Midlife career change: where can you take your skills?

(NC) People are living longer than ever before, and they’re also spending more of that life in the workforce. So is it any wonder that the number of professionals starting a second career is at an all-time high? It can be a great way to take the skills and experience you’ve earned over the years and apply them in a new field or direction. Unsure where to take that earned expertise or where it can make a meaningful impact? Here’s something you might not have considered:

International development. There’s a growing movement to try and make the world a better place by addressing issues of poverty, discrimination, and injustice in developing nations that don’t always have the resources or infrastructure to make a large-scale impact on their own.

As part of this movement, Canada is starting to leverage one of its greatest resources—its people. Initiatives like the Technical Assistance Partnership (TAP) project are bringing Canadian experts in a diverse range of fields to partner nations.

You can apply your earned skills in unexpected places. After a 35-year career serving in the RCMP, one Canadian financial crime specialist brought his expertise to Paraguay’s Economic Crimes and Anti-Corruption Unit. He’s been providing them with training, as well as spreading education and awareness more broadly in the country. This helps fight back against corruption, money laundering and organized crime.

Where will your career take you? You don’t have to be an RCMP veteran to make a real difference. From the communications agency fighting cyberbullying in Tunisia to the women strengthening Nigeria’s healthcare system, local leaders are bringing their skills and knowledge to partner nations around the world. They’re making an impact that benefits us all.

Learn more from the new podcast, Canadian Changemakers, that’s bringing stories about the local leaders making waves overseas at tap-pat.ca/canadian-changemakers.