Year 12 - Calderdale and Kirklees Careers Service Partnership

Why take ayear out?Taking a year out before starting a course has becomeincreasingly popular. However the current recession ishaving an impact on many young people’s decision to deferstarting their course of study. Many are worried aboutstaying out of the job market. It is also influencing theirchoice of gap year projects. You need to weigh up the prosand cons of taking a gap year and your own circumstances.FOR…What are the options?FOR…travel – this may be youronly chance to travel foran extended period of time.It could be an idealopportunity to work ona language and experiencedifferent cultures,climates and lifestylesmotivation – you cantake time to be certainabout the HE course youintend to pursuematurity – you canbroaden your horizonsand stand on your owntwo feet for the first timeexperience – there is ahuge range of projects tochoose from – you may getvaluable work experiencerelated to your future careerideas, helping make you amore attractive prospectto employersescape – it’s a chanceto have a break fromeveryday routinemoney – you could stayat home to work and saveup to help meet the costs ofgoing into higher educationtime – you can choose thelength of your experience,almost anything from twoweeks to two years is possible.AGAINST…finance – how will yousurvive and pay for traveland living costs, especiallyif you choose to go abroad?future plans – these maybe affected by a year out.Some admissions tutorsmay have reservationsabout students takinga year out – those formaths, teaching andsome science coursessuch as physics andmedicine in particular.Always seek the adviceof the admissions tutorswork routines – cansuffer from a prolongedbreak. There is no evidenceof any long-term adverseeffects from a break,although it can take awhile to get back intothe studying habitincome – you may find itdifficult to give up a salaryonce you have had one!experiences may beexpensive – not all gapyear projects are voluntaryand fully funded, for manyyou will have to stump upsome cash of your own.Paid employment•jobs – discuss availability with your careers adviser. Checknewspaper vacancy columns, job sites, Jobcentres, and friendsand relatives who may have contacts•temporary work – find out what is available in your area.Look out for seasonal work in factories, supermarkets,fast-food outlets, mail order companies and call centres,which is often available evenings and/or weekends•paid employment abroad – there are some opportunitiesfor paid employment abroad such as au pair vacancies advertisedin The Lady magazine (available from large newsagents).Voluntary work•you can get a range of experiences by working for one of thevoluntary organisations – contact agencies such as CommunityService Volunteers (CSV). Or visit www.do-it.org.uk – thenational database of volunteering opportunities•some volunteers get free board and lodging and a smallamount of pocket money in return for their work•many opportunities in conservation, charity work oragriculture, for example, may be found at home or abroad•see the Taking a Year Out and Voluntary Work sectionof The Directory (see page 25) for the addresses of gapyear organisations.Work experience•you may get a period of work experience to help you to decideon future courses or career choices in the following areas:– engineering – most opportunities are linked to asponsorship scheme– science – some employers may employ students prior todegree or HND courses– law and accountancy – some companies offer a year’sexperience prior to commencing higher education.Working holidays•you may get some valuable experience, and some time forholidaying, but expect to pay your own travel and other expenses.18