If not University then what?

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Apologies, I guess this will have been done many times before but it is new for us.

DS is 16 in year 11 so coming to the end of school as he knows it. He isnt especially academic and doesnt work hard except if he is very interested in the subject.

His choices for what he does next after GCSEs are really only vocational courses. The choice isnt wide where we are. ICT or engineering trades.

The academic teenager is able to defer making final decisions on their first career through A levels and even quite possibly to the end of their degree. DD1 is now on a science degree course. She wont need to make career choices for at least 3 years when she is 21/22.

This is where I think it gets hard for the non-academic teenager. DS has only a few months to decide what he wants his first career to be. I know that some people will already know what they want to do at this age but I suspect that an awful lot are like my DS and still need to grow up some more.

I have come across many teenagers who have struggled with this choice and started vocational courses which then have proved to be a wrong direction.

DS is now thinking about his choices: go to 6th form/college or join the Army as a junior soldier. It is his choice to make. All that we have emphasised is that sitting around playing on his Xbox in his pants isnt an option.

Does anybody else have similar experience? How did it pan out?

I understand where you're coming from. There are two ways to do BTECs. The extended BTEC level 3 is equivalent to 3 A levels. is done in one area only and can take you to uni in a specific area.
BTEC level 3 are equivalent to 1 A level so you can take 3 of them in different subjects. These are usually done in school 6th forms. Perhaps that might be more suitable so his options are still open.
It's really hard for them when they don't know what they want to do. Tbh there are prob many people in careers that they have fallen into but never chose and they still prob don't know what they want to do.

Does he need tho get out right first time? Just some experience working might give him a firmer idea of what he does or doesn't want to do. I certainly didn't know at 16.

Thank you for the information about how BTECs work. As ever the school hasnt really made it clear how the courses work.

At this stage what DS really needs to do is acquire practical skills. I suppose an ideal combination for him would be something like ICT, engineering skills, building trades skills.

At the moment I dont even know if it is possible to do those 3 courses together as they are all run very separately though on the same site so I have no idea if the timetables will clash or even if it is possible to get from our town to this one.

It just seems that so much of the joined up thinking either goes on the A level/degree pathway or the BTec/apprenticeship pathway.

There doesnt seem to be anything for the teenagers who are in between. They will acquire a handful of reasonable GCSEs but arent really A level material. They need to acquire a range of skills so that they can then work out what they are good at and what they want to do for work. They also need a bit more time to grow up.

We had thought DS was set. He has an application into joint the Army as a junior soldier going into REME. This in fact would be perfect for him. Lots of skills acquired. Lots of growing up. And they would pay him £1000/month for the privilege. He is now having a bit of a wobble on this so we are having to look at alternatives and finding only a very meagre choice.

Sorry for my droning on about this. You think they are set in one direction then they seem to fall of the tracks again and have to either be set back on the same tracks or found a new set of tracks.

University Technical Colleges do 2/3 of that, maybe flexible enough to allow something in building trades, too. My dad's PT job during Uni was to work for an electrician uncle, but not a formal apprenticeship.

Thank you for that link alardi. Unfortunately even our nearest UTC is not really accessible via public transport. I think though that there is still the same problem that the courses are set up for students to follow a particular direction rather than to acquire a number of skills and then focus after that.

It doesnt help that where we live is a bit of an educational black hole.

re Army. Don't they end up being committed until they are 24 or something? Sounds like a big step to take at 15.

This may not be practical, BUT what about looking further afield for vocational courses just to see what else there is to see what sparks an interest? Then maybe you could think 'outside the box' on how to facilitate it.

Round us you can do vocational qualifications in:
childcare, health and social care, uniformed public services, construction, beauty, travel and tourism, business, animal care, hospitality, event management, outdoor education, motor mechanics to name but a few.

There really are a lot of options outside engineering and ICT.

Do you know about modern apprenticeships?

(My y11 DD is in a similar position, no idea of career, but academically borderline for A levels).

TeenAndTween they dont commit to service until they are 18, before that stage they can leave with just 14 days notice. The junior soldiers are trained separately from the adults and under go a far longer basic training than do adults - there is a lot of classroom stuff as well as field stuff.

If DS were to join then he would do nearly six months basic training. After that he would start his trade training. Until he was 18 he would be able to walk away from the Army possibly with some qualifications and a few thousand in the bank.

It is a big commitment when they make it at 18. The minimum service is 4 years. However this isnt something they are allowed to enter into lightly.

There isnt as wide a range of vocational course round here as you have near you. We are in a small town surrounded by small towns which seems to limit the choice. But the big problem is that DS doesnt yet know which direction he wants to take.

I am not sure how much of a real wobble about the Army DS is actually having. He has been wanting to join the Army for years. He has an Insight course for REME in December so I guess that that will help him make his mind up.

Would say 'A' levels are for the academic.
My son has just started a Level 3 extended BTEC and is loving it. He knew what area he wanted to study. My DD was more academic and because she didn't know what she wanted to do she opted for 'A' levels.
I would suggest you go to the college open evening days and go to all the departments he feels he may be interested in. It may help him make up his mind

Friend's son isn't considered academic but was keen on ICT. He got an unpaid holiday job in a local ICT company (no nepotism just enthusiasm!). A vacancy came up but he was only 16, after much debate over a few weeks they conceded he had interviewed best & have taken him on as an ICT apprentice (new process for them so no small undertaking). Small company in rural Yorks.

Are you in travelling distance of the JCB academy? Or family where your DS could stay Mon-Fri?

Ds and Dd did A levels then ds started work for Local Government and dd started working for a bank just as I did in the Civil Service. All three areas pay well at eighteen and there is plenty of room for progression.Local Government are currently funding ds's Masters and dd will also have that same opportunity.

All good thoughts thank you. DS went along to the 6th form open evening. The options available to him didnt really grab him.

I think that the problem is that all that DS shows real enthusiasm for is work as an armourer. He isnt really interested in motor vehicles. He is interested in ICT but doesnt want to work in ICT support.

He wants to join the Army. I think that he is having a bit of a wobble as it is suddenly rushing up at him and all of his mates are staying on into 6th form.

What I have made clear to him (possibly in one ear and out the other!) is that he can only choose from what is available. There isnt another option which I am keeping a secret.

When you say 6th form do you mean stopping on at school? There is that security of not having to go somewhere new.
Is there a local tech as well that he can look at? We went to both open evenings and although people here are a touch snobby saying 6th form college is better than tech, my son and I were both really impressed with the enthusiasm that the tech staff had. We felt that the 6th form were resting on their laurels a bit so didn't have to try with us.
Until he goes on the insight course it will be difficult to make a decision. He can delay joining the army until he is 18 if he wants to try sonething else

ChillySundays, yes I think that it is the idea of just bobbing along staying in the same place.

We are limited in the local choices. I think that if he decides to delay his application for the army that we will suggest that he goes for something like a combination of ICT and engineering.

I think that this stage is difficult for the teenagers who arent academic and who dont yet have a clear idea of their career interests.

DS has happily drifted through school. He is well liked by his teachers who all say that he is well behaved. The problem is that he only really exerts himself for the things that interest him. To date that has been army cadets.

My son is exactly the same.

He loves his course and is like a different boy (although we are only half a term into the course!) He actually tells me about what he has been doing.
Is he getting stressed about it? Or is just you?!!!

Is he happy about going to open evenings? It will definitely give him an alternative to compare the Insight course to

I think it is just me getting stressed. I will bite my tongue until DS has completed the insight course then go from there.

Thank you for all the advice