advice

[eileenb]

Son is 16 in march,
not sure if to stay on at school,try for college, an apprenticeship,or work.
Any suggestions?
do employers want qualifications or prefer training or experience.
thanks

[joko]

depends on what he wants to be.

if he is unsure, i would suggest training for a trade, such as electrician, plumber, etcetc - as i have heard from many sources that there is great shortage of qualified tradesmen, as for a while most kids automatically went to college, because they thought it was the way to set them up for life - it isn't - there are thousands of unemployed graduates, who should be earning but can't.

[CheekyChops]

If he goes for an apprenticeship, he will be working whilst also attending college probably one day a week so getting a qualification at the same time.

[Spartacus84]

I didn't stay on at 6th form like all my friends did but went to college and did an NVQ in Building Studies but was offered a trainee position half way through the second year. I took it and haven't looked back. I still carried on with college on a day release basis. I'm now at Uni with 1 year to go and could pretty much walk into any job that I applied for due to my experience. All my friends have now finished Uni and are in thousands of pounds of debt. The only debt I have is my house and awesome car.

So for me there's only one way to go but it depends on the person. Oh yeah, I'm a Quantity Surveyor.

[benjiesmum]

Your son should really make an appointment to see the Connexions adviser at his school - he should have already been given an opportunity to do this but may have missed it or be low on the list. Many post-16 colleges will be holding open days shortly - go along with him to find out what they are offering. If he wants a place at such a college he will have to be quick. Some courses will be filling up in the New Year. You don't say what qualifications he hopes to get - GCSEs etc. that will have some bearing on what he is likey to do next. He should also visit the Connexions office or library at school and try KUDOS. This is a database of a great number of questions that tries to match your interests and qualifications with careers. Good luck!