For many workers, losing their job in mid-life can be very stressful and even spell the end of their working life. Official statistics show that older people who are unemployed are more likely to be in long-term unemployment. Around 47 percent of unemployed people aged 50-64 have been unemployed for a year or more compared to 33 percent of unemployed 18-24 year-olds.

But former bus driver Dave Wilkins put the skills he had developed as a union learning representative (ULR) to good use after he was made redundant from Northamptonshire-based First Bus. Dave had been conducting and driving buses for more than 36 years and was in his sixties when he lost his job in 2013.

He was also a fully-trained general Unite union ULR and had many years' experience supporting learners in the award-winning First Bus Learning Centre. He encouraged his fellow workers to enrol on training courses and supported them as they gained qualifications in maths and English. One bus cleaner he supported learned to read for the first time in his life.

Dave found his ULR role incredibly rewarding and decided that he would like to continue in a learning-support role after he was made redundant. He had already been volunteering with the Caring and Sharing Trust, a charity working with people with learning disabilities, their families, carers and care professionals. After he was made redundant, the charity offered him a permanent position as a trainee therapist/support worker.

Dave said:

"ULRs develop many skills to support learning, and one of the most important is the ability to gain trust – to get people to know, like and trust you. If they don't like you and trust you, they aren't going to come to you for support in the first place."

Empathy is another important ability and one which Dave developed after embarking on his own learning journey, with the support of Unite and unionlearn, after leaving school with few formal qualifications.

He laughed:

"Forty years after leaving school, and after gaining Maths and English Level 2 qualifications, I finally gained a teaching qualification in Maths.

"I'd say to anyone who is interested in learning and is thinking about changing career in later life, for whatever reason, they should consider working in this area. The pay is not as good as in bus driving, but I've found that providing learning support to people with learning disabilities is a lot less stressful and a lot more rewarding and enjoyable. I think if you don't try something you will always regret it. My advice is stick your neck out and have a go!"

Caring and Sharing Trust co-founder Lena Davis is very happy about Dave's career change. She said:

"This is a unique project, one of a kind, and the people working here have to have something very special. Dave is an exceptional man. He came along as a volunteer and showed such an aptitude for working with people with learning disabilities that when he was made redundant we offered him a job. The skills he has developed as a ULR have enabled him to help adults with learning disabilities. He has given them the confidence to rediscover and use skills they didn't (and we didn't) know they had."

Unionlearn has developed a range of mid-life career review resources to help ULRs support older workers plan their future. They include a new interactive card game, Value My Skills, which help those interested in a new job, course, promotion or voluntary work to identify their transferable skills. These can be used on a one-to-one basis or in groups. There is also a new unionlearn eNote on Supporting Mid-life Development. This shows a typical learning rep putting together an action plan for a learner.