This recent article on the BBC news draws attention to the increase of people who have a “Plan B” when it comes to their career:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8114993.stm

The article states:

“It never hurts to have something up your sleeve: that’s the theory behind a growing trend in the world of work.”

It continues to list case studies of individuals who have decided taken on different roles, started their own business and done some training in order to protect themselves in case they are made redundant.

A previous post on this blog looked at people who had ’slash careers’:

http://c2careers.wordpress.com/2009/01/15/slash-careers-not-happy-with-one-career-then-have-two/

These were mainly people who were pursuing a career in an area they loved- such as writing, singing or writing poetry alongside their normal work.

The Plan B reflects the difficult economic times. People are trying to learn new skills so that when/if they are made redundant they have the tools necessary to find a new job quickly.

This is an excellent and proactive approach to facing redundancy. For more information and advice on surviving redundancy see this previous post:

http://c2careers.wordpress.com/2009/01/19/redundancy-advice/ 

If you are facing redundancy or worry about the security of your current jobs and would like to talk about your options with a careers adviser then you may be interested in the services offered by C2.

http://www.c2careers.com/