Building Skills

Employers often look to employ individuals have the right skills and experience, but young people often ask “how do we gain the experience to get the jobs that want experience?”. Well there are ways to build skills and experience to help you move forward, and that is what we will discuss in this section.

If you have missed a lot of school or don’t have many qualifications the 16-19 Study Programme looks to give everyone the chance to obtain a substantial qualification, work towards level 2 in Maths and English if you haven’t reached this level already, and also gain some work experience or other ways of gaining skills in preparation for work. That said, there are still other means of building your experience and skills in readiness for employment.

Volunteer

This does mean that you will be working without pay, normally you will work for a charity, e.g. a charity shop. You may decide to work for a community group, for example a youth centre. This will help you to gain some new skills, meet new people, build your confidence and help you to gain work experience.

Work Experience

Again you will not normally be paid for work experience but unlike voluntary work you will be working with an employer rather than for a charity or community group. There are many courses that you take which will provide you with the chance to go on work experience or take part in work related learning as part of the course. You may even have been given the chance to go on work experience before you finished Year 11.

Personal Development

Getting involved in opportunities that allow you to develop your personal skills will also look great on CV’s and application forms. This could involve getting involved in extra curricular activities or projects with the school or outside. You may join a football team, or be part of a drama group etc., gaining experience through your hobbies and interests or even helping family and friends will help you to gain new skills that employers will value.