Retrain for a new career while you keep your job

This guide is for adults in the UK who want to move into a different line of work but cannot afford to stop earning while they retrain. It takes you from choosing and testing a target role, through finding the qualification employers actually ask for and paying for it, to studying sustainably and building the experience that gets you hired. By the end you will have a target role you have checked against reality, a costed and timed learning route, a weekly study routine, and a plan for your first applications.

What is inside

• Full step-by-step method9 detailed steps with decision points
• Ready-to-use templatesMessage asking for an informational chat · Questions to ask a course provider · Request to your employer for study support
• Timed action plan8 stages from “Weeks 1–2” to “On getting an offer”
• Costly mistakes to avoid4 traps and what to do instead
• Complete checklist12 items to tick off
• Insider tips and fixes4 tips and 4 common problems solved

Step by step

1. Define the career you are moving towards

   Write down two or three specific job titles you are considering, not just a sector, for example 'payroll administrator' rather than 'finance'. For each, look at the National Careers Service job profiles for typical duties, entry routes and working hours, and read at least 20 real job adverts. Note the qualifications, skills and licences that appear again and again, and whether employers say 'essential' or 'desirable'. Decide what you are moving away from as well, because a role that repeats the thing you dislike will not stick. Narrow to one primary target and one fallback.