There are very few careers in today's working environment which can safely be thought of as being 'permanent'. Shifts in world trade, competition from Third World countries, the decline of manufacturing and traditional industries in the UK, and the rise of the service sector have already made an impact on the range of careers and jobs available. The unknown quantities of the engineering East European economics and the effects of closer integration within the EU will impact further in the future. Other factors are also playing their part: the rapid expansion of technology into almost every workplace; the increased emphasis on value for money, demands for greater productivity, and the need for a more flexible, multi-skilled workforce.

Changing direction can be like taking a leap into the dark: perilous and often frightening. On the one hand you can be forced into the situation by cutbacks in staffing levels or the closure of a business, whether this is your own or someone else's. Alternatively, you may take the initiative yourself to make the break from a job which has ceased to have any real meaning for you. Either way, you are almost certain to feel anxious about the future.

Gone are the old certainties. Organisations and businesses have been forced to restructure and reshape to survive. Whole layers of management and large numbers of ordinary run-of-the-mill jobs have disappeared. Short-term contracts, part-time working, job-sharing, home-working, annual hours and a range of other formats are increasingly replacing the rigid structures of yesteryear. Change is everywhere and shows no sign of slowing down. Hundreds of thousands of people are having to rethink their working lives. For those just starting out there is the likelihood of facing not just one, but possibly 2 career changes before they retire.