01 September 2006 - Can’t find your dream job? It could be child’s play
Jobcentre Plus shows how childhood career aspirations may hold the key to job satisfaction
Children in the UK dream of becoming a teacher, footballer or police officer, according to research released today for Jobcentre Plus, part of the Department for Work and Pensions. Other professions appearing in the top ten of youngsters’ aspirations were vet, fireman, hairdresser, nurse, dancer, doctor and driver.
The poll of 397 primary school aged children, conducted by LVQ Research revealed that boys are most likely to aspire to sporting or ‘protection’ professions and girls to caring or nurturing professions. One in ten boys (10%) dream of being a footballer and 7% a police officer or fireman, whilst 13% of girls would like to become a teacher and 9% a nurse.
Jobcentre Plus advisers can help you take a fresh look at how your childhood dreams can translate into career reality, by helping you assess your interests and looking at job opportunities that relate to these. Commenting on the findings, Jobcentre Plus adviser, Jenni Vardy said:
“Many of us have childhood dreams of what we want to be when we grow up, often related to our interests, hobbies or natural skills. However, as we reach adulthood these aspirations often get forgotten or appear unattainable. When looking for work it is often worth considering hobbies and interests, as we are more likely to be good at something which we enjoy and which comes naturally. And there are often lots of opportunities which can incorporate hobbies or interests.”
Jenni continued;
“If football is your passion, coaching training courses can be available at local football clubs, in particular for Jobseekers aged 18-24, or opportunities working as a groundsperson or in hospitality at a football club. If you’re interested in getting into teaching, one way might be to offer to help out at your children’s school or look into becoming a classroom assistant, which can lead to a qualification. Those who aspire to be vets could start by trying voluntary work at their local RSPCA or animal sanctuary to see what it’s like before looking for a job working with animals. Jobs could range from an administrator at a veterinary surgery to being a stablehand. There are lots of different options available, it’s just a question of thinking laterally around where your interests lie.”
Jobcentre Plus helped Ruth Jordan, aged 62, turn her love of cross-stitching and découpage into a successful business. Ruth said:
“When my arthritic condition worsened, I took up cross-stitching and découpage as a hobby. Then I started to make greeting cards, which were very popular locally. My daughter, Catherine, suggested I could develop my interest into a small business, and that’s when I contacted personal adviser, Ivan Wright, at Broker North East, part of Jobcentre Plus, who helped me turn my hobby into a really successful business.”
Jenni Vardy gives some tips on what to think about when considering making your ‘hobby’ your job:
- Ask yourself questions to identify if a job already exists which involves your hobby or is it something that would require you to start your own business? For example, if you’re interested in fashion have you considered a job in retail, or if you like music, a job in a record store?
- Does the job or career sector you are thinking of require specific qualifications? If so, don’t be put off. There are many opportunities to train/retrain to obtain these.
- If you don’t have a specific hobby, think about what you enjoy doing in your spare time. Do you enjoy being around people or do you prefer spending time alone? If you like spending time helping out at your children’s school, you could obtain a teaching qualification to work with children. If surfing the internet and computers are your thing, consider web-design or IT.
- Talk your thoughts through with a friend or an adviser to sound out different ideas and work out how a new job would really fit in with your life and best suit your requirements.
For more information on job opportunities visit www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk or speak to Jobcentre Plus on 0845 6060 234.
Note for editors
1. Case studies:
Ruth Jordan, aged 62, Middlesbrough
When Ruth’s arthritic condition worsened, she took up cross-stitching and decoupage as a hobby. Then she started to make greeting cards, which were very popular locally – so much so that her daughter suggested she could develop the hobby into a small business. Ruth approached Broker North East, part of the Jobcentre Plus network, which helps people with health problems or disabilities get back to work. With their support she’s now set-up her own business, Tomasina, supplying personalised cards to local retailers and selling at local events and shows. Ruth’s daughter is now a full time partner in the business.
Website address: http://www.tomasina.co.uk
Denise Nicholson, aged 33, Preston
As a mum bringing up two children on her own, Denise found the prospect of work daunting as she couldn’t see how she’d earn enough to make it worth coming off benefits. However, she was inspired by a woman she met at a friend’s house who was in a similar position to herself and managing to balance working with bringing up kids on her own. Denise went to her local Jobcentre Plus to meet Barbara, a specialist adviser for lone parents. Barbara helped Denise to see how she could apply her love of arts and crafts to paid work. Denise has now been working for a company which makes decorations out of wire for over a year and is still amazed at how she was able to turn her life around in a couple of days.
Jim Taylor, aged 61, Cleveland
Jim, an ex-miner, had to retire early due to ill health. As a keen fisherman, Jim regularly went fishing at the lake at Southfield Farm in North Yorkshire. Although he found this relaxing, it wasn’t long before Jim’s thoughts turned to going back to work, so he decided to go to his local Jobcentre Plus office for advice. They put him in touch with Broker North East, part of the Jobcentre Plus network, which helps people with health problems or disabilities get back into work. With this support from Jobcentre Plus, Jim has now found his dream job working as a water bailiff, checking fishermen’s licences and maintaining the two fishing lakes at Southfield Farm, where he himself used to go fishing.
2. Omnibus poll
The research was carried out by LVQ Children’s Omnibus amongst 397 children aged 5-11 between 16-23 March 2006.
3. The top ten jobs children wanted to do when they grew up were:
- Teacher (8%)
- Footballer (6%)
- Police Officer (5%)
- Vet (5%)
- Fireman (5%)
- Hairdresser (4%)
- Nurse (4%)
- Dancer (3%)
- Doctor (2%)
- Driving/driver (2%)
4. The top three professions for girls and boys were:
Girls: teacher (13%), nurse (9%) and hairdresser (8%)
Boys: footballer (10%), police officer and fireman (7%), driving/driver (4%)
5. The most popular professions for each region were:
- North: footballer
- Midlands: teacher
- South: hairdresser and fireman
6. Jobcentre Plus, part of the Department for Work and Pensions, brings together employment and benefit services for people of working age and is a key element in the Government's objectives to help people based on ‘Work for those who can, support for those who cannot’. It provides a professional and modern service to meet the diverse needs of employers and those seeking work, including:
- Personal advisers to provide practical support and advice to help those in need find and keep work, including training provision and benefits guidance
- A dedicated service to support employers in filling their vacancies quickly and successfully
- Ability to place and search for jobs both online and over the phone (via Jobpoints and through Jobseeker Direct and Employer Direct).
- Swift, secure and professional access to benefits for those entitled to them.
7. Customers can access Jobcentre Plus services through around 1,000 locations across Great Britain, including over 800 newly refurbished Jobcentre Plus offices. Touch-screen terminals and Customer Access Phones are also available in a further 120 sites such as libraries and local authority premises. Jobcentre Plus works with over 275,000 employers to place 17,000 people into work every week. Over 400,000 vacancies are listed each week on its website and more than 4m job search requests are received, making it the number one UK recruitment website.
8. For further information on the services that Jobcentre Plus provides employers and people of working age visit www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk
Press Office Christian Cubitt: 020 7238 0754
Out of Hours: 07659 108 883
Textphone: 020 7238 0788
Public Enquiries: 020 7712 2171
Website: www.dwp.gov.uk