'Things have come up great - in the end'
| By Dan Bell BBC News |
 Job losses loom in the recession |
On Monday four white-collar workers explained how for them it turned out to be a blessing in disguise, allowing them to follow their passions (see link on right of this page). For others it can take a long time to find a silver lining.
"I was in the farms to begin with, then I went to the colliery for 15 years, during the strikes in 1984," says John Dunlop, 50, of Scotland.
 |   I didn't have any experience at bricklaying or painting, so it was very hard being laid off at my age  John Dunlop |
"I was a face worker - it was actually in the face where the machine cuts the coal."
The worst thing, he says, was the coal dust that got into his lungs.
"All you did was work in the pit at that time, so you didn't have any experience at bricklaying or painting, so it was very hard at that age."
But for the past five years, he has looked after elderly people with various forms of dementia.
His change in direction was a long time coming. Having been made redundant in the late 1980s after 17 years as a miner, he spent a long time out of work. Soon after he lost his job, he also lost his marriage. "It was hard," he says simply.
He eventually picked up a variety of jobs, including at a bottle factory packing alcopops. It was very heavy work, and he was made redundant within a year.
Help the aged
"Then I noticed a lot of jobs going within the care sector." While he didn't get a placement at first, "I kept trying and I kept trying and then I was successful".
| You feel when you come home that you've done something, just to see a smile on their face John Dunlop |
What tipped the balance was caring for his gravely ill father - who had bowel cancer - at home. John realised he wasn't embarrassed about the intimacy of the work, and so could help people maintain their dignity.
He embarked on training and shadowing care workers in 2004, and now is a care assistant at Bute House in Cumnock in Ayrshire.
"It's a totally different environment altogether, I feel great working with people. One of them is a big tall feller and he's very hard to shower, and I managed to get him into the shower - that was one of the best things I've done."
And a month ago, he and his partner of 14 years - and her daughter and grandson - moved in together.
"Things have come up great. We've all got jobs at the end and it's good, you can come home and there's dinner."
What would he say to people who have lost their jobs and are trying to work out what to do next?
"I would tell them they can help their community, to get into the care sector. You feel when you come home that you've done something, just to see a smile on their face."
After losing his job as an industrial engineer at Rover, Sean Kendall, 38, from Birmingham, is now pinning his hopes on real estate.
|  If I had my time again, I'd have learnt a trade - but not in manufacturing Sean Kendall |
"It was obviously devastating [being laid off] because you've got 5,000 people out of work at any one time, looking for anything you can get."
He went to recruitment fairs put on at the company, but in the end found work labouring with his mate for six months, followed by another six months fitting air-conditioners.
"You're not happy doing it, but if you've got a mortgage and kids, you'd do anything wouldn't you? Well I would."
There was also impact on the community as his friends and social life centred on the Rover factory.
 He also works part-time at Cadbury's |
In 2006 he went to work at a Cadbury's factory, was laid off after 11 months but has since returned three days a week. The rest of the time he concentrates on the property management agency he has started with his mother.
While he received about
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