You may already have an idea about your future studies or career. However, it’s quite common to feel undecided, or confused, about what to do next. It is important to make sure you get the advice you need. You can talk to your parents ,teachers or a career adviser. In year 11 you will have a planned 1:1 meeting with a Careers Advisor to support you with your choices, but you can access them at any time if you need to you do not have to wait.
If you already know what you want to do, make sure you know what your next steps are and always have a back-up plan, in case your first choice doesn’t work out or you change your mind.
In England, the Raising the Participation Age (RPA) regulation means you must continue in education or training until your 18th birthday. This doesn’t necessarily mean staying on at school because learning can be in different settings. Whether you live in England or Wales, your main options at the end of year 11 are to continue your education full time, either at school or college, or to start working, and continue your learning in the workplace, perhaps through an Apprenticeship or T levels Other options include undertaking a programme that will give you the experience and support you need for your next steps (such as a Traineeship or Kickstart).
Remember to:
- start thinking about your options as soon as possible – don’t leave it until the last minute
- look at lots of information and explore options routes and pathways
- be realistic about the GCSE grades, or equivalent, you are likely to achieve
- Remember, there may be more than one route to reach your goal
- base any decisions on what is important to you – don’t follow what your friends might be doing
Don’t forget that You will be expected to continue learning English and maths after year 11 if you have not already gained GCSEs at grades 9-4/A*-C in these subjects! There are lots of resources you can access to help you at this time too.
Visit the school career platform ECLIPS password in your planner. There is specific information about Education and Choices at 16
https://www.eclips-online.co.uk/home
CareerPilot has lots of information and videos that you can look at too
https://www.careerpilot.org.uk/information/your-choices-at-16
The Government site is also available for this type of research
https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/explore-your-education-and-training-choices
Youth Employment website
https://www.youthemployment.org.uk/
Post 16 Providers
There are many providers in the area and a little further afield that offer the courses you may be interested in see the links below. All of them have open evenings and events along with information and application process online.
HAD 6th Form
Telford College
Juniper Training
Landau Training
Nova Training
Telford 16 to 19
Shrewsbury Colleges
Job Vacancies at West Mercia Police
Job Vacancies at Shropshire Fire and Rescue
Out of area Further Education specifically for specialist subjects not on offer within the Telford & Wrekin area.
North Shropshire College
Rodbaston College
Reaseheath College
The Armed Forces offer a wide range of jobs and Apprenticeships, click each of the main disciplines below for further details.
The Army The Navy The RAF
The local recruitment office for all the armed forces is: Armed Forces Careers Office 2nd Floor Princess House The Square Shrewsbury SY1 1JZ Hours: 9am – 5pm Monday to Friday Phone: 01743 232678
Whilst considering your POST-16 options it may be useful to also take into consideration any ideas you have for when you complete them. You can explore this further in the Post 18 section of our website.
Some other useful websites that can support at this time
My World of Work
iCould
BBC Bitesize Careers
Employment
Being able to find a part time job not only allows you to earn some money while you are studying, but also build on your employability skills for the future. Before looking for a job it’s important to have an up to date CV. Which once you have completed, you can upload it to job sites. This allows you to register and create alerts when vacancies appear or to have a CV available when you see a job you wish to apply for.
Use the links below to help you create a standout CV.
Create a CV for free
CVs and Cover Letters
CV writing for Young People
When looking for employment many people use online providers to search for jobs. Here, you can filter your search to specific locations, sectors and even salary.
Find a job – GOV.UK
Job Search | Indeed
Monster Jobs: Find a Job today