Training Education and Workforce Development Manager toBoat Building

Marc Chivers

Age at time of shift
45
Gender
Male
Education level
Graduate
Universities attended
University of Portsmouth, Wimbledon School of Art.

Shifted from

Training Education and Workforce Development Manager

Location
UK
Salary
£30,000-£40,000
Years in old career
10 years

Shifted to

Boat Building

Location
Dartmouth, Devon, UK
Salary
£0-£20,000
Years in new career
3 months
Year of shift
2007

What was your role in your old job?

Strategically planning and providing training to the staff of a large NHS Primary Care Trust. Training provision ranged from Induction and Statutory Mandatory training to clinical skills development. Also managed the pre and post registration nursing and allied health professional University contracts.

What is/are your new role(s)?

I assist in the building of wooden boats, I am kind of the apprentice in all but name.

Why did you change?

Total dissatisfaction with my desk job, which I found frustrating, soul destroying and generally unfulfilling. Wanted to do something creative, fun and rewarding. My marriage broke down and so it was a good time to resign from my job and enroll on a boat building course, I knew I would not earn anywhere near my old salary but I did not care. My new partner and I live in a van I have converted into a motorhome, so our outgoings are low and van life is good, living close and in harmony with nature is in itself a lovely thing to do even in the harshest of winters.

Are you happy with the change?

Definitely yes.I love my new life and I love working in the boat yard helping to build and restore wooden boats is wonderful. The guys I work with are great and they all are more than happy to share and impart their skills. The work is very physically hard, big lumps of wood, working outdoors in all weather, this work is not for the faint hearted.

What do you miss and what don't you miss?

I miss nothing of my old career. I thank my lucky stars I was able to escape and change career.

How did you go about making the change?

Easy, split-up from my ex wife, resigned from my job and enrolled on the boat building course with The Boat Building Academy.

What was the most difficult thing about changing?

Finance, it took a long time to sell the house and I had to take out a couple of loans to tide me over.

What help did you get?

Bank loans.

What have you learnt in the process?

That life is not a rehearsal and it is important to be honest and true to yourself. If you are not happy its best to change as soon as practically possible. Change is sometimes scary but worth the risk.

What do you wish you'd done differently?

Nothing

What would you advise others to do in the same situation?

Be honest and true to yourself as long as your actions do not harm others.
 
Marc’s boat 'Defiant', a replica of a 13 foot Pilot Punt, was exhibited at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich as part of the ‘Boats that built Britain’ exhibition. www.marcsboats.co.uk.
 
Marc trained with The Boat Building Academy, a world-leading boat building training college which was set up to offer intensive and highly practical courses to career-changers on the beach in Lyme Regis, Dorset. 



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