Meet our members


Our members are made up mainly of professionals in their 40's, 50's and 60's many of whom have had previously successful careers and they are now exploring their future options. They are intellectually curious, open minded and ambitious for themselves.

We don't offer support to the long term unemployed navigating the benefits system: this service is provided by Job Centre Plus.

Member outcomes 9-12 months after joining:

Over 30% negotiate changes to their work: e.g. moving to a new department or role
Nearly 20% make a total career change: different job, different sector
Over 25% secure a similar job in a different sector
Around 20% make no change for varied reasons


The make up of our members:

Over 80% join for 'positive' reasons: curiosity, a desire to explore their options and wanting to meet new people
- 40% work full-time
- 20% contract or work part-time
- 18% are actively looking
- 14% are entrepreneurs
- Over 90% have a higher education qualification
- Many have Masters, PhD's, MBAs or chartered professional status

- 40% are men
- 60% are women

I want to join

Our Brave Starters

These are just a few of our awesome members who have been through our programmes and found what their next steps can be with the support our community!

Tassia Kelly

After 15 years as a Senior Conference Producer, Taissia felt unfulfilled and wanted a career that aligned more with her values. She joined Brave Starts and discovered she wasn’t alone. Through workshops and support, she gained clarity and confidence—leading her to a new role producing climate change conferences.

Tassia Kelly
's story

Denise Chilton

Denise has changed career from manager to entrepreneur to coach and explains why she loves the Brave Starts community. If you're wondering whether to join, hear from Denise what you can expect from our career change community.

Denise Chilton
's story

Natalie Hayes

Meet Natalie, who worked in a large corporate and is now working for a smaller local business. Natalie is a mum who returned to work after a previous career in corporate marketing and decided to move to a more all encompassing marketing and customer engagement manager role at a smaller local business.

Natalie Hayes
's story

Greg Scott

​Meet Greg, who is 64 and has had a varied career, including Medical Microbiologist, Management Accountant, Software Developer, and Head of ICT in secondary schools. Greg recently retrained in Data Analysis and is now working as a Data Analyst at the NHS.

Greg Scott
's story

Rachel Cockett

Meet Rachel, who was the Director of Development at Birmingham Museums Trust and is now freelancing as a Business Planning Consultant and volunteering as a charity Trustee.

Rachel Cockett
's story