To let 17yo DS quit college for a f/t job?

[PoliteSquid]

My DS hated school, hates college and has no intention of carrying on with any kind of study. Although he’s only 17 and could decide differently in a few years.

He has been searching for an apprenticeship, head firmly in the sand about the 1 day a week of college/uni work!

This morning he has been offered a full time trainee role in an engineering company. It’s not an apprenticeship, it’s in house training. Well established company 2 big sites fairly local. It’s full NMW even tho he’s so young.

DH thinks he should stay at college as there’s only 4 months to go. DS wants to leave college immediately. I can see both sides but erring towards DS’s view. AIBU to let him take the job?

Same here. Our youngest had a change of plan and went to work, no training and nobody checked up.

Let him take the job. He’s done well to get it.

Can't believe your DH is being so blinkered. This may be his only opportunity for your DS to make something of himself. If you make him stay at college and he fails miserably, What's he going to do then? He will never forgive you if he loses this opportunity.

Yeah take the job. Dont want to waste an opportunity

Take the job. Further education might not be for him right now but he can always retrain or go back to education. Plenty of people I know have done that

Congratulate your son.

I used to work in F.E. and any student, especially those who were there reluctantly, who left for a full time job were considered by us as success stories. We would congratulate them and wish them well.

He can always go back into education later, but opportunities like this are harder to come by.

Job

Take the job.

in 4 mknths time there’ll be loads of young people scrabbling around for jobs having finished their GCSEs, BTecs, A-levels, even BScs, all vying for that job. Get in now.

Very good point!

Job definitely, he csn always go back to college. How would you stop him anyway if thats what he wants?

As pp said nobody is keeping tabs on y12 and 13s not in education so don’t worry. It’s not like the monitoring of term time holiday fines.

No one cares, the police aren't going to turn up ar his job and take him to college 🙄

Maybe let it be his decision, not either you or your partner "letting" him. Although he's not 18, lot of 17 year olds have juggled FT work with being a parent, and the law allows it.
Obviously any loving parent wants to advise, so you could get him to make a list of pros and cons, and even look unto whether there's any way of finishing college around the job (online maybe?).
A generation ago, lots of people left education at 16. Seems crazy that these days college and uni is seen as the default. For a lot of people, getting a job as a teenager is the best thing, and lots of them went back to study decades later once they had matured. Though these days, there's so few jobs, so the point is take one when you can IMO.

My son took an engineering apprenticeship and quite literally has never looked back.

I think a paid entry level job with training in a well-established company is far too good an opportunity for your son to miss. What would he even do in four months when college is finished? He'll be another youngster looking for work in a very competitive market.

full time trainee role in an engineering company.
He should snatch their hand off. Opportunities like that don't come often and for a lad that's not academic and not happy at college it's a no brainer.

He’s doing L3 engineering (reluctantly)
GCSE profile is good - makes his potential grade DDD but realistically he’s going to get MMM.

The job is an entry level engineering technician role.

This thread confirms what I think… and with my teacher head on it’s exactly what I would and have said to a student of mine! It’s so different when it’s my own DS!!!

Job

In this current climate
take the job
he could always do a night college course if he really wanted to which it sounds like he doesn’t .
well done to your lad for getting himself a full time job plus training

Working at a College I know it is almost impossible to get students to focus/stay once they have decided they want to leave.
the only thing I would do would try and get the in house training promise formalised in his contract as a lot of youngsters get promised the earth and can end up as cheap labour. Good luck to your son!

Yes defo job. It sounds as tho it involves training anyway which ticks the box on that rule (tho no one checks anyway). It could be brilliant and well done him for sorting it and getting the offer.

I agree with your DS - he should take the job. There's no point staying on at school when he absolutely hates it and is unlikely to get a good grade. Better to be in a good job and earning. They will train him on the skills necessary for the job and, if he decides he wants to go back to education later, his employer may pay for all or some of the costs.

100% the job. The market will be flooded with college leavers if he waits.

I think as he is doing a btec I would first talk to college about sitting outstanding units as a private candidate-even if he can’t cash in a full 3 a level equivalent.

Job

Job. Additionally how are you, and or his dad, going to "make" him attend college?

I'd recommend the job route. My DS did exactly this - and is thriving. He was the cohort that were expected to study for A levels online during lockdown and it was immediately clear that this was not doing anything for his mental health nor was he motivated to learn. He found a traineeship, and is an engineering technician with a medium sized company. They provided in house training, day release to the local college and a mentor to help him develop soft skills. He has never been late, never thrown a sickie and talks about his job with an enthusiasm I'd never seen about school. The only downside is he's seen his friends enjoy long holidays from university and the freedom that goes with living with mates in a student house, while he's been stuck living with his mum and taking 24 days annual leave.