At 61 years old, Darren’s story shows that learning never stops. 

In celebration of Get the Nation Learning Week, we’re shining a light on the people who prove that learning doesn’t have an age limit. For Thrive customer National Highways, employee Darren Ward’s story is a powerful reminder of how curiosity and the right support can help anyone excel in a brand new role.

When a shoulder injury ended Darren’s time as a Traffic Officer, he was facing an uncertain future. After eight years of patrolling the motorway network, helping the public, and working alongside the emergency services, he suddenly had to ask himself what came next.

He remembers that day clearly.

“It was a very windy, wet day on the M5. The wind caught my door, and it pulled on my arm. By that evening, I couldn’t lift it at all.”

Specialists confirmed the damage was long-term. Darren couldn’t physically continue his frontline role, and for the first time in decades, he questioned his place at work. 

“At 61 years of age, I thought: will I lose my job? How will I feed my family?”

When National Highways offered him the chance to move into a new role, the self-doubt started to creep in. “I suffered from imposter syndrome. It made me feel inadequate — can I do the job, can I do the role?” With encouragement from his manager, Steve, and the support of Thrive, Darren decided to take the leap.

Thrive became a lifeline. 

“It was a major tool in me deciding to make this move, because everything I needed to learn about the role was there in one place. Everything was easy to access, easy to read, and just gave me the right tools to be able to make this move.”

He found courses on anxiety, depression, imposter syndrome, and stress. One by one, he worked through each module, steadily building confidence as he went. “It really helped me in becoming positive when moving into this new role,” he says.

Beyond his career transition, Thrive became part of Darren’s everyday life. “I am a lifelong learner, always have been. Thrive is a massive tool that plays a part in my working life to support me through learning further and further.”

He’s used the platform to explore topics that matter personally as well as professionally. “There are certain modules on there that really piqued my interest. One in particular is dementia. I have a 96-year-old mother who has dementia. It’s taught me how to communicate with her better, and I’m passing that experience from Thrive onto my family members.”

He’s also learned British Sign Language, gaining the basics to communicate with people who are hard of hearing. Each new skill has opened up another way for him to learn and grow.

Today, Darren looks back with pride. “What I’m most proud of in my career is donning the uniform of a Traffic Officer. I respect and am so proud of all the people who don that uniform every day to undertake that role.”

And he has a message for anyone facing change. “A little bit of advice I would give to anybody who is considering a career change is go ahead and do it. Thrive is there. Any opportunity, at any age — you can do it.”

Read more about Thrive customer National Highways here, and to hear about how we could help you build a culture of lifelong learning in your organisation, book a demo today.
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