Career Change and Upskilling

Adult learning & retraining routes

• National Careers Service – accessing free training and courses, including Skills Bootcamps and local provision. National Careers Service+1
• Skills Bootcamps – free, flexible courses (up to 16 weeks) in areas like digital, construction and green skills; usually include a guaranteed interview. Skills for Careers+1
• Open University & OpenLearn – part-time degrees and hundreds of free short courses. Open University+2Open University+2
• FutureLearn – university-backed online courses for professional upskilling. FutureLearn+1

Advice for career changers

• Identify transferable skills (e.g. customer service → healthcare, sales → fundraising, admin → project support). National Careers Service+2Education Hub+2
• Test new sectors with short courses, volunteering and job shadowing before fully committing.
• Use a skills-based CV to emphasise strengths over job titles.