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Learning at work
Some people think that once you leave school you stop learning - but that is just not true. When you start work, whether you are 16, 21 or older, you have lots to learn about being at work, about the way the organisation works and what it does, as well as about your particular job.
The more prospects a job offers you, the more your employer will want you to keep on learning; however much experience you have there are always new things to find out about.
If you start work aged 16-19, there are all sorts of ways your learning might be arranged:
- If you start an Apprenticeship you will get the chance to work for qualifications and to train both at work and 'off the job' - learning about your industry and your job is a vital part of an apprenticeship.
- Many other employers do not offer apprenticeships as such but have their own planned training for both new and experienced staff and may encourage you to work for additional qualifications - any employer who has the 'Investor in People' badge has to have planned training programmes.
If you do not have qualifications at Level 2 (5 GCSEs A*-C, or the equivalent) you have a right to have paid time at work, or away from work, to study to get qualifications at that level. Usually people want to take a qualification related to their work, but this is not always the case.
This right only applies to 16 and 17 year olds, but a scheme called Train to Gain has been launched. This gives government help to many employers to train their staff. If your employer gets involved with Train to Gain, people of any age without Level 2 qualifications should be able to get some training.
Learning is not all about qualifications and bits of paper, although they are important. You can learn from your colleagues at work - if you meet someone who knows a lot about something which interests you, find out how they got their expertise. Is that something you could do?
Whatever you are doing at work you can learn anything you want in your spare time. Whether you want to know more about IT systems, to learn a language, to find out more about music or art, take an A level ... there are hundreds of things you can learn. You might want to go to a local college one evening a week, or you might want to learn online ...
