Retailer from Littlehampton who was made redundant retrains

Ian Wood-Ellis, 35, decided to return to college after he was made redundant from the retail job he had held for 14 years, three years ago.

Ian, a classic cars hobbyist from Littlehampton, initially completed a one-year vehicle maintenance course so that he could properly look after his classic MGB.

After finishing that one year course, Ian stayed on at Central Sussex College’s Crawley campus to further his studies.

Ian works part-time, as a driver for Richmond Hyundai, to fund his studies but hopes to find an apprenticeship next year that will enable him to become a full-time mechanic.

He said: “I think an apprenticeship is the way forward to me, as I like the mix of classroom work and hands-on experience and I’ve been doing work experience in garages over the summer which should stand me in good stead.”

Ian’s work was rewarded in September at the college’s annual engineering awards, where he won the 2013 Rod Palmer Memorial Award.

He added: “It was a worrying time when I was first made redundant, but it turned out to be the start of a career working with cars, which has always been an ambition of mine, and it’s funny to think that buying my MGB GT inadvertently jump-started what looks like a long-term career.”