Planning your future
When you’re planning your future beyond Year 11, the two main things you need to have an idea of are what career you might like to do and what qualifications or training you’ll need to get you there. Use the following to get you started.
What type of career would suit you?
Do you know what your ideal career is? Do you know what qualifications you’ll need? If you’re not sure, there are various software programmes designed to help you find out. They include:
- Fast Tomato - This is a great place to start thinking about your future career options. If you’re 13 – 19 and living in Staffordshire or Stoke-on-Trent, you can log on using a free password you can get from your careers tutor or Connexions Personal Adviser. If you already have a password, click here to start using Fast Tomato.
- Jobs4U - This careers database contains lots of information on a wide range of careers organised into ‘job families’. Use it to research things such as what particular jobs involve, how qualified you have to be to start, what personal qualities are best suited to this type of work, how much you could earn and what your promotion prospects might be. Click here to start using Jobs4U.
Where can you study or train after Y11?
There are lots of places you could study or train after year 11, including:
Before you decide where to study, you’ll need to think about the following:
- Which of these places offers the subject I want, at the level I want, and in the way I like to learn?
- Will the course, subject or training get me where I want to be in the future?
- Do I want to be more independent and meet a lot of new people?
- Does it have the facilities I need?
- How well did last year's students / trainees do?
- Can I travel there easily?
The best way to find out is to go to open days, speak to staff and students and check out last year's results. Then you can weigh up your options - and make the right choice for you!
