At 52, Tony Fishpool in Dartford took early retirement after 34 years with BT but he didn't want to stop work – he wanted a career change. His final career with BT was as intranet manager where he'd spent 10 per cent of his time teaching and really enjoyed it.

Tony decided he wanted to teach and started an adult education teaching certificate for which he needed a certain number of practical teaching hours. After trying everywhere to find some voluntary teaching work, he finally approached Sevenoaks Volunteer Centre.

Centre manager Christine Terry contacted Health and Leisure team leader at Sevenoaks District Council, Hayley Brooks. That very same week, Hayley was approached by a Supported Living unit warden in Edenbridge who said a lot of the older people there wanted to learn basic computer skills.

The leisure centre in Edenbridge had turned an old bar upstairs into a new computer suite with 12 new PCs funded by the LSC

Hayley put two and two together and had so much interest that two "silver surfer" courses of 12 started there in September last year, funded by West Kent PCT.

Tony got his teaching experience and also, said Hayley, turned out to be a fantastic teacher. A contracted tutor through SDC, he has run courses in Swanley as well as Edenbridge; has trained 119 people in the basic course, 81 of who have gone on to do beginners plus. There are 26 people on the waiting list for the beginners course and 35 for the beginners plus.

Tony says: "If you have aspirations about what you want to do, try it out in a voluntary setting, see if it works out and then you have something to take to a prospective employer."