Signing on

November was the month of forms. Universal Credit is its own full-time job when you first claim it — verify this, upload that, attend on Thursday. But the forms weren't the hard part.

The hard part was the sentence 'I'm on Universal Credit' coming out of the mouth of someone who, five weeks earlier, had a job, a routine and a title. Nobody at the job centre made me feel small — that's the honest truth. I did that all by myself, in the waiting room, every visit.

Then the hinge of this whole story: my work coach turned out to be an ex bus driver. He knew exactly what the licence rules meant for me without being told. And when an AI bootcamp came up — five weeks, through Breakthrough, no experience needed — he didn't sell it. He just said: "Give it a go. If you don't like it, no worries."

That line did more than any pep talk could have. It made trying small. Not a career pivot, not a reinvention — just five weeks, with permission to walk away. I said yes because the exit was built into the offer.

Everything that follows in this blog exists because of that sentence, said by the right person, at the right desk, in the right month.