“I wish I’d done it 20 years ago”: Tameside woman finds new calling at 55

After more than 20 years as an area sales manager, Allison thought she was closing the door on her working life for good.

She had built a successful career in retail, gathered years of experience and plenty of memories along the way. Retirement seemed like the natural next step, a chance to slow down after decades in a fast-paced industry.

But it didn’t take long for something to feel missing.

“I got an urge and a sense that I wasn’t quite ready to stop,” she said.

At 55, Allison realised she still wanted to work, but this time, she wanted something with deeper purpose. A role where she could truly make a difference. That search led her to Lifeways Group, where she took on a completely new challenge as a support worker.

“Honest to God, I wish I’d done it 20 years ago,” she said, smiling. “It’s brilliant, honestly, it’s brilliant.”

Now three and a half years into the job, Allison says the role has revealed strengths she never knew she had.

“You get chances to do things that you’ve never done before,” she explained. “When you’re looking after someone with these specific day-to-day challenges, this is up to us. We’ve got to make sure that they’re safe.”

Support work, she says, is rewarding, but she’s clear it’s not always easy.

“You can’t come in thinking you’re going to sit in front of the TV all day or go out for lunch every time. Those are nice things to do, and so are day trips out. But it’s the work leading up to there. It really is hard work. But if you put the hard work in, then you get the rewards at the end by seeing their faces.”

For Allison, experience isn’t the most important thing.

“I don’t think you need any experience because, depending on where you work, everybody’s individual. You train yourself around the people that you’re supporting, because they train you how they want to be supported.

“You come in one day and they’ve made the bed. They’ve never done it before. Or they make themselves a sandwich, and you just go, you did that. Might have taken two years, but you did it. It’s really good,” she said.

One of the biggest surprises in her new career Allison says is becoming a learner again.

“All I ever knew was sales. I came out of that at 55 and thought, that’s me done learning. School, college, you think that’s all finished. I learnt to drive in my twenties and thought, yeah, that’s my last exam,” she said, laughing. “And it isn’t. You’re learning things every day.

“And you get paid for doing it as well, so that’s alright.”

You can explore careers at: www.lifeways.co.uk/careers