A number of years ago I was made redundant from my long time bakery management job.  (21 years)

With a wife and 2 young children to support, I signed up with a local driving agency.
This was going to be a temporary thing until I found something more suitable but I stayed on the driving for over 7 years.

Initially, they put me on vans with Parcel Force.  As we approach Christmas, a lot of companies might be looking for extra cover.

After a while, they put me on 7.5 ton lorries and then, because I was reliable, the agency paid for me to do my HGV test on condition that I stayed with them for 6 months after I passed.
As far as I could see, that was a great offer because they wanted to get as much work out of me so they could recoup their investment so I knew I would always have work.

Lorry or van driving might not seem the best jobs in the world but I enjoyed it and it brought the money in.

Good luck with what ever path you take.

Sell off the stock you don't use but keep the rest as it is unlikely you will get anything like the true value of it. One of the great things about this hobby of ours is, once you have the stock and some track, it only costs you some electricity to have trains running.
As for scenics, this is where you look for free bits to turn into scenery and to give the creative side of your brain a workout.

I get handed strange looking pieces of plastic from friends which are tops from containers, they also keep wooden lollypop sticks and other bits and bobs to see if I could use them "for my train set" 

You never know what is round the corner, so before selling, sleep on it before asking yourself "how far will the money go if I sell this?"

Cheers John.

Didn't I hear the government mention the Northern Powerhouse recently 
Apologies for the politicking, but I fell prey to their wonderfully crafted military policies last year Cudders, the package offered me was rubbish so I dusted down my cv and started firing it out there and got it online too.
Be pro-active mate, get yourself out there and keep your chin up.  If you have worked all your life you will have a great set of skills to offer an employer so do not despair.
And if you want any help with a cv please get in touch 

Quote from: Lawrence on October 06, 2015, 07:49:45 PM
Didn't I hear the government mention the Northern Powerhouse recently 
Apologies for the politicking, but I fell prey to their wonderfully crafted military policies last year Cudders, the package offered me was rubbish so I dusted down my cv and started firing it out there and got it online too.
Be pro-active mate, get yourself out there and keep your chin up.  If you have worked all your life you will have a great set of skills to offer an employer so do not despair.
And if you want any help with a cv please get in touch 

Hi Cudders

Sound advice from Lawrence.

I would add that when I was made redundant after nearly 34 years with the same employer I found I needed to adapt to the new world of job hunting in that dropping a CV in speculatively as one might have done in the past was no longer the way.

Most jobs these days are advertised online, and the application process is too. It seems tedious filling the online forms out but it is the way very often and worth taking your time, answering questions fully, including how your own skills/competencies suit the role in question.

Keep positive and don't undervalue the skills and knowledge you will have undoubtedly acquired in your working life to date.

Kind Regards

Roy

I went from being a very well paid Sales manager (£10 million portfolio) with company car + the usual benefits to working for minimum wage firstly in a bar and then as a contract warehouseman order picking on an RAF base for slightly more than minimum wage. I took anything going to (a) keep some money coming in and (b) to stop me going stir crazy at home.
Make sure you have at least 5-6 different versions of your CV specifically highlighting your skills applicable to whatever job you apply for if it comes to it, Cudders. Sometimes I failed to get a job as they thought I was over qualified and wouldn't stay with them

Good luck with the job search.

What sort of role are you looking for, just in case anyone on here has a potential lead?

Cudders, not nice what is happening to you.

However, one door shuts but another will open just as sure as the sun rises every day. I sincerely hope you are back on the rails soon.

Best wishes
Webbo