It’s not too late to change your career

In November we came together for another fantastic evening celebrating the outstanding local talent we have in our region, as the winners of the in-Cumbria Business Awards 2025 were revealed. This included the first recipient of the NRL Nuclear Ambassador Award, Cath Giel MBE, and it was brilliant to see one of our She Leads mentor programme participants Sarah Schofield win New Business of the Year for The Safe Woman.

Sarah has inspired this month’s article as it demonstrates that it’s never too late to change career paths if you want to do something different. It was a bold move to set up her own business focused on delivering safety training to women, that by her own confession included quickly having to learn new skills such as social media.

It’s not uncommon for people to want to change their career path, whether that’s starting a business or moving into a new position. As employers, it’s crucial that we consider this potential talent pool, and look further than candidates with direct industry experience – especially if we want to welcome new entrants into the market.

Identifying untapped talent

For businesses who have traditionally taken the graduate programme route, could there be an opportunity to open up your training programme to a wider age demographic? Are there other industry sectors that you could explore that have the same core competencies you look for in employees?

When considering your workforce strategy, be sure to explore all routes to employment:

• Parents returning to the workplace
• Late bloomers
• Internal upskilling
• Armed Forces service leavers
• Transferable skills
• Complementary industry sectors  

Refining your recruitment approach

You’ll need to consider the employee benefits you provide to colleagues, as well as where and how you advertise your roles. It’s also important to review job descriptions, removing any unnecessary barriers, such as stating ‘experience would be advantageous but not essential’ – if it’s not crucial don’t include it.

Make sure you’re also highlighting the training opportunities available and the transferable skills you’re looking for. Then consider how you’ll evaluate these applications during the recruitment process, so you have a clear framework to recruit against. It’s important that these applicants have an even playing field from the offset, and that your business is committed to supporting them as they navigate their new roles.

If you’d like support reviewing your workforce strategy, reach out to Rebecca Graves at rgraves@nrl.co.uk

You can read the full January issue of in-Cumbria business magazine online.