Industries to be in

[big fella]

I've just been the victim of what I would call a hatchett job. My former employer would say it was a necessary action. The truth probably lays somewhere in between. The nett result, regardless your point of view, is that I find myself unemployed.

As well as being unemployed I am thoroughly disillusioned. The role I was in was managing a team of technical trainers in a private RTO (registered training organisation). I am a light vehicle motor mechanic, but the place I worked in was owned by the largest manufacturer of mining and civil construction equipment in the world, and focussed on mechanics and apprentices employed to work on those machines. The training industry as a whole, and automotive in particular, is quite incestuous. I am unlikely to be able to find an equivalent position at another provider.

The reason I was in training in the first place was due to repeated severe back injuries as a young tradesman that have left me with an arthritic spine. So although I have just turned 35, a return to the spanners is absolutely out of the question.

I'm not particularly attractive to the mining industry, because I don't have any mine experience or exposure to their software systems, and obviously can't go in as a mechanic. I'd go in as a machine operator, but again, I can't get looked at because I am not experienced and ticketed on the machines.

I guess I am looking for suggestions of industries that are emerging or growing, where application and endeavour will be rewarded, and where I may be able to apply my skills as a manager. I'm not a salesman. Selling for a living will see me poor and hungry very quickly.

Any suggestion, no matter how "left field" or "outside the square" it is will be appreciated. Thanks in advance.