Member Article

From redundancy to consultancy

Robin Beveridge, former Head of Policy and Research at ONE North East, talks about the new training programme that’s helping public and voluntary sector workers kick start a new career.

Facing the prospect of redundancy and a tough job market, hundreds of public and voluntary sector workers are searching for new ways to use their skills and earn an income. With the help of a new training programme, many are now exploring the option of working as self-employed consultants and freelancers.

My Future Unlimited is a specialist training programme that shows you how to earn an income from consultancy, freelancing and interim management. It’s designed for people leaving the public and voluntary sectors who want an alternative way to earn an income, whether as a permanent career move or simply a stop-gap.

The programme was developed by local consultancy firm New Skills Consulting, in collaboration with Entrust. The team at New Skills have themselves made the move from the public sector to self-employment. Peter Graham, former public sector manager and now MD of New Skills, started his consultancy career nearly 10 years ago. It is this decade of experience that he shares with delegates on the My Future Unlimited Workshop: “The transition into self-employment has been exciting and challenging in equal measure, but ultimately very rewarding. Through this programme we prepare people for the opportunities and challenges ahead and share with them everything we wish we’d known when we were starting out.”

My Future Unlimited has already helped many people make a successful move into self-employment. Here Robin Beveridge, former Head of Policy and Research at One North East, shares his experience of the programme.

What attracted you to My Future Unlimited?

I’d already decided that I wanted to establish myself as a consultant, so My Future Unlimited was a great opportunity to learn how to do it from people who had been exactly where I was, and had successfully made the transition.

How did it help you?

For me, My Future Unlimited was most useful in helping me understand the market and how to position myself in it, approach clients and price my services. I also got a lot of reassurance about practical issues that had been worrying me – how to manage my time, stay focussed and keep motivated.

What are you doing now?

I’ve been working as a freelance consultant for almost six months now, and I’m loving it. I’m now getting busy with plenty of work, I’ve established my brand and am getting my name ‘out there’ in the market. It has been tough at times, and I’ve made use of My Future Unlimited follow up sessions to help re-focus and keep on track.

How would you sum up the value of My Future Unlimited?

Overall, it was great to spend a day talking about my future with people who understood what I was going through, really wanted to help me succeed and had an invaluable set of insider’s information to pass on. And it has given me a network of peers facing the same challenges as I am, who are a great source of moral and practical support.

Whether you’re just thinking about self-employment and want to know if it’s right for you, or you’re determined to do it and want to know how to make a success of it, My Future Unlimited can help. The next workshops are running on 24th November and 7th December and places on each are limited. To reserve your place or to find out more about the programme contact Claire Graham at New Skills Consulting. Email claire@newskillsconsulting.co.uk or telephone 0191 239 9898.

www.myfutureunlimited.co.uk

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Claire Graham .