What are my Options after Year 11?

Beginning to explore what you are going to do when you reach school leaving age is such an exciting time, although with so many choices available and people giving advice left right and centre it can be somewhat overwhelming too!

There are a number of pathways open to students at the end of Year 11;

 

 

Supported Learning Providers

Some students may prefer to go somewhere where they will receive more one-to-one support after Year 11, so may be interested in the organisations below. These are smaller organisations with far less students than sixth forms and colleges.

There are no entry requirements for these providers (unless stated below) as they tailor support to your needs.

To find out more, speak to the Careers Team in the ILC or email [email protected]

T Levels

For T Levels (Technical Levels) you will need a minimum of 4 GCSEs at Grade 4 or above, including English Language & Maths. For an introduction to T Levels see www.tlevels.gov.uk

See below for information on colleges offering T Levels and specific entry requirements.

Bedford College – https://bedfordcollegegroup.ac.uk/study/school-leavers/tlevels/#:~:text=We%20are%20very%20excited%20to,olds%20after%20finishing%20their%20GCSEs.

Construction, Digital, Education, Healthcare & Science.

Milton Keynes College https://mkcollege.ac.uk/school-leavers/t-levels

Education & Childcare, Construction (Design, Surveying & Planning), Digital Support Services, Digital Production, Design & Development, Design & Development for Engineering & Manufacturing, Engineering, Manufacturing, Processing & Control.

Barnfield College - https://www.barnfield.ac.uk/watch-now-what-are-t-levels/

Education & Childcare

Traineeships

A traineeship is a course with work experience that gets you ready for work or an apprenticeship. It can last from 6 weeks up to 1 year, though most traineeships last for less than 6 months.

You don’t need any specific qualifications or grades to start and traineeships run all year round so you don’t need to wait until September to start.

You can do a traineeship if you are aged 16 – 24 and are not in any form of employment, education or training.

For further information, visit https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/traineeships—2

SPS Training Solutions are based in Bedford and offer traineeships. See this link for further details:

https://www.sps-training.com/traineeships/

Skills4Security are a national training provider but offer traineeships in the Bedford area. The theory part of the traineeship takes place online with a tutor and the 3 week work placement will be based with an employer in the Bedford area.

Click on this link for further details: https://www.skills4security.com/traineeships

What are my options after Year 13?

Your main options are:

• Higher Education (University or College)
• Apprenticeship (including Higher & Degree Apprenticeships)
• Higher Technical Qualifications (HTQs)
• Full time employment
• Gap year (this involves taking a year out to get some work experience, volunteer, travel and / or to study a short course)

Higher Education

Higher Education involves qualifications from Level 4 to Level 8 with an undergraduate degree being Level 6. You don’t necessarily have to go to university to study for these qualifications. Many Further Education Colleges offer Level 4 and Level 5 courses such as BTEC Higher National Certificates & Diplomas and Foundation Degrees. See the links below for further information.

People normally do a degree at university for one of two reasons: 1) They have a passion for a specific subject and want to study it more in-depth; 2) They are aiming for a profession (e.g. Medicine / Dentistry / Law) that requires them to have a degree level qualification.

Although many students who choose to go to university away from home, if you prefer you could stay living at home by going to a university in the local area.

Our nearest universities are Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Northampton with Cambridge only around 30 miles away.

There are also many different types of degree such as a Joint Honors (combining two subjects), Combined (involving two or more subjects), Sandwich (normally 4 years including a placement year with an employer in the third year).

You don’t have to go to university at 18 – many people go to university as an adult when they may have a better idea of the job sector they wish to work in. You can study part time at university whilst working and it is also possible to study for a degree online from home, e.g. through the Open University.

Apprenticeships

These are available from Level 2 (GCSE level) up to Level 7 (Masters Degree Level) and many employers now offer Higher (Level 4/5) and Degree Level (Level 6) Apprenticeships.

Higher and Degree Apprenticeships offer a fantastic opportunity to gain valuable experience whilst working and earning a competitive salary and not only that – all of your university fees are paid for by the government and your employer!

However, there is a lot of competition for these apprenticeships and they are not available in every job area. You also need to be willing to travel as many of these apprenticeships will be outside Bedford. Having access to your own transport will open more options for you.

Apprenticeships are advertised in many places including on the UCAS website, ‘Find an Apprenticeship’ website, Unifrog and Prospects Careers website (see links below) and on company websites. Therefore, you will need to spend a lot of time looking in different places for vacancies and be prepared for a challenging application process as this can often involve online aptitude tests, attending assessment centers and interviews which could be in person, telephone or video interviews. Make sure you have a good quality targeted CV and cover letter and ask the Careers Team to check it before you apply for any apprenticeships.

Higher Technical Qualifications (HTQs)

HTQs are either new or existing Level 4 or 5 qualifications (such as HNDs, Foundation Degrees or Diploma HE), which have been developed by awarding bodies in collaboration with employers and businesses to make sure students get the training, knowledge and skills they need for their chosen career. HTQs are for students who are over 18, who are looking to study a subject to prepare them for a specifically skilled job in a particular sector.

HTQs are different to apprenticeships. They are predominantly taught in the classroom, in either a further education college, university or independent training provider. They also do not tend to involve industry placements like you would have on an apprenticeship.

HTQs focus on work-readiness, developing graduates who hold the necessary skills that employers are looking for. They can also lead to further study.

For more information, visit https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/explore-your-education-and-training-choices/higher-technical#:~:text=You%20can%20use%20UCAS%20to,local%20college%20or%20training%20provider.

Full Time Employment

Of course, you don’t have to go to university or do an apprenticeship after Year 13 – you can go straight into a full-time job. However, there are some important things you need to consider, for example, will the employer provide you with good quality training? Will the job give you good opportunities for career progression?

You will also be competing with a lot of other people for vacancies including adults who may have a lot more experience than you.

As with apprenticeships, having a good quality CV targeted to the type of work you are looking for and a good quality covering letter / email are essential.

Gap Year

What is a gap year? Basically, if you don’t feel ready for the next step and need to take some time out to discover your strengths and what you really want to do in the future a gap year could be for you. If you want to go to university in the future, some universities will allow you to ‘defer’ your place which means your university will keep your place open for you to start the following academic year. However, not all universities offer this option so always check before you commit to taking a year out!

You may wish to travel for a year to discover new countries or cultures and ‘find yourself’! Or you may want to work for a year to save up some money before going to university. Or maybe you want to volunteer with a charity.

There are lots of organisations that offer opportunities to volunteer overseas during a gap year – see the careers area of the school website for weblinks.

Top tip - It is always important to have a plan for how you will use your gap year and to be proactive as otherwise it can be tempting to just waste a year by not really doing anything constructive and that never goes down well with universities or employers!

It can also be challenging to get back into academic study after having a long break so always think carefully before committing to this option.

How do I decide what to do?

What do you enjoy? What subjects do you do best in? Do you have a passion for learning? Have you got any job ideas? How do you prefer to learn?

Answering these questions will help you work out which pathway you may enjoy more.If you need help with deciding what to do you can book a careers appointment by emailing [email protected]

Further info:

• When you leave BA we will ask for your email and mobile number which we will not share with anyone outside the Careers Team. This is so we can stay in touch and keep up to date with what you go on to do and your achievements. We will also let you know about school careers events in case you want to volunteer.
• If things do not go to plan we are always here to help, even after you leave school. Just email [email protected] and we will arrange to see you either in or outside of school.
• Remember, you have to be in some form of recognised study or training until your 18th birthday – so whilst you can go into a full-time job, it must involve an element of study towards that role for at least one day per week.

University:

• UCAS (Universities & Colleges Admissions Service): www.ucas.com
• Unifrog: https://www.unifrog.org/student/universities/start
• What Uni: www.whatuni.com

Colleges offering Higher Education courses:

• Bedford College: https://bedfordcollegegroup.ac.uk/study/undergraduates
• Milton Keynes College: https://mkcollege.ac.uk/undergraduate
• Moulton College: https://www.moulton.ac.uk/he

Apprenticeships:

• Find an Apprenticeship: https://www.gov.uk/apply-apprenticeship
• Unifrog: https://www.unifrog.org/student/apprenticeships/start
• UCAS: https://www.ucas.com/understanding-apprenticeships
• Prospects Careers: https://www.prospects.ac.uk/jobs-and-work-experience/apprenticeships

Job websites:

• Bedford Jobs Hub: https://www.bedford.gov.uk/jobs-and-careers/jobs-hub/
• Indeed: https://uk.indeed.com
• Total Jobs: https://www.totaljobs.com

Gap year websites:

• Yearoutgroup.org: www.yearoutgroup.org
• Original Volunteers: www.originalvolunteers.co.uk
• Lattitude Global Volunteering: www.lattitude.org.uk
• The Year in Industry: www.etrust.org.uk/the-year-in-industry

Targeted CV & covering letter / email:

• What is a Targeted CV and how to write one.docx
• Targeted CV example.docx
• Example Covering Letter & Email.docx