"Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle."  Steve Jobs

Whilst simply walking out of our jobs is not an option many of us can afford to take, few of us are exploring all of the options that are available.

Even fewer are actually investing in ourselves to gain a better chance of getting a job that is more suited to our skills.

Though many are happy to splash out on the latest smartphone or tablet to make both our personal and professional lives easier, there aren’t many of us that will actually invest in the most important thing of all: ourselves and our careers.

Whether you lack confidence, are unsure if you’re in the right position or want to take the next step-up in your career, it makes sense for you to seek the support you need to ensure that you’re fulfilling your potential.

And it makes sense to seek it now.

Many people who have had a change of career forced on them by redundancy often say that being made redundant was turned into a positive, because it meant they were able to switch to something that they enjoyed whilst using their skills more appropriately.

But why not seek training while you have the security – and finance – to do so?

Here at Recrion, we facilitate the Peak Performance Mentoring Programme (PPMP), which addresses all of the concerns you may have with your current working life.

Want to build your confidence, develop a positive mindset and, perhaps most importantly, find  the career that is best suited to your skills?

It’s all covered.

By taking the PPMP, you are not only taking the first step to progressing your career to the next level, you are also giving yourself the best possible chance of being happy at the prospect of going to work.

Wouldn't that be nice?

Find out more about the Peak Performance Mentoring Programme and see what it can do for your career.

Recrion is a specialist in career and people management helping you to move away from uncertainty towards clarity in your career - www.recrion.co.uk; +44 (0)1780 484910

Katherine Wiid, Director of Recrion, is pleased to announce that an additional £2.8 million has been allocated to the project which has already supported over 10,000 people to learn new skills, find employment or become self employed.

“We have helped hundreds of employees in a wide variety of businesses to identify their transferable skills and adapt their job search in the current economy.  The R2R fund gives everyone the opportunity to have 1:1 careers advice and training resulting in over 67 per cent finding new employment within 13 weeks”.

For more information on how to access the support and funding, visit www.recrion.co.uk/free or telephone 01780 484910.

Known as R2R, it provides up to £700 per employee to cover career guidance, skills assessment, explore career options, training funding, vocational qualifications and workshops to help candidates match and market themselves to new and hidden opportunities.

“As with all government funding, not everyone will be eligible but many will be. The key to the funding is that we need to move quickly to help those affected by redundancy as soon as it is announced,” said Recrion director Katherine Wiid.

Since 2008, more than 500 people benefitted from funding and advice from Katherine Wiid, Director of Recrion and facilitator of the R2R scheme:

I would recommend R2R to any individual who found themselves at risk of redundancy. This is not just a process about putting an individual on course for added training; it is about you as a person, to talk to someone independent about what you are going through.  Anthony Burgess

If you’re at risk of redundancy now or you know someone who is, or if you’re an employer considering redundancies and would like to know how to help your employees, call Katherine Wiid on 01780 494910 for free advice, or visit www.recrion.co.uk/free to find out if you are eligible for the scheme.

Response to Redundancy is a real, well-timed and practical solution that allows sensitive employers to help staff resettle and retrain in new vocations and directions.

Now the Peterborough City Council and East of England Development Agency (EEDA) have gone a step further and founded a Women’s Business Centre in Bridge Street.

The centre is the second of its kind in the UK. As well as offering advice about financing and setting up a business, the centre will include a wi-fi enabled computer and hot desking area, a training room and mailbox facilities which women can use for business correspondence. A crèche is on site for use by mothers who are taking part in the centre’s wide range of training courses and there will be a café and a wardrobe exchange.  To find out more, click here.

There is additional training support available to women who are facing redundancy in the East of England and are keen to develop new skills.  The R2R scheme offers a training fund of £700 as well as professional careers advice – contact Katherine Wiid an accredited R2R adviser on 01780 484910 or visit www.recrion.co.uk/free to see if you are eligible.

He has followed his dream of becoming a tennis coach using the £1200 training fund:

Hi Katherine

I thought I would let you know that I successfully passed the tennis course that you helped arrange for me on being made redundant.

The course was great and I got some really good experience and feedback. Passing it just makes me more determined to succeed and I will be looking to take the next level, to get full "Coach" status, in April. With this Level 2 accreditation I am able to coach group sessions and in schools so I feel that when my temporary assignment comes to an end in April I do have a second string to my bow.

I really appreciate your help in getting me the funding for the course.  Warmest regards David

If you are at risk of redundancy and would like FREE advice on your CV and job search plus access to a training course of your choice, please visit www.recrion.co.uk/free or contact Katherine Wiid on 01780 484910.

The big freeze in terms of pay cuts, job losses and cutbacks are continuing however and not just in the public sector.  As a business owner or HR professional it is a challenging time in which to make employee related decisions.  I found the latest CIPD barometer predicting employment trends for 2010 extremely useful to plan for my own business needs in the next 6 months.

Click here for your FREE HR Trends and Prospects 2010 Report.

One of the points raised in the report was that many employers aren't taking advantage of government backed support when making redundancies.  There are some very helpful schemes available to help "at risk" employees access training and careers advice to prepare them for the job market – visit www.recrion.co.uk/free for more information or call 01780 484910 to speak to a Career's Advisor.

The idea is that this six-month window would reduce salary costs and give businesses the chance for trade to pick up, enabling staff to return to work.  Read the full article in People Management here.

Whilst these proposals are bound to have a mixed reception, it is great to see a new approach to the continuing spiral of job losses in the UK.

If you are affected by redundancy and would like some practical advice, contact People Management Professionals, Recrion www.recrion.co.uk or call Katherine on 017….

We are facilitating a government scheme in the East of England to help people affected by redundancy free careers advice and training worth £1200.  Visit www.recrion.co.uk/free to see if you are eligible.

However there is always scepticism when "free" money is involved as I guess individuals can't always weigh up the quality of the service they are getting at a glance.

After providing independent advice to 45 people being made redundant in the last 2 months, I decided to ask them what value they really thought R2R gave them.

I would recommend R2R to any individual that found themselves at risk of redundancy. This is not just a process about putting an individual on course for added training; it is about you as a person, to talk to someone independent about what you are going through.

I found the time I spent with the adviser a great help, not only did it supply me with a good training opportunity but my confidence and self belief have improved because R2R care!      Andrew Burgess

Simon Daniels had reached a crossroads in his career

When faced with a cross roads in my career I found it extremely useful to receive impartial, professional and honest advice about the way forward. An outside view will often see possibilities which you had not considered yourself and redundancy can then be a great opportunity to move into new and exciting areas.

If your job is currently at risk why not take advantage of the free careers advice and access to training of your choice – worth £1200? It has made a difference to so many people in the region.

For more information on R2R and how to access it, visit www.recrion.co.uk/free or call Katherine Wiid on 01780 484910.

I was really pleased to stumble onto www.becomed.com.  The author came up with the idea for Becomed.com while on honeymoon in Hawaii with his wife. He was unemployed, had already created a few web applications by that point, and wanted to keep himself busy during his job search.

What he realised about being unemployed, was that he spent a significant portion of his day applying for jobs, and that the system he was using to keep track wasn't good enough.  It was too passive, and involved too much manual manipulation of information. He figured that if he created a site that could automate a lot of what he was doing, it would give him something positive to do as well as assist him with his application tracking.

He started working on the site the day after he got back from his honymoon – Monday, March 23, 2009.  A couple of days later he had opened up Becomed.com to the public as a beta web application.  What a great story to tell when he went for job interviews!  And great for job seekers worldwide.

If you are at risk of redundancy and needing careers advice and support, visit www.recrion.co.uk/free to see if you qualify for free training.  Or call a Careers Advisor on 01780 484910.

Some of the people we advise are fortunate to be part of the R2R scheme and find our practical and insightful one-to-one career coaching sessions helpful.  R2R provides up to £1000 per employee to cover career guidance, skills assessment, explore career options, training funding, vocational qualifications and workshops to help candidates match and market themselves to new and hidden opportunities.

To be eligible, individuals whose jobs are at risk need be living or working in Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk or Suffolk.

Thank you for coming over last week to see us all. I know that the others found their meetings with you useful and positive. For me, you asked some simple questions that made me stop and think quite hard. I’m eager to keep going and feel that I can plan my future more productively.

Antony who partipated in the R2R scheme

If you don't live in these areas, we are still able to help by offering Career Evolution Workshops and career coaching sessions.  Call us on 01780 484910 for more information.