The unprecedented events of 2020 meant that, across the country, thousands of people were presented with unplanned career deviations. For Georgia Linggood, as someone with a plethora of work experience, the fall in to unemployment was a foreign endeavour. After beginning 2020 working in a bar in Australia the onset of the Coronavirus pandemic meant Georgia was forced to return to England and search for new employment. When first arriving back in the United Kingdom Georgia was encountered with the ‘eat out to help out’ scheme, she describes herself as ‘overwhelmed with job offers’ as her career experience predominantly resided within the hospitality sector. However, after gaining employment in a local bar, lock down was imposed, and Georgia found herself ‘promoted to general manager and then made redundant within 24 hours’. As a result, Georgia turned to her local job centre for guidance. Soon after signing up she received an email informing her of the distance learning courses with Release Potential, emphasising ‘I contacted them back straight away and said yes I want to begin as soon as possible’. Consequently, Georgia began the Healthcare course hoping for a ‘stepping stone into the health industry’, maintaining ‘I wanted something to show prospective employers I was being productive in lock down’. As is normal, before the commencement of the course, Georgia describes feeling ‘really nervous’ as she found herself with a ‘pre-emptive view’ of how the course would proceed. At first, the introduction of a new environment, where some of the learning was unknown, felt overwhelming to Georgia, but she soon found herself ‘learning so much about how the healthcare systems worked…and what approaches to take when dealing with mental health issues’. Georgia expresses she ‘particularly enjoyed the web design and the creative freedom the course provided’ provided’, maintaining that ‘speaking to new people and working as a team’ only increased her satisfaction with the course. She further expresses ‘it was so nice to see how the course is structured around diversity’, allowing for ‘welcome group discussions’. Conceivably, the most successful part of Georgia’s experience with Release Potential was her achievement of a job as a caregiver with St Cuthbert’s care centre in Newcastle; a charity enabling the personal development of vulnerable members of the local community. Georgia contends, ‘I wouldn’t have heard about St Cuthbert’s if it wasn’t for the marketplace event that Release Potential provided’ provided’. When informed of the job opportunities available with the care charity Georgia applied to both an apprentice role, and the job as a caregiver. After communicating with the charity, they encouraged her to pursue the route of a carer, which, ultimately, found Georgia successfully in employment. She highlights ‘before starting this course all I wanted was a job, and that is exactly what it gave me’. For Georgia, her plans for the future remain unclear. The uncertainty of the current global socioeconomic climate has left her ambition of returning to Australia, at present, unattainable. However, Georgia maintains that participating in the distance learning course with Release Potential ‘was amazing’. She highlights the ‘professionalism and respect provided by the as key pillars in her enjoyment of the course, further expressing that ‘ the support was available 24/7’. Ultimately Georgia emphasises that ‘if you are given an opportunity, go for it’ and, as demonstrated through her attainment of a job, the opportunity Georgia took with Release Potential was worth the leap. Release Potential CEO Gaye Hutchinson emphasised her ‘delight’ with the ongoing partnership between the Newcastle job centre and Release Potential, commenting ‘cases like Georgia’s, where we are able to see the learner successfully obtain employment, is exactly what motivates us at Release Potential’ Furthermore, Gaye emphasises the crucial role of the North of Tyne Combined Authority in ‘providing funding, ultimately, enabling learners to pursue the opportunities presented to them’.