After a 20-year career in marketing and sales, Barrie resident Rob Roach (pictured) found himself out of a job as a result of company restructuring. It was a blessing in disguise.

After taking care of an elderly neighbour in his teenage years, Rob initially wanted to pursue a career in health care. At the time, nursing wasn’t considered a traditional male career, so he ended up on the road instead.

Rob spent the next 20 years driving across Ontario as a travelling salesman, which he says provided him with a comfortable living but not the personal contact he craved.

“I literally felt handcuffed to my ‘desk’ and out-of-touch with those around me,” says Rob. “I wanted to return to school, but the constant travel limited opportunities to pursue professional development or retraining.”

Rob spent his downtime on the road researching changes in the nursing and health care industry and related part-time programs. He found that most courses were four years in length and required a full-time commitment, so he put his dream on the backburner.

Shortly after he received his layoff notice, the Province of Ontario introduced the Second Career Strategy, a government initiative to help unemployed and underemployed workers make the transition to new careers in growing areas of the economy.

Rob delved into research and found that the health care industry had many promising job prospects close to home. A compressed format of a two-year Practical Nursing program available at Georgian College’s Barrie Campus, convinced him that the timing was finally right for him to pursue his lifelong dream of becoming a nurse.

“When I was conducting research for my Second Career Strategy action plan, I found that there was a specific need for registered practical nurses in the local health care industry,” says Rob.

“An employer I contacted while investigating job opportunities in Simcoe County said that male nurses were needed and asked me to submit my resumé ahead of graduation.”

After being out of the classroom for 25 years, Rob enrolled in Academic Upgrading to improve his chemistry and biology skills. He started the Practical Nursing program in January, and says additional access to Student Services such as counselling and time management have given him the confidence to succeed in the classroom.

“The professors at Georgian are just amazing and really go above and beyond to help you succeed,” says Rob.

“Additional supports at the College have helped me with time management, information comprehension and test strategies; I feel like the stars have aligned to help me pursue a career in the health care industry.”

Now focused on achieving a dream he’s held off for 25 years, Rob is looking forward to finally starting a career in nursing in January 2011.