Did you know the law now says that from 2013 all young people will have to stay on in education, training or employment with training until they are 17 years old? And from 2015 you will need to stay on until you are 18 years old.

These changes will open up a lot of new opportunities for you and will help ensure that you gain the right skills and experience for your future.

By the time you leave school it will be even harder to find a job unless you have skills and qualifications. However, that doesn’t mean you have to stay on at school to get those skills. There are more ways than ever to get the right skills, at the right time and in the right way for you.

The government wants to increase participation in education and training to give you more opportunities to gain the skills and qualifications you will need to build yourself a good future.

From Year 9 there are more courses for you to choose from, more ways to get the qualifications that are right for you, and different routes into work.

GCSEs

GCSEs are changing to make them more relevant to the real world. You can do them on their own or with other courses.

Foundation learning

Foundation learning helps you develop personal and work skills. You put your own learning plan together to get a qualification that’s right for you.

Apprenticeships

Apprenticeships are designed to help you learn on the job. You have a job, get paid and gain practical skills from the workplace. There are over 100 different types. Apprenticeships are available once you are 16 years old.

Find out more about apprenticeships.

Tell us how you feel about being in education, employment or training until you are 18. Leave a comment.