Howard’s Career Journey

Howard is one of our careers advisers here at the National Careers Service, here he shares his career journey with you. 

“My career journey before working with the National Careers Service has been quite a convoluted one as I’ve had many different roles.

“My first was as an apprentice, four-colour lithographic planner. This was basically reprographics. A modern example would be utilising software like Photoshop or Illustrator to create print-ready plates or film.

“We used artwork from an advertising agency and colour split it down into four colours; cyan, magenta, yellow and black, then made plates and prepared it for printing.

“We worked with market leaders like Pepsi, Britivic, Nescafé and major supermarkets producing labels and other printed goods. 

“After 14 years in the industry, I set my own company up, Thumbprint, but the catastrophe of 911 hit advertising badly, along with my fledgling business, so I moved into education.

“I took redundancy and retrained as a primary school teacher, working with disadvantaged children in local primary schools.”

Varied and mixed career

Howard then moved into adult training supporting learners with IT and confidence building courses.

“I was asked to join the employability team at A4E Wirral and enjoyed supporting people into work.”

Howard experienced several career progressions after this, before being given an opportunity to join the team at Pluss.

“After a few more years within employability, I was able to complete a Level 4 qualification in Careers Information Advice and Guidance (CIAG) and move across into the National Careers Service, where my previous experience in industry, education, sales and employability was able to be put to good use as part of the progression team.

“My colleagues and I now support people to progress, through training and support, into their dream jobs.”

So if like Howard you’ve had a varied and mixed career and are looking for a change in direction, we can help identify your transferrable skills and set you off on a new journey. Why not get in touch today?

 Give us a call on 0800 100 900 for free 1-2-1 advice and support. You can also visit our website at nationalcareers.service.gov.uk to find information about the support we can give you.

Please note: National Career Service and Seetec Pluss are not responsible for the content of external websites