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Studies of older adults entering higher education say little about redundancy as a trigger factor or of the outcomes of education in such circumstances. Ideas on the importance of previous workplace and educational experience, motivational factors and the influence of gender are explored using information from a study of 21 adults aged 40-59 at Victoria University in Wellington, New Zealand. This focuses on the circumstances of redundancy, its immediate effects and how it led to university study. Longer-term outcomes relate to study, work and personal issues. Looking back, most of the interviewees saw that their experience of redundancy had been an opportunity for change and their study experiences had been beneficial, but not always in terms of workforce advancement.