As teenagers pick–up their GCSE results they are reminded that there is life after exams.
This is the first year that teenagers, up to the age of 18 are legally required to stay in education, training or get a job with accredited training- something that the Government calls ‘raising the age of participation’. More information on this can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/2010-to-2015-government-policy-young-people/2010-to-2015-government-policy-young-people
Gone are the days when you could walk away from education aged 16.
David Allison, boss of getmyfirstjob.co.uk a website that matches young people to apprenticeships (currently placing 800 a month) explains that A-levels are not the only way.
He said: “High quality apprenticeships are a very real alternative to A-levels. At GetMyFirstJob we’re finding more and more young people are opting for apprenticeships. And, we’re especially seeing marked growth in areas such as law, accountancy, financial services and IT.
We’re placing thousands of young people with top employers such as RBS, Experian, Baker Tilly and Fujitsu.… Apprenticeships are quickly becoming the first choice option.”
Last year GetMyFirstJob placed 8000 young people into apprenticeships.