A business owner from Conwy has opened up about his journey from redundancy to successful entrepreneur in a bid to inspire those going through a similar experience to seek free support to help change their own story.
[aoa id=”1″]
Adam Jones, 41, was working in construction as a project manager when he was made redundant by his former employer after they missed out on a crucial contract.
Despite being initially shocked and concerned at the news, Adam was determined to overcome this challenge and began researching his options online. It was then he first learnt about the support that was available for those who have been affected by redundancy through ReAct.
[/aoa]
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.
Adam said: “Before I was made redundant I’d been thinking about a career change into health and safety and had already found a number of training courses that interested me. After it happened, I went online to see what support was available to me and discovered that ReAct offered funding towards training for people experiencing redundancy. I didn’t waste any time in capitalising on the support and signed up to a training course.”
Adam completed a NEBOSH General and Construction Certificate with a Midlands-based training provider thanks to the support from ReAct, which also covered his travel and accommodation costs.
“Once I had my qualification under my belt, it propelled me to start my own consultancy business and I founded Jones Health Safety and Project Management. I could have never imagined that I would go from receiving the worrying news that I was being made redundant to owning a business in a new and exciting industry within the space of four months,” Adam added.
Since forming Jones HSEPM Ltd in 2009, Adam has worked with over 120 clients and his business has gone from strength to strength. He’s made such a success of his first business that last year Adam decided to diversify his offering and start a new business venture called Premier Construction Training Ltd. The company provides construction-specific training accredited by the Construction Industry Training Board to companies and individuals, including those who find themselves in a similar situation to Adam and can get funding for training through ReAct.
Drawing upon his own inspiring journey, Adam offers this advice to anyone who might be experiencing redundancy or is currently under notice: “Being made redundant is really difficult and I went through months of uncertainty when I was unemployed, but I would encourage anyone who finds themselves in the same position as me to not get too disheartened.
“I’m a firm believer in everything happening for a reason, and my journey is certainly a testament to how things can turn around quickly and unexpectedly. Redundancy pushed me into a completely different career route and so it’s important for people to remember that there is support available to help you assess your options and decide on your next step.”
If you’ve recently been made redundant or are currently under notice of redundancy, ReAct can help you access the skills you need to get back into work or start your own business. To find out more, visit workingwales.gov.wales or call 0800 028 4844.
Or if you’re a business looking to recruit skilled workers, ReAct can help you access funding to help towards wage subsidies and job related training. Visit businesswales.gov.wales/skillsgateway/ or call 0300 060 3000 to find out how.
