There may come a time in your life when you find that it’s necessary or desirable to train for a second career, so it’s good to know that there are often government grants that will help you learn a new trade. In past times, workers typically stayed in their chosen career from the time after school, until retirement. In our changing economy, though, that’s becoming less common.
The reasons for learning a new skill are varied. During a period a high unemployment, job seekers may find it necessary to re-invent a career in a high-demand career. We saw this during the last decade or so, when there were lots of government grant s and incentives to enter the field of nursing. There was a shortage in the field and, with an aging population, many more people were needed to start training for the profession to fulfill future needs. In many cases, the government grants were provided with the condition that the newly-trained nurses spend a couple of years working in an under-served area. That’s a good example of government grants being used to help numerous groups.
In other cases, there might be either a rapid decline in jobs in a particular career field, or it may become obsolete. Sometimes, this will be the direct result of government policy, or it could just be a natural evolution. In both these cases, there are often government grants to help the workers train in a new field to be able to continue working. An example of this is when a reduction in the amount of logging in the Pacific Northwest region in the US left some loggers out of work. As a result, government grant money was allocated to helping train people to work in the aerospace and aircraft industries.
There may also be government grants for those who chose to spend their early adulthood as homemakers and may now need to develop skills that are marketable in the workplace. The reason that government grants are provided in this case, is that it’s seen as a kind of social contract to fulfill. The government grants may be in the form of education funding, employer incentives, or on-the-job training.
Some workers who train for a second career make the transition from a desk job to a hands-on trade. There are plentiful government grants in most places for apprenticeship training. Some of these government grants are reserved for those in groups that are under-represented in the trades. One common reason for choosing a blue-collar skill for a second career, is that these jobs are harder to outsource, which creates better job security. In still other cases, workers who spent years or decades at a desk realized later on that hands-on work better suited their aptitude or preferred work environment.
There are also workers who put in the number of years in the military or a public service job to be able to retire, some still at a relatively young age. They may decide to seek a second career in the private sector. There are government grant programs in place in many cases that help military veterans transition to civilian life and learn private sector workplace skills.
Whatever your reasons may be for seeking a second career, keep in mind that there may be government grant available to help you enter this new phase of your life and help you be well-prepared for it.