their 40s and 50s, designed to help you take stock of everything from finance to skills and health, so you can be better informed when deciding on your next step. The Open University is also a great place to look for training courses, modules and even part-time degrees, designed to fit around your life.

The National Careers Service not only offers tools to help you assess your skills, but also explore career options and find training courses. They provide helpful and personalised career advice, including making career choices and developing new skills.

Other examples of where you can start your retraining journey include:

• NowTeach for those looking for a new career in teaching.
• Skills For Life offers training, support and advice to help you get the career you want.
• Cousera is great for online courses designed to help you switch careers.
• Oxbridge Home Learning is encouraging career change at 50.

There is also more employment support for the over-50s on the government website, covering everything from age discrimination to improving your CV.