Unemployed for Christmas? Get a trade skill for Life!

The BBC reported today that employment figures are down by 9,000 making the current figure 2.45 million unemployed people in the UK. It’s no surprise that the figures have dropped, especially as Christmas temporary and part-time jobs are becoming available for the busy period of the year. However, this is generally only a short-term solution to a continuing problem.

Electrical Training Course NewsAt PASS Training we’ve found that people are taking up part time employment, job shares and re-training to fulfil skills gaps for in demand employment sectors. Furthermore, we’ve found that many companies have been reluctant to take on full time staff in the current economic climate, and those looking for employment have been taking advantage of new part time positions or shift work available. Many of our candidates have taken the opportunity, while in part time employment, to retrain as a PAT Tester for extra income and several have taken up full time courses in the Derby, London and Stockton City & Guilds training centres.

At PASS Electrical Training Course, candidates from various professional backgrounds have been taking on new skills and trades rather than returning to an unsecured ‘desk job’. With Christmas part-time work being a short term solution, many people are looking to education and training to help sustain themselves in a full time employed or self-employed role.

Some candidates that have been made redundant, have used their severance pay to retrain as tradesman or electrical installers. Instead of going into higher education and 3 years later starting work in a new industry, they’ve choosen a practical hands-on career with immediate prospects after only a few months of training. This is one of the reasons we developed our two new electrical installers training packages.

Have you retrained from a desk job to become an electrician, PAT Tester or electrical installer? What’s your thoughts on retraining? Have you found it hard to get funding or support? Get in touch and lets us know at news@pat-services.co.uk.