Employment

Help with finding employment and/or training

One of the options for young people at the end of year 11 is to leave full-time education and to start work or training. Young people can officially start full-time employment after the last Friday in June of the school year in which they are 16.

If your son or daughter is thinking about this option, it’s useful for them to check the following:

  • They’ve thought of all the jobs that might suit them – it’s good to be flexible and have a back-up plan if their first choice doesn’t work out.
  • They know what skills and experience employers are looking for in their chosen area of work. In addition to job-specific skills, most employers will also be looking for general skills such as good communication, ability to work in a team, and problem-solving.
  • How difficult it is to get into their chosen area of work. Are there many Apprenticeships and vacancies?
  • What training they will get, so they can keep their learning and skills up-to-date.

If you want further information to help your son or daughter answer these questions, look at our labour market information section. These will tell you about the different types of jobs available, the skills and qualifications that employers are looking for, and the kind of training that would be given.

Some jobs may be more available locally than others. If you think you would like to have more detailed information about what is available in your local area, click here to find our Labour Market Information Fact Sheets. These can give you information not just about Cornwall and Devon, but about each of the local districts.

Your son or daughter’s Personal Adviser can also help with choices and decisions about jobs and training. They can be contacted through your son or daughter’s school or your nearest Centre.

Training

Training is important for young people as it helps them to develop their talents, improves their prospects of a better job, and opens up new opportunities to them.

If you are unsure about what training is available in your area, you can find out more from an online prospectus.

For training in

Apprenticeships

Apprenticeships give young people the opportunity to train, gaining new skills and qualifications, while working and earning. Apprenticeships are also part of the government’s plan to improve the skills of working people in this country. At the moment only 28% of the UK’s working age population have skills at Apprenticeship, technical or craft level, which is much lower than other European countries.

Apprenticeships are open to anyone aged 16 to 24 living in England and not taking part in full-time education. Entry requirements are flexible because Apprenticeships aren’t just based on academic achievement.

There are different levels of Apprenticeship available, but they all lead to National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs), Key Skills qualifications and, in most cases, a technical certificate such as a BTEC or City & Guilds.

There are more than 200 different types of Apprenticeship available in more than 80 occupational sectors. However, there is sometimes a high demand for many of the Apprenticeships on offer, so there can be a lot of competition for a place.

For more information about Apprenticeships, click here for the national website: http://www.apprenticeships.org.uk

Finding a job or Apprenticeship

We link up with local employers, so we are a good source of information about jobs and Apprenticeship vacancies for young people. Click on the link below to get information about current job vacancies for young people across Cornwall and Devon from our searchable database. We also display job and Apprenticeship vacancies in our local centres.

Other ways of finding out about vacancies: look at local papers and listen to local radio (which often has a daily job spot). Some employers never advertise vacancies, but fill them with people they know – encourage your son or daughter to contact employers to find out what vacancies they have.

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