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Learning through
technology and innovation:
Yesterday I was fortunate to be able to enrol on one of the
very few still available free courses in my local area. The course is IT level
1 and It skills are one of the very best things that older job seekers can
update. It isn’t just about the opportunity to gain a current skill, but is
also about the fact that IT skills will be very useful to older workers as we
are now being forced to remain in paid employment( if we can get it) for much longer.
It is all very well in theory for the government to change the retirement
age but it is just not practical or safe
for many people to remain in the job that they first started to do when they
were young and perhaps much healthier…even if it was possible, which for health
reasons it is not, for me to return to my original job as a Nursery Nurse , it is difficult to imagine carrying
on this work until 65, which is my very earliest state pension age, and that is
under the current rules.
I have long believed that increasing the state pension age
and forcing people to work for longer is a false economy for the government. It
is in my opinion more sensible to give people a sensible retirement age, which
helps to protect their health and safety, and then ok, the government will have
to pay pensions, but the many young unemployed will be able to get jobs…
However, this is not the government’s policy, and so if you
have to stay in work or actually look for a new job in later life then IT
skills are a great asset...if you are already in work, a manager is less likely
to put you out of work if your skills and contribution to the company are up to
date and current, which helps you to function well in your job. If you do have
to look or a new job IT skills are amongst the most beneficial to gain and keep
up to date.
Apart from being such an advantage in the workplace setting,
IT skills are very beneficial if you are out of work and looking for a job, and
while doing so are living on a limited income. There are so many opportunities
online to look for work, get help with making yourself employable and finding
out about training and courses. You can get lots of help and advice on writing
a CV, Interview advice etc, etc and even specific advice for older job seekers.
There are forums and websites where you can share experiences with other people
and the Internet is if used safely a wonderful way to ease the isolation that
can so often come about through being out of work. It has been the many
resources I have come across online while job hunting that gave me the idea of
setting up this blog, so that I could share them
Living on a limited income really affects our social life
and friendships, it is a sad fact that some friendships may not survive because
lack of money means that you are just not able to do and join in with the
things that you used to. Being online is a wonderful way to keep in circulation
and make new contacts through shared interests like job hunting and a cheap way
to use leisure time if you are lucky enough to have a computer. Once the
initial expense of a PC or laptop has been covered, the cost of being online is
not actually that expensive these days as so many companies are competing for
your business that there are some very good bundled deals of calls and
broadband and even TV too.
When I mentioned earlier that the Web is a useful tool of
you are short of money, price comparison sites can be very informative and
helpful and very often when making a purchase for goods or services, much
better deals are available online.
I have found the online courses available from Vision2learn
excellent and have gained a level 2 in Equality and Diversity and am now
studying Business skills and Admin. These courses are free for most people and
the online interface is easy to work with, the courses are very good, with
excellent teaching material which is well presented.
Valerie
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