Choices after 16

Now that you’ve reached fourth year you have some important decisions to make about your future.  

The time has come for some serious thinking about your options after school.  

Even if you’ve already decided to stay on at school you still need to plan ahead. The subjects and courses you choose now will have an impact on the options open to you when you do leave.  

Read on for some information and advice to help you explore your options and decide what suits you best. 

The main options are:

1. Staying on at school
2. Going to college
3. Going into a Modern Apprenticeship
4. Going straight into a job 
5. Doing a training or employability programme - like Get Ready for Work.

Or, like some school leavers you could go on to do voluntary work.

As you go through these options and consider them one by one, remember to:

• Think about your long term career plans (if you have any yet): what’s going to help you to achieve them?
• Work out the options that fit best with your skills and interests, and your attitude to studying.
• Talk your ideas over with your parent or carer. Are there any money issues you need to think about?

1. Staying on at school 

Staying on at school for a fifth, and often a sixth year, is becoming a more and more popular choice. Last year 83% of 16 year olds stayed on at school beyond their official leaving date. Why? 

One important reason is that, in general, the longer you stay on the better your chances are of getting into work, training or full time education.  

Here are some figures showing the percentages of Scottish school leavers in 2010 who got into work, training or full time education, according to when they left school: 

• 91% of S5 and S6 leavers
• 76% of S4 summer leavers
• 68% of S4 winter leavers.

Some of the other benefits of staying on at school are:

• You have the chance to carry on with subjects you have developed a strong interest in (which should help you to get more qualifications).
• You’ll have more time to think about what you want to do after school and find out about the careers and courses open to you.
• You might be able to get involved in your school’s S5/S6 Vocational Programme and get the chance to study part time at a local college, and get a job-related qualification while you are still at school.
• You might also have the opportunity to take part in other activities that will help to prepare you for further study or the world of work, including youth awards, flexible work experience placements or voluntary work.

However, to make the most out of staying on at school remember:

• You will have to think carefully about your subject choice for S5, and possibly also S6.
• To get more qualifications you have to be prepared to put the work in.
• Taking your time and exploring the options is one thing; just putting the decision off isn’t the same thing at all!
• You still need to put the time in constructively, using the careers library, using career related computer software, visiting careers and job fairs and going to college and university open days.
• You will have to do plenty of research on courses, and plan ahead, if you are thinking of applying to university or college next year.
• When you’re ready to get to a decision point, talk over your plans with the careers adviser who visits your school and work out your career action plan.

Finance 

Once you reach your 16th birthday you can apply for an Educational Maintenance Allowance (EMA) of £30 a week during term time if you are staying on at school, or college, and your family has a low income. 

There are conditions attached. You can find out more by reading the information in ‘Funding for staying on at school or college (EMA)’ on PlanIT Plus or going direct to the EMA website at http://www.emascotland.com/. 

2. Going to college

By going to college full time you can:

• learn new skills, preparing you for a job or area of work
• develop your interest or skills in a specific career area
• get the qualifications you need to take you into a more advanced course like a Higher National Diploma (HND) or a degree
• find out if you have the potential for going further with studying the subject.

You get the chance to:

• be independent
• meet new and different people
• expand your social life.

You’ll have to get used to new ways of learning and thinking. You will have to make adjustments too.  Study and assessment methods are likely to be different, often less exam focused, more practical or ‘hands on’.  

Independence means taking responsibility:

• Managing your own time - organising your work schedule, organising your free time, and handing work in on time.
• Managing your ‘work life balance’- making the most of being a student, enjoying the freedom that comes with it, but putting the work in because that’s how you get results.  

If you go to college straight from S4 to do a full time non advanced course like a National Certificate (NC), National Qualification (NQ) or Scottish Vocational Qualification (SVQ) you can apply for either an EMA or a college bursary to finance your studies. 

You should check the financial allowances you are entitled to before you decide what to claim. Read the information in ‘Funding full time further education’ on PlanIT Plus.  

And another thing to bear in mind is that you’ll probably have to learn to combine work and college:

Around 60% of 16 and 17 year olds in full time education also have a part time job.

If you are interested in college remember to apply early, in January or February of the year you want to start the course.   

 In 2009-2010, 43% of S4 school leavers went into further education.

3. Going into a Modern Apprenticeship

Modern Apprenticeships are now the main route to employment for people straight from school. There are almost 22,000 young people in Modern Apprenticeships in Scotland.  

They give you the opportunity to start a job with guaranteed training towards a recognised work based qualification. 

• You can train as a Modern Apprentice in over eighty different jobs, from accounting technician to plumber.
• Most apprenticeships don’t have formal entry requirements but for some you will need some relevant Standard Grades, and for technician level jobs you may need some Highers.
• You may have to take an ‘aptitude’ test for some Modern Apprenticeships, particularly for craft level apprenticeships in construction and engineering.
• How long it takes to complete your training depends on the type of job you go into, it ranges from two to four years.
• You are an employee earning a wage of around £95 to £135 a week in your first year. The National Minimum Wage rate for Modern Apprentices is £2.50 an hour.
• You train part time towards a recognised qualification: from a Scottish Vocational Qualification (SVQ) Level 2, roughly equivalent to Standard grades at Credit level or Intermediate 2, to SVQ Level 3, roughly equivalent to Highers, and even SVQ Level 4, roughly equivalent to a Higher National Diploma (HND).

Not all types of Modern Apprenticeship are available in all areas, for example, the chances of getting an apprenticeship as a forest worker in Glasgow are pretty remote.

You can get more information from your career adviser and from MappIT, the Scottish Modern Apprenticeship website at http://www.mappit.org.uk/.

4. Going straight into a job

You could decide to look for a job. Opportunities are out there for school leavers, but the current economic situation means that they are limited. So, it’s really important that your job search skills are good.  

To give yourself the best chance of finding a job that suits you should:

• prepare your CV
• get ready to take the initiative, get networking and contact employers that you think might have suitable vacancies
• brush up on your interview technique.

And make sure you contact your local Careers Scotland Centre for information on local opportunities and for help with the skills involved in looking for a job. Contact the Skills Development Scotland (SDS) Helpline at 0845 8 502 502 for information on your nearest centre.

Hopefully, as well as getting into paid work you’ll also get the chance to do on-the-job training – even if it doesn’t lead to a recognised qualification. 

In 2009-2010, 18% of S4 school leavers went into employment (including Modern Apprenticeships).

5. Get Ready for Work and other employability programmes

If you don’t feel ready to move on to work, training or further education by the time you leave school, you could take part in a personal development or employability programme to help you to build up your confidence and skills.

There is a wide range of programmes, which vary depending on the area you live in. Some are national training programmes; others may be run by local community groups or employment initiatives. Some may even give you the chance to do voluntary or community work. 

Get Ready for Work 

This national training programme helps you to get some work experience and learn new skills. Its main aim is to give you the confidence to move into work, learning or further training.

• You get paid a training allowance of at least £55 a week.
• You get training in a range of skills and can try out ‘work tasters’ to help you to decide what’s best for you.
• You get help with job hunting skills – interviews, CVs and application forms.  

For more information on what’s available in your local area contact your careers adviser or local Careers Scotland centre. 

In 2009-2010, 15% of S4 school leavers went into training programmes.

Volunteering

Young volunteers get a lot out of volunteering, from work related skills to being part of something that makes a difference to their local community.   

At the moment only a very small number of school leavers go into voluntary work when they leave school.  

This has mainly been because so many volunteering opportunities were only open to people aged 18 or over. However, things are starting to change.

More volunteering opportunities for young people aged 16 and above are planned.

And, from August 2011, the Scottish Government is introducing a new programme called Community Jobs Scotland (CJS). Aimed mainly at 16-24 year olds who have been unemployed for six months or more, it will involve working for a local community or voluntary organisation for at least six months. Those taking part will be paid at least the minimum wage. 

You can find out more by taking a look at the article ‘Volunteering: What’s in it for me?’ on the PlanIT Plus website at http://www.planitplus.net/. Or, visit Project Scotland at http://www.projectscotland.co.uk/  and Volunteer Scotland at http://www.volunteerscotland.org.uk/.  

In 2009-2010, 0.3% of S4 school leavers went into voluntary work. 

More information and advice

Remember that you can always speak to your pastoral care, pupil support or guidance teacher and careers adviser for more information and advice about your options after S4. 

And, there’s lots of information on both PlanIT Plus and Skills Development Scotland’s My World of Work website at http://myworldofwork.skillsdevelopmentscotland.co.uk/ 

School leaving dates

In Scotland you can only legally leave school at one of the two official school leaving dates that apply to all pupils:

• 31 May if your 16th birthday falls between March and September
• the last day of term in December if your 16th birthday falls between 1 October and the end of February.

However, it is sometimes possible for pupils who are due to leave in December to spend their last term (August to December) at college rather than at school, doing a course that lasts 18 weeks or more. Your head teacher must give you permission before this can happen, and give the college evidence of this too. 

Keeping your parents or carers informed

It’s important to remember that you can help your parents or carers to support you by talking with them about your options. 

They may not be aware of all the different options open to you at this stage, or the types of career advice and support that are available in school or through your career adviser.  

Make sure that they see the S5 Options information from school, and are aware of any options or career-related events you take part in.  

Good luck with your future plans!