Your Options

Once you reach Year 13 you need to decide what your next steps will be. Do you want to go onto higher education? Are you interested in Apprenticeships? Do you just want to get a job? Do you want to have a gap year and then make a decision? Whatever you decide will have a huge impact on your future moving forward, so you need to ensure you have carefully considered all the options to choose the one that suits you.

Higher/Further Education

You can choose to go onto further education where you will have the opportunity to gain more qualifications in a subject you may never have studied, or a subject you want to learn more about. You may look to gain qualifications that will be relevant to a specific job. There are many areas of employment that you can gain qualifications in, such as Hair and Beauty, Car Mechanics or Engineering.

You may decide to resit the exams that you already took in order to improve your grades, and improve your chances to succeed in your personal goals.

You could decide you want to study a degree, for example a BA (Hons), B.Ed. or BSc. If you didn’t get the grades you needed you could apply for a foundation degree, HND/HNC or even go onto to work towards a Diploma of Higher Education.

Apprenticeships

If you decide to go the apprenticeship route then you will learn skills while working and gaining qualifications, you will even get paid while completing your training in the career you have chosen.

There are 3 different levels that you have the opportunity to train within, Intermediate, Advanced and Higher. Apprenticeships are available across a wide range of sectors to include businesses, engineering, construction, ICT, Hair and Beauty, Retail and even Travel. To get more information go onto www. Apprenticeships.org.uk

Jobs

You may want to just find a job when you finish year 13 and leave full time education completely. If this is a decision you want to make it is advisable to look for work where there employers will offer training to help you to develop your career and move forward. This will make you more valuable to future employers too or improve your chance of promotion.

GAP Year

You may decide that upon completion of year 13 you want to take a break from education before starting your career or going onto higher education. This time may be used to travel and experience a little more of the world, you may want to earn some money before going to university, or you may just use the time to help you to get to know yourself better and discover what you want for yourself moving forward.

Many use the time to do voluntary work or gain experience that they feel will be helpful for their ultimate career goals.