A mum from Buckley has opened up about her journey from redundancy to dream career in a bid to inspire those going through a similar experience to seek free support to help change their own story.
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Lynsey Green was working in project management and marketing when she accepted voluntary redundancy by her former employer following a restructure.
As a mother to two young children and facing an uncertain and worrying time, Lynsey decided to contact Career Wales for help and advice. It was during these conversations that she was first introduced to a redundancy programme called ReAct.
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ReAct is funded by the Welsh Government with support from the European Social Fund. The programme offers free support to help individuals find a new job or learn the skills they need to start a new career. An individual can receive funding up to £1,500 towards a course and additional funding to remove barriers covering childcare, transport, specialist equipment and overnight accommodation.
Lynsey said: “I’ve always had an interest in human resource and have previously supported my family business with employment situations so when I discovered I could apply for funding towards a HR degree I jumped at the chance. It’s ironic that at such an uncertain time, I was suddenly given an opportunity to propel myself into a career that I’d always wanted to do. Without the support from ReAct towards my degree, I would have gone down a completely different career path that wasn’t my passion.”
After graduating with a degree in Human Resource from West Cheshire College, Lynsey worked as a HR consultant for four years before securing her current role as HR manager at Rooms and Views in January 2018. The company manufactures premium quality windows, doors and conservatories to new build and trade clients.
Since taking up her role at the company, Lynsey has turned to the support of ReAct once again. Although this time around, she took advantage of the benefits that are available to employers for taking on someone who has recently been made redundant. ReAct offers businesses wage subsidies of up to £3,000 and grants towards job-related training.
“We were hiring for a position at Rooms and Views when we came across a really strong candidate who happened to have recently been made redundant. I knew the support that was available through ReAct from my own personal experience, but it just felt like the right person had come along – the wage subsidy was merely an added bonus,” Lynsey added.
Claire Charles, who Lynsey hired as an accounts assistant using the support from ReAct, said: “ReAct gave me an additional bargaining tool to put forward at interview so I felt like it gave me an edge. I was really happy when I was offered the job and I’m already approaching my 12-month work anniversary. The last year has flown by and I’m really enjoying my role.”
The Minister for Economy and Transport, Ken Skates said: “Experienced workers are vital to businesses’ success up and down the country, yet sometimes these skilled workers can find themselves redundant for reasons that are out of their control.
“The ReAct programme provides a comprehensive package of support to individuals in Wales who are affected by redundancy to ensure this is not the end of their story and help kick start a new chapter in their life.”
