It's Never Too Late To Learn, says 53-year-old Gillian
A Greater Manchester mum is proving that you’re never too old to learn as she has retrained for a new career at the age of 53. Gillian Roberts, from Bury, took it in her stride when she got made redundant from her job as a college IT teacher and instead seized the opportunity to try something new. She is now retraining to become a plumber and is ready to prove that it is not just a stereotypical ‘male’ job.
“Obviously it was difficult when I heard I’d be made redundant - with the credit crunch going on nobody wants to lose their job. I did enjoy teaching and loved working with vocational students but at the same time I knew that it wasn’t the end of the world and that it could be a chance to do something completely different.”
Gillian started to think about using her redundancy as a way to start a new chapter in life and began to think about a more practical career. Her father was a plumber and she already had a basic knowledge of the trade as she used to help him out when she was younger. She also had a background in electrical engineering, which she knew would be useful to a career in plumbing.
She started researching plumbing courses on the internet and came across New Career Skills, which specialises in retraining mature career changers for jobs as electricians and plumbers. The company, which is one of the fastest-growing businesses in the country according to The Sunday Times’ Fast Track 100 List, allows people to learn from home as well as providing practical training at its centres in Doncaster and Southampton. As well as practical training in small groups, students are given help either finding a job or setting up their own business at the end of their studies.
Gillian said: “They came to my home and spoke to me about the course and really put my mind at rest. It can be daunting taking that jump and doing something completely different but I was really impressed with the course, the tutors and how soon I could qualify.”
Gillian has now set up her own business, with support from the team at New Career Skills, and has named it ‘The Lady Plumber’. The reverse of her advertising flyer is printed in Urdu in order to open up her clientele, as there is a large Urdu-speaking community in Greater Manchester. Another market she hopes to conquer is the female one. She said: “I think that there is a huge market out there for female plumbers and electricians. Some women don’t feel comfortable having a male stranger in the house and others can’t because of their religion so there’s definitely work there for women who want to get into practical trades.”
Gillian is keen to show that plumbing is not just a career for men. She said: “My friends really like the idea of me being a female plumber, they think that it’s a good business idea because a lot of women feel more comfortable with a female plumber in their house, especially if they’re on their own.”
Most of her work is domestic plumbing at the moment but Gillian is willing to work on-site and knows she will be able to fit in with male colleagues when it comes to talk on football. The 53-year-old is an avid Manchester United supporter and moved to the city from Portsmouth to support the team. Her son, Stuart, is named after former player Stuart Pearson and her favourite player is Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. She said: “I liked him even before he scored the winning goal in the previous European Cup. I was in Barcelona that night and it’s still a brilliant, clear memory.”
After working in retail for 30 years, at the age of 46 Nigel was unexpectedly made redundant. He now runs a business.
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