With A-Level results announced last Friday, this was a big week for many of you. Perhaps you spent the weekend celebrating and making plans. Or perhaps you weren’t pleased with your results and spent the weekend wondering what to do now.
Don’t fret too much. There are loads of options out there to gain solid experience and build the skills you’ll need to get wherever you want to go.
One attractive option is the obvious gap year with travel to a foreign and exotic land. I’ve done it and highly recommend it. You’ll have adventures and make friends that you’ll never forget. But more than that, you will gain solid experience in logistics, interpersonal communications, strategic planning and negotiating. Even more, you’ll gain a great deal of the perspective, cultural awareness and global outlook that companies and organisations look for.
If you can’t afford to globetrot, or are just one of those people who needs to be productive, why not earn money while traveling by teaching English? Many companies reimburse your travel expenses, subsidise your living costs, and even pay you a small wage. By living simply, you’ll be able to save to travel around your teaching schedule. You can even find an internship or a teaching assistant position. Whatever the role, you’ll build substantial skills in self-sufficiency, organisation, resourcefulness, and communications.
Don’t want to leave your home country? Try an apprenticeship, an internship or volunteering. Better yet, increase your knowledge base and build on the skills you already have by enrolling in further education and training.
Whatever the path you choose, you will have gained significant experience and skills that employers will find hard to ignore, giving you a distinct advantage over the competition.
To help you get started, we’ve got a great range of courses to launch you forward:
Excellent courses – not just applicable to the youngsters :o)
Great advice!
I kind of had a gap year after my a levels. I went to college to do an art course, not because I want to pursue art as a career, I just enjoy it! Then after that I enrolled with stonebridge and gained a distinction in psychology 🙂
I finished my a-levels, with good results and had no idea what i wanted to do next all i knew is i didn’t want to go to uni. I got a job and decided to study through Stonebridge to work towards what i really want to do, whilst im earning money. It was the perfect decision for me.
good advice, and taken on board 🙂
I didn’t finish my a-levels which is why I am back to studying now. I went out to work and worked my way up in retail as it was what I needed to do at the time to pay my rent and look after my little sister. I am loving the fact that I have the opportunity to learn again and with online courses you can return to learning at any age!
i went from school into a job which i didnt like then i got back into education when my daughter was born and loving having family and to be able to do courses and get a good job at the end of it 🙂
Good advice and a great selection of courses!
great advice for those who want to move on after A levels!
Good advice and support. Its so difficult to get a foot on the ladder these days.
great advices and really good blog 🙂
Interesting blog!
Some good courses there, that as Jodie said, are not just applicable to the school leavers. If I ever changed my career direction I would definitely be interested in the Teaching and Teaching Assistant courses.