Long 'employment gap' from caring...

[vsonix]

Any advice how to deal with this? I've been live-in carer for an elderly family member for about four years, this is now coming to an end as the legendary cuts have basically put paid to it, I've now got to go back to the 'real' world of work but I'm worried that the fact I haven't been in a 'structured work environment' for such a length of time is probably going to make my chances worse than they already were. I wasn't expecting to be dumped out of caring quite so suddenly and as a result have made no preparations in terms of retraining or qualifying; I don't have a lot of qualifications anyway, and most of my jobs in the past have been insane jack-of-all-trades roles working for slightly shady entrepreneurs whose businesses have all gone tits-up (since I left, of course!) so I feel like I don't really have all that much in the way of credible references.

Also I now have absolutely no income and presumably no longer have access to any resources previously available to me as a carer since I have been dumped out of the system. I also live in a part of the south west with very few carer support networks - there's nothing south of Bristol! Anyone got any helpful tips/insights/advice/anecdotes/job offers?

[rog007]

PM me at your convenience; it may not be as bleak as you make out.