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Looking for work in Ashfield

Choosing a job or changing a career can be a major life transition – one that requires careful thought, planning and work. If you are exploring new career options, you will need to ask yourself 2 questions:

  1. What do you want to do?
  2. How do I get there from here?

The first question deals with the goal of your career search, the second one with the process of finding a job or career – how to actually go about reaching your goal. The 2 are interrelated; you could have a new career clearly in mind but don’t know how to achieve your goal, or you could talk to all the right people and do all the appropriate career exploration tasks without any clear sense of direction.

The purpose of this page is to suggest how you can find support with both these needs.

Who am I?

The more you understand about yourself, the better your decisions will be and the more effectively you will be able to implement those decisions.

There are several ways to gain this information, you can speak with a career adviser and / or you can take some assessments such as Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). The MBTI was developed by Isabel Myers and Katherine Briggs as a measure of Carl Jung’s theory of psychological types. About 1.5 million people take the test online each year, and more than 88% of Fortune 500 companies, as well as hundreds of universities, use it in hiring and training. It’s by far the most popular assessment to support careers guidance.

You can take this test for free on websites such as:

This will give you an insight into your ‘best fit’ personality type and with this you will understand more about your natural strengths, challenge’s and what career themes are more likely to suit you. To have a more accurate assessment you will need to pay for professional feedback, to help you understand your results in more detail from a qualified MBTI Practitioner.

What do I want to do?

The answer to this is often not clear for most people. It may be helpful to break down an enormous issue like this into smaller, more manageable questions such as:

  • What do I want to do on a day to day basis?
  • Where do I want to be in one year? 5 years? 10 years?
  • What would I like to have accomplished in one year? 5 years? 10 years?
  • What kind of people do I want to work with?
  • What kind of working environment do I find most comfortable?
  • What kind of work environment allows me to be most productive?
  • What motivates me to do my best?

When you know yourself better you can categorise occupations by their ‘fit’ with your personality type, interests and skills, then you will be able to find a job that more closely matches your natural preferences.

How do I get from there to here?

The process of career change involves many activities.

People naturally tend to engage in those tasks that are consistent with their personality type and avoid those that require them to ‘work against the grain’ of their preferred styles. However, all activities will need to be accomplished in order to be successful. So if you are struggling to do certain stages, then this is where you need more support.

The good news is that there are plenty of organisations available who can assist you.

Job search organisations

Find a Job / Find an Apprenticeship service - GOV.UK

GOV.UK (The UKs public sector information website) is encouraging businesses to advertise their job vacancies and apprenticeship opportunities on their "Find a Job" and "Find an Apprenticeship" platforms.

On these websites you can see the local opportunities that are available:

Futures

Futures offer honest, straightforward, and practical advice and support. They can help you to explore your options, find opportunities and prepare for the future.

They can also assist you with self-marketing:

  • Advice to get your cover letter noticed
  • Tips to move your CV to the top of the pile
  • Interview techniques that give you confidence and prove your capability
  • Support with your job search or securing a training placement.

National Careers Service

The National Careers Service provide careers information, advice and guidance. They can help you to make decisions on learning, training and work at all stages in your career.

Try the free online skills assessment and search the library of job profiles to gather information on what roles might best suit you. You can find out more by how they work by watching their 'About us' video on YouTube.

Nottinghamshire Opportunities

A great way to explore career opportunities is through a new web platform from Nottinghamshire Country Council. It allows businesses and training providers to showcase courses, apprenticeships and jobs.

Workray

This is a free app that manages your job search, from application to start date. It gathers job alerts from the UK's most popular job boards into one simple view.

Having an organised approach will increase your chances of not missing opportunities, so this application helps to take the strain out of the ‘task’ of tracking multiple job applications.

  • Manage all your jobs and applications in one place
  • Track the progress of your applications
  • Obtain tips for every step of your job hunt
  • Get job recommendations that match your skills
  • Don’t just search. Be found with your CV.

Free training opportunities for Ashfield residents

Enterprising Ashfield Short Courses

Towns Fund project Enterprising Ashfield in partnership with Nottingham Trent University are able to provide free training courses to Ashfield residents living in Kirkby in Ashfield or Sutton in Ashfield.

The courses take place in person at the Summit Centre in Kirkby in Ashfield, are one day a week and will take around 2 to 5 weeks to complete.

  • Product Photography Using Smartphones - starts 22 November 2023
  • Rapid Prototyping Techniques for Businesses - starts 30 November 2023
  • Tax Returns for Freelances and Small Businesses - starts 6 December 2023
  • Introduction to Graphic Design - starts 11 January 2024
  • Graphic Design for Marketing and Communications - starts 12 January 2024
  • Sales Success for Retail - starts 18 January 2024
  • Administration Skills for New Professionals - starts 22 January 2024
  • Better Writing Skills - starts 23 January 2024
  • Fashion Design using Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator - starts 23 January 2024
  • Consumer Psychology for Designers - starts 25 January 2024
  • Visual Merchandising for Retail Spaces - starts 25 January 2024
  • Confident Presentation Skills - starts 30 January 2024
  • Website Design for Small Businesses - starts 7 February 2024
  • Selling Skills: Business to Business - starts 15 February 2024
  • Social Media and Content Creation for Businesses - starts 22 February 2024

More information about how to enrol on the course is available on the University's website:

Multiply

Multiply is a new government-funded programme to help adults improve their numeracy skills.

If you’re aged 19 and over and don’t have maths GCSE at grade C (or equivalent), you can access free numeracy courses through Multiply to build your confidence with numbers and gain a qualification.

Providers that deliver the Multiply programme in Ashfield are:

Ashfield Digital Skills programme:

As part of our allocation of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, a new digital skills programme has been developed and is available for communities within the Ashfield district.

Academy Transformation Trust Further Education (ATTFE) College will be delivering the programme, with the aim of supporting local residents to develop the basic digital skills needed for day-to-day living, such as using a mobile phone, online banking and applying for jobs online.

Free Courses funded through the Adult Education Budget.

The Adult Education Budget (AEB) is a fund that has been set up by the government to help support the delivery of education and training to people aged 19 and over. AEB funding aims to engage adults in learning and provide them with learning opportunities to help them gain new skills and knowledge to gain employment, progress in work or to further their education.

Local providers that are able to deliver AEB funded courses include:

Skills Bootcamps

Skills Bootcamps are free flexible courses of up to 16 weeks for people looking for a new role or job opportunity. 

There are fully funded courses available in many business sectors including:

  • Business administration
  • Construction
  • Engineering
  • Green skills
  • Digital skills
  • HGV driving
  • Hospitality.

Visit Skills Bootcamps website and find the right course for you:

Page last updated: 13 November 2023