by Yemi Dipeolu

So that you’ve completed college. What’s subsequent?

Earlier than you end Yr 11 and head off to get pleasure from a couple of months of summer time vacation enjoyable, you’ll must make an knowledgeable determination about what you wish to do subsequent.

The excellent news is, there are many completely different choices you may select from, whether or not you wish to proceed learning or go straight into employment.

Our free Gateway to Work device is a superb place to start out – however listed below are a few of the choices out there to you whenever you go away secondary college:

Apprenticeships

If, after finishing your GCSEs you have already got a good suggestion of what profession you wish to pursue then apprenticeships may very well be a improbable solution to acquire the talents and {qualifications} that you must get the job you need in a method that fits your studying model. 

You’ll spend 6 hours of a 30-hour week working with an employer incomes no less than the minimal wage for apprentices (at the moment £5.28 in case you’re below 18) and the remainder of your time gaining an industry-recognised qualification, which the federal government and your employer can pay for. 

Apprenticeships can be found in an entire host of fields together with engineering, accounting, hairdressing and promoting. You’ll be able to take them at quite a lot of completely different ranges, from intermediate apprenticeships (degree 2) to postgraduate apprenticeships that are the equal of a grasp’s diploma. 

Apprenticeships: How you can get began

Seven causes you need to begin an apprenticeship

View all apprenticeship jobs

Vocational programs

If leaping straight into the world of labor isn’t for you, however you’re concerned with extra sensible careers equivalent to hairdressing, plumbing, or inside design, then a vocational course may simply be for you. 

Formally generally known as Utilized Vocational {Qualifications}, vocational programs embrace certifications equivalent to BTECs and can be found in many various topics together with IT, Music Manufacturing and even Regulation. 

The wonderful thing about vocational programs is that they’re sensible, which suggests you’ll get the chance to achieve hands-on expertise in your chosen subject whereas creating the talents that you must progress into employment.

View all programs

A Ranges

Whereas vocational programs are likely to have a heavy deal with a selected profession, A Ranges are usually extra educational and intention to strengthen your understanding of explicit topics. You’ll principally be learning within the classroom and studying from textbooks and you are able to do as much as 5 A Ranges though most college students stick to simply three.

A Ranges embrace a variety of topics in several areas together with Psychology, Biology, Historical past and Media Research. Most college students learning for A Ranges want to get onto a college course sooner or later. Their entry necessities often embrace A Ranges in topics associated to the diploma you wish to examine. 

Entry necessities differ from place to put, so be sure you examine with the person faculties and faculties to search out out what you’re on the lookout for.

Need extra help in your profession journey?

Then take a look at Gateway to Work, our free careers programme. Designed particularly for college kids such as you, it’s jam-packed with partaking movies, sources and quizzes that can assist you determine precisely what to do subsequent. 

You’ll additionally get an opportunity to check out completely different roles in real-life corporations with digital work expertise and apply your interview expertise with our Chairman and CEO, James Reed CBE, utilizing our AI interview programme. 

Did we point out that it’s utterly free? Who mentioned studying needed to come at a value…

Able to get began? Strive our free Gateway to Work course now.