Taking those first steps towards a rewarding and hopefully, long and fulfilling career can be baffling for many a young person today.  With so many diversions and activities around in their teenage years, there is not the same career route evident and available as to their forebears.  For one thing, there are many more folk here looking for work and there are less jobs in the manufacturing and production sector.   We have a massive service industry, the pub and restaurant areas clean up many of the fresh out of college students.  Some of them stay on, never quite reaching their potential after all that study.

There has been a big move towards modern apprenticeship schemes which do culminate in such a life long career – aircraft engineering, motor engingeering; gardening and horticulture and the catering sector to give examples.  After four years of study and work place experience, there is a qualification and ready made job at the end, for most of the candidates.  This is not guaranteed though, unfortunately.   The national careers service is also instrumental in sorting out ideas for young folk leaving school with no plan for which direction to travel.

There again there are students who have already decided on their way forward, i.e. prospective doctors, lawyers, nurses, teachers etc. and know from the get go that this is what they are focusing on during their subject selection processes.  It will all pay off in the end.