'Many thought they had a job for life. They never thought they would be made redundant.”

Since setting up a service helping people find employment, Filao Wilson has seen demand for services increase, and now she is launching a programme to help older people seek work in what has become a highly-competitive jobs market.

Redundancies brought on by the recession have led many people having to find work at a time in their lives when their thoughts would normally be turning to retirement.

Demand for fewer jobs has created a competitive jobs market, and with young graduates struggling to find work, more mature workers are facing even more of an uphill struggle.

Starting again is a daunting prospect for many people, who may feel they don’t have the confidence, particularly if they have been in the same job for most of their adult lives.

CravENcourage is a 16-week programme aiming to help people break out of a rut preventing them from developing personally and professionally by inspiring, energising and teaching new skills to build confidence.

Filao, who launched Craven Coaching and Mentoring Ltd in 2011, says redundancy leaves many fearful of the future and wondering whether they will work again.

Their fears are often compounded by the pension situation – more people are having to work longer because they cannot afford to retire, so the need to find work becomes a necessity.

Having taken redundancy herself, Filao, 57, appreciates the position that older workers can find themselves in.

“I have been through it and I am the same age group as a lot of these people. I understand it,” she says.

Filao, from Skipton, spent 20 years in career coaching. Using her skills to help others in similiar circumstances was the lead she hopes others will follow.

“The question I ask people is, ‘Out of everything you have done in your working life, what are you most proud of?’ That really opens it up,” says Filao.

She says coaching helps people to focus on their experiences and discover how they can utilise their skills.

“It’s about helping people to understand what they have got, what their experience is all about and how they can use it,” she adds.

Filao says many people may think they have just done ordinary jobs, but when they delve into their experiences their achievements are impressive. “And that is where the confidence comes from,” she says.

While working in the NHS, Filao saw many people in their 40s and 50s, those who thought they had a job for life, suddenly facing redundancy for the first time. “It was like throwing a bucket of cold water on them. They were in shock,” says Filao.

One client she worked with was a single mum with a grandchild on the way. Faced with redundancy, the 49-year-old didn’t know what else she could do, but talking to Filao she found she had transferrable skills.

“She had all this experience with training and quality control and I thought, ‘There is a lot here’,” says Filao.

“After the recession there weren’t as many full-time permanent jobs and a lot more part-time jobs. People have to do a bit of this and a bit of that, and that takes a lot of confidence.”

Filao’s clients range from 40 to 60. For many, the concern is having to keep working because they can’t afford to retire, but many are fearful they won’t find a job.

“Redundancy is really scary and people don’t think it is something that will happen to them,” says Filao.

“It is changing all the time and people can’t retire now, so that is the other thing with this age group. They are thinking they have to keep working.”

Filao says many underestimate their skills or don’t have the confidence to try something new. ‘I’ve only been this or that’ is something she hears most of the time.

“The work I do is helping people to work out what they want to do and help them to stop panicking.

“It’s taking a long hard look at what they’re really good at, what their experience is really all about, and helping them see not all employers just want young ones.”

For more information, call 0800 6126016 or e-mail enquiries@cravencoaching.

com.