How can a person who has lived their whole lives in the cycle of poverty go about altering that with no previous experience or knowledge?

Start by changing the habits that keep you in poverty. Start writing stuff down like expenses and reviewing them. I think a big part is about what you do with the money you earn and not really how much you earn. Once you get more organized you can start looking at skills you have and how they are beneficial for your current job. It might be an idea to work on certain skills and gain knowledge to earn a promotion. If a promotion is never going to happen you can stil work on your skills and knowledge to perhaps one day change to a better paying job with your new skills and knowledge.