Barry man on finding a new career path following redundancy

Not having had to look for a job for three decades, Mr Prosser turned to Working Wales to help him find a new path.

"Job searching 30 years later was totally different," he said.

"I had been looking for a year without much success and only got a few interviews.

"I was becoming increasingly demoralised, and I found that when I did get to the interview stage, I didn’t have much to say so wasn’t able to promote myself effectively.”

Working Wales is an all-age employability service run by Careers Wales and funded by the Welsh Government.

Mr Prosser met with careers adviser Sian, and together they concluded that seeking a career in cyber security was the way forward.

With help from a student grant and a loan, Mr Prosser took on a year-long master's degree a the University of South Wales - graduating aged 56.

And, in March 2021, just under three years since becoming unemployed, he successfully landed his first job in cyber security, and has already experienced a variety of roles in different companies to expand his knowledge and experience within the industry.

“The course taught me so much," he said. "I finished with a distinction grade, so proving to myself that my brain still works, and that I can learn new things in my 50s.

"I still have the same aptitude as I had as a 21-year-old. It has been such a great experience, and I’m now more positive and confident and it’s given me my spark back."

On his experience since becoming unemployed, he said: “I can see now that I was becoming increasingly socially isolated, for financial reasons and because I just didn’t have the social interaction at work.

"From a social perspective, my new career has allowed me to meet so many talented and genuinely nice people who I’ve been able to learn so much from.

“The start of this rewarding journey was sitting down with Sian in the Barry Careers Wales centre for half an hour, back in 2019."

For more information on Working Wales, call 0800 028 4844.