• Education

Education

Education, what a great road to go down these days. Whilst education might mean school!  It’s not - every day is a learning day!  Think of the people you just bump into and they share their experiences with you!!!

I met a random hippy guy one night at a friend’s house party, he was a lot older than most of us, but definitely knew someone there....anyway, he played the bongos, which was amazingly cool for a house party!  As we were sitting round the room he got everyone listening to his stories, he’d been so many places and had a lot to teach about music.  He proudly announced he has no qualifications whatsoever, nothing but ‘a degree in life mate’ he sniggered.

Now, I’m not for a minute advising that yo

u all drop school and not bother with getting qualified for a good job...best not to choose that path.  By all means, travel the world...that is my point, educate yourself! There are alot more self-fulfilling things in life.

If school or college doesn't suit you, don’t panic!  Hang on in, and believe you will make it! I recently completed my honours degree, that’s been four years of hard work since I left school at the end of fifth year.  At so many moments I felt like just giving up, there were so many things about it that drove me up the wall.  But I always knew it would be a huge mistake.  We are in a very lucky position these days - particularly in Scotland with free education – because of all the varying courses available to us when we leave school.  Open pretty much any prospectus and you have a world of opportunities in front of you, and it will be whatever you make it.  All it takes is willing application on your part!

Speaking of options...there are now extremely beneficial Modern Apprenticeship Schemes that may be the route for you, if you feel less inclined go the old-fashioned academic route.  Don’t get me wrong, every qualification has its fair share of boring stuff, but Modern Apprenticeships focus more on the practical skills required for that ideal job.  It provides vocational training - having a go and using your instinct about a career. So you really get a taste of the work you will be doing.  Check out Careers Scotland webpage.  They have a brochure of all of the different industries and frameworks that you can do a modern apprenticeship in.  Here are some examples; Accounting, Beauty Therapy, Classroom assistant – for those of you who feel suited to an education environment.  The wonderful role of imparting knowledge to others! – Health and Social care, not to mention an array of manual labour roles!

Oh and one more hint for the road...even though we’ve all reached that age where we must make lots of important decisions for ourselves, we are never too old to share them with our parents!  Get the support of your loved ones behind you before you make the leap from school to the first rung of your career, because it will make the journey all the easier, trust me!