Out-of-work Steve switched to current role as electrician
Steve Hinds had worked for Egg at Pride Park for seven years and decided to embark on a new career after losing his job at Christmas.
The 31-year-old, of Chester Green, used his payout to fund a City & Guilds course and has now gone from nine-hour days in front of a computer screen to being his own boss.
He said: "My colleagues found out that we'd be losing our jobs last summer so I started thinking about using it as an opportunity to start a new career.
"I wanted to do something completely different.
"I wanted the variety of meeting different people, working inside and outside, rather than sitting in front of a screen in an office every day. After doing it for seven years my eyes were a bit tired.
"It was something I got bored with but I probably would have kept on going if I hadn't been made redundant."
Mr Hinds developed an interest in electrics after watching a friend carry out work at his house.
He then signed up for a course run by New Career Skills, a company which specialises in retraining people wanting to change careers and become electricians and plumbers.
Mr Hinds also took on a job as a delivery driver in the morning to help pay his mortgage and used the afternoons to study for his City & Guilds qualification.
After six months of study he qualified in May and is planning to set up his own business.
Mr Hinds, who married fiancee Ophelia last month, said: "I think what I liked about the idea of being an electrician was being able to help people and doing something practical.
"Also, I knew that it would be a sensible career to get into because I could progress if I wanted to and become an electrical engineer.
"I'd advise anyone who has been made redundant not to panic, it's really not the end of the world and you can actually use it as an opportunity to do something you've always wanted."
Mr Hinds said he knew that he was taking a risk in the current climate.
But he said: "I have considered the impact of the credit crunch on electricians, but I am 31 and I had to make a decision on what I wanted to do with the rest of my life.
"You can't guarantee the security of any job in the current climate, but being an electrician is something I have always wanted to do and I hope to build up a company and employ other people."
For more information on New Career Skills, visit www.newcareerskills.co.uk or call 0800 037 99 22.
rewired: After being made redundant from his role in IT with Egg, Steve Hinds has now retrained as an electrician.
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