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TWO WEEKS AGO, Liam Horan wrote about being back in college after a 26-year break. The article generated a huge response, not least from people who found themselves in the same boat.
Liam writes: It felt like my article of a fortnight ago turned over a stone – and out came dozens of people with a similar story to tell. Waffler started the feedback – defeating any negative connotation inherent in his Journal handle – by telling us he was back in college the following week “at age 35, after being made redundant in August.”
Jason Spratt, 37, “started back to college about five weeks ago” and found it “a bit strange at first.” Mary Frain “went back at 50, following redundancy” and is now in her Honours Degree year and hoping to continue. “Sure it is tough financially, but it is liberating, self-affirming and brilliant for confidence… best decision I ever made.” Siobhan Breen also labelled it “the best thing” she has ever done.
In total, 49 people commented, and, almost without exception, the contributions included back-to-college tales and/or words of encouragement to those who had gone back or were thinking about going back.
So why did so many come out of the woodwork to share their stories and encourage one another?
Was it really about going back to education – or did it tap into something deeper? Perhaps it touched on the determination many people are now showing to get through this recession?
Emails I received would support this contention. Award-winning photographer David Walsh, 45, a former colleague of mine from Mountbellew, Co Galway, wrote to say how he has recently taken to learning Spanish – at home. He wrote:
I bought a Spanish language book many years ago and every time I moved house, I brought it with me, but I had never got beyond the second page. Then, recently, when I had time on my hands because work is much quieter now, I took out the book again – and I started learning it.What inspired me was the fact that a second language could be a help to me somewhere down the line, maybe in a sales or marketing role in an Irish-based business that exports or deals with suppliers overseas. I notice more and more employers are listing a second language as a job requirement.
It certainly won’t be a burden. Learning Spanish is something I can do, without having to incur cost, and it has given me a great boost to be doing something positive that might stand to me again.
Another man, Paul O’Neill, got in touch to say he had placed an advert in his local paper last week, after six months of unemployment. In it, he announced his availability for placement on the National Internship Scheme (JobBridge). He said:
I outlined how I had management experience, including six years managing a golf club/tourist facility, and I just want a chance to get back on the ladder. I can help a company grow its business. I have got some replies, and I expect to be soon taking up a placement that will get me started again. It felt good to place the advertisement. It felt like I was taking control. If you had asked me five years ago if I could ever see myself taking such a step, I’d have laughed at you.But you do what you have to do. I know many people have a problem with the National Internship Scheme, but I am prepared to do a placement if I feel I can learn from it, develop my skills, and prove my worth.
In the article two weeks ago, I referred to a man who closed down his family business after 25 years. I didn’t name him. After he read the piece, Michael Baynes said he wanted to come out from behind the veil. He said:
Part of the process of rejuvenation is letting people know that you’re changing – and that you’re doing well too. I closed down the business which had been in my family for generations, but I got great support from my family. I went back to college. My wife supported me. We don’t have bundles of cash. It’s amazing how you can learn to shrink your living costs to cope with losing one income in the house. When you put your mind to it, you discover great resources within yourself.
Michael is in the final year of his Honours Business Degree at GMIT, Castlebar, Co Mayo, and is adamant it has “given me a fresh hunger for business.”
He added: “I’m 45 years of age, and I have a great deal of business experience. Taking out a few years to study has given me a fresh perspective on life, and I am very enthusiastic about the future.”
He’s nursing a new business idea, and is starting to navigate the funding options. “I am happy to tell my story now, even though I haven’t become a business success yet. But that’s not really the point: the point is to encourage people not to give up, not to believe all they’re reading in the media about the country being dead on its feet. Stay optimistic,” he said.
Liam Horan runs www.SliNuaCareers.com, a career training company providing CV preparation, interview training, mock interview, and psychometric testing services. He will be contributing a regular column dealing with career issues. If you have any topics of questions you’d like him to deal with, email him on liam.horan[at]slinuacareers.com
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Communism doesn’t work !
I saw on the TV that china are sending their workers to work in the mines in Zambia and in the forrests in Brazil that they own. This is a result of their work ethic of 7 days weeks with 10 to 12 hour days. As the work dries up in china I expect them to export more workers to Europe and wherever else they own. Our government have just agreed to grant more visas and set up a hub for the Chinese entry point to the EU. We ate selling our soul to the slave masters.
“as the work dries up in china”??? uneducated claptrap, only germany exports more than china and that will soon reverse, they are buying as much of africa,asia and south america as they can for 3 reasons, food production to feed their massive population, mineral aquisition to supply their massive industrial production demand and energy production as a commodity to sell to europe and north america, one such plan is the covering of deserts with solar panels, my brother works for a chinese shipping company, they build cities to produce specific items like solar panels or oil pumps, within the next 3 years they will over take the usa as the worlds leading economy, their major advantages is their work ethic and flexibility, as the work dries up in china indeed, also they are building casinos all over the world, in the last 5 years the chinese have built more casinos in asia than all casinos previously built in the rest of the world combined
Their work ethic is impressive, however life is absolutely worthless there. If China becomes the leading world power, which it will, in next 5 years, it will represent a massive threat to democracy and freedom and could lead to rights we have taken for granted being rolled back.
It’s the land of the indentured slave.
When the Chinese are the next super power we will wish we had the americans back. Their work ethic is a slavery work ethic – and its not communism its capitalism with Asian values. I saw the zambian workers, they said the Chinese are the worst to work for.
Ah no it only grew by 8%, how will they manage ! They should come back here for some lessons from Bertie.
Er, basically this is another sign that international capitalism is in meltdown and only communism can save the oppressed masses…er……
I take it dave from your comment you have never been to a communist country
I’m pretty sure Dave was taking the piss guys.
see what happens when you sell your kidneys for an Ipad!!!
I was watching an analyst on BBC earlier who stated that at this stage anything below 7% growth on China would basically be viewed as a recession by the markets… nice for some!
The analyst on c4 also suggested that at the worst case scenario if economic growth serioiusly stalls in China the party may choose the option of uniting the people against the threat of an outside enemy to stop the huge population turning on itself.
broken china in the 1 percents display cabinet , they wont be happy
8.1%????…..Christ we’d take a quarter of that!
so 8.1 % means the total size of the Chinese economy doubles every 9 years. Physically impossible. there isnt enough resources or markets in the world. Oil peaked in 2006 and Chinese export economy is impossible without oil at a reasonable price.
@revolting peasant ‘mineral acquisition’ is a very tame way to describe resource plunder and environmental destruction.
That’s what a visit from Enda can do.
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