European Social Fund in England

“It’s brilliant and provided us with a clear direction.”

Just weeks before Christmas 2008 Mary and Brian Seaton from Bournemouth, both senior managers in their early 50s, were made redundant.

Twelve months on they have had one of the best years of their 30 year marriage, both have new careers and they’re both looking forward to a prosperous 2010.

Part of their success is down to the European Social Fund (ESF) Response to Redundancy (R2R) programme, co-financed by the Learning and Skills Council, which aims to deliver a broad range of high quality services for people made redundant regardless of age or position.

Mary, formerly a senior manager for Bournemouth Council working in the leisure department, was made redundant first. Brian, who was a centre manager for a national plant and tool hire company, a company he’d worked at for 31 years, was told about his redundancy only weeks later.

Mary said, “When I was made redundant I felt quite worthless, but when it happened to Brian I felt better, not such a failure, because Brian needed me. In fact we both laughed and decided that the only way for us had to be up.”

The couple were introduced to R2R by Jobcentre Plus. Whilst on the programme, delivered by BEST Training in Poole, they developed their CV writing and interview techniques and refreshed and updated their accountancy, marketing and IT skills.

Brian said, “One of the great things about R2R is job matching. You answer questions to find a job profile and the results reveal the type of job you should look for. It’s brilliant and provided Mary and I with a clear direction.”

“For me R2R was all about self-esteem, growing and recognising my own strengths and weaknesses and we made some very good friends,” said Mary.

When they weren’t training, the couple also took the opportunity to spend time together walking and establishing a photographic business for Mary - occasions they agree have been some of their happiest times.

After completing R2R they began the search for new jobs. By August Mary was managing a gym and in September Brian took a position as a facilities assistant at the brand new Bournemouth University Executive Centre - new careers that they both find more satisfying than their previous ones.

R2R Programme Manager for BEST Training, Clive Hale said, “The key is recognising that redundancy is not personal, it’s purely financial. The focus of R2R is not just about bringing skills up to date but about knowing how to market yourself.

“Mary and Brian were ideal for the course. They were enthusiastic, positive and full of commitment. They were both realistic about the position they were in and recognised there were new skills they needed and old skills they needed to update.”

Mark Williams, ESF Director for the Learning and Skills Council South West, said, “Mary and Brian’s story is a perfect illustration of how successful the R2R programme is. It can be tailored to match everyone’s needs, regardless of age or position. Rather than redundancy being the end, with R2R it can be just the beginning.”

Mary is now planning to take NVQ level 2 qualifications in both Workout to Music and Fitness Instructing so she can teach at her gym.

She said, “At the end of it all we’ve both said ‘What a wonderful year!’ Not many people have the opportunity to improve their existing skills, learn new ones and meet such great people. It’s all good and proves that even at 50 you can have a complete career change!”

Project information (January 2010)

The BEST Response to Redundancy project runs from April 2009 to December 2010.

It will receive around £180,000 in ESF support.