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?

Take the job. They’re very hard to come by, your dh is not up to speed with the times.

Accept job subject to getting the training commitment in writing. I'd also check their redundancy terms for apprenticeships.

See if your son can complete the apprenticeship part time in the evening or by using advance annual leave from work for 4 months. It will stand to him to have the qualification with his new employer so they should be on board and potentially will offer him half the leave "free study leave"

Take the job. Education doesn't have to be finished by 21. He may find once he's completed the programme that he might want to take further qualifications to diversify or get accreditation etc with the motivation because he can see the end goal for doing so.

Education isn't for everyone and make young adults remember things by repetition is not how some learn best

Take the job.

Your DS is s virtually an adult now. How on earth would you plan to force him to stay at college when he clearly hates it and now has this opportunity?

The county council will be… but there are no fines and no one can force a teen to be in education! So the being in education till your 18 rule isn’t much of a rule. If your young person is neet (not in education employment or training) you should have contact from the county council at some point to help and support them with something or opportunities to help them re engage etc…

oh and def take the job!!

Job job job job job!

100% take the job. No point in him keep doing something he hates.

Do you think he will stick the training out though? If the answer is yes then no problem stopping college. But if in 6 months he's decided its not for him then might regret not completing college.

As the job comes with training let him take the job. There is no point in insisting he stays at college id he hates it he won't do well. The job seems a very void opportunity

A job with training counts as educatiom.

Let him take the job

Job! Sounds like a brilliant opportunity!

job

The job market is so incredibly tough right now, especially for young people looking for first jobs. So many of the jobs that would traditionally have been “first” jobs also have applicants who have been working for a couple of months or years and who have been made redundant due to the current economic climate. That makes it even harder to get a first job because other interviewees have experience.
Your DS could easily spend 4 months finishing college and many more months job hunting before an opportunity this good comes around again.

I think he should take the job. He doesn't want to be at college. Another 4 months will be torture. He might not get such a good opportunity again in 4 months time. Better to take it now.
He can always do qualifications later if he decides he wants to.

Exactly this !!!
My son did something similar he is now highly qualified and earns a lot .
Same as your son he hated college but stuck it for a year and has never looked back , no uni debt either.
Good luck to your son.

As a student careers adviser - he should take the job

When does it start?

I think it’s a bit mad that he’s only got 4 months left and will get a qualification out of it and he’s going to throw away his hard work so far.

I would 100% take it but I would try hard to see if he can get the college qualification too.
Perhaps either through delaying the start date or seeing if he can still take exams etc

100% job.

Put it this way to your DH: What’s the purpose of him finishing college? To get a qualification? Which will lead to a good job?

He’s being offered exactly that now.

This is a good point though…

Job. He'd be lucky to be offered that after the course so definitely take it now.

Is there anything to be salvaged from the course - modules taken and passed, etc, just to have something on his CV to account for the last year and a half?

Definitely the job, it sounds like a really good opportunity with training that will probably be more valuable than college qualifications. He might not get another chance for ages but college will still be there.

Job for sure. There will be graduates trying to get that job. Jobs are hard to get at the moment.

My son was in exactly the same
position at 17. He took the job, like you I was conflicted. He learnt far more than he would have at school/ college. He’s now 30, has his own house , a baby on the way and earns very good money.

Job. Education isn’t everything.