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What is the point in standard grade qualifications?

Hi, I am just asking this because I am a school leaver who is now considering what job to get. I have typed in my expected standard grade results into every single job search engine thingy possible and everyone has came back saying I am qualified to do ..... Nothing.
what is the point in doing these exams unless you are staying on for further education? The only real employment oppertunities open to people like me is stuff like pizza hut and asda.... and I am fairly certain my expected A in intermediate History is not going to meen jack there, or for that matter my Credit english.... my access art or my general science. If I seem angry and annoyd its because I am, Im not just some lazy person who does not want to go to school or college, I've just never really been able to apply myself to school and I do not know what I want to do with my life so I had no idea which college course to pick of the few choices I had (few because they all required either experience or Highers and 8 standard grades).
Next year I will have moved out of my mums house and will obviously need to get a job before that time comes....
These type of jobs will only pay for the rent of miniscule unfurnished flats..in the most undesirable areas....
Hard to belive im 15 with no friends and live with my mum which we both dislike.... and my life is only going to go downhill from here.

Reply 1

Delaney

16

Generally, "proper" jobs require qualifications. The easiest way to get these without further education is through apprenticeships, have you tried looking for one of those? The Navy/RAF seem to have good ones aswell as engineering companies like BAE. You should definitely try to contact your local job centre/school career adviser as they've usually got good contacts for trying to get you a job.

Good luck :smile:

Reply 2

Mase94

OP

2

Delaney

Generally, "proper" jobs require qualifications. The easiest way to get these without further education is through apprenticeships, have you tried looking for one of those? The Navy/RAF seem to have good ones aswell as engineering companies like BAE. You should definitely try to contact your local job centre/school career adviser as they've usually got good contacts for trying to get you a job.

Good luck :smile:

I have a mentor who is suposed to help me find jobs
I have a home-link worker who has helped me find jobs
I have had 2 guidence teachers help me find jobs
and I have seen a careers advisor on more than one occasion...

Everyone of these people has put me infront of a computer to fill out one of those stupid careersmatch thing that always comeback with things that im overly underqualified to do or terribly low paid jobs...

That is all any of these people do to help me find work which is frustrating as I have told them all I have done this millions of times before and it doesn't work..they seem to think 400th time the charm?

uhg I give up, I'll just work at KFC for the rest of my life. School was a massive waste of time -.-

Reply 3

LuhLah

3

Some colleges let you do Int 2s and NC courses without any prior SGs. This will give you a good foundation of qualifications before stepping out into the big, bad world. AFAIK, James Watt/Kilmarnock will let you into 'Pathways' or 'Access to Further/Higher Education' with no/little SGs.

Trying to find a good, decent job is very hard in this economic climate, for everyone. And very few employers will take on 15 year olds (is that even legal? Isn't the school leaving age 16? :s-smilie:

)

I know this is biased but take a good, long think about it.

Reply 4

ENNGUF

Mase94

X

I think you're being a little unrealistic. You can't expect highly paid jobs to come flying by with only SGs to offer in a recession/fragile economy, especially when they're are hardly any jobs around first place. Only having Standard Grades you're limiting yourself as to what jobs you are qualified to apply for. It's the way it goes.

I'm pretty sure since you're Capricorn, born in 1994 it suggests your birthday is in December which is when you'll turn 16, (don't worry I'm not stalking you :p:

) but LuhLah brings up a good point. I think your age is another problem, although I'm sure 15 years can work legally, they can for very restricted hours so I doubt you could find a full time job. Also, are you sure you are able to leave straight after 4th year with your birthday?

Take into consideration some of your other options you have, like college and I'd also recommend staying with your mum until you're a little more financially secure. I hope this is helpful in some way. :o:

Reply 5

Mase94

OP

2

LuhLah

Some colleges let you do Int 2s and NC courses without any prior SGs. This will give you a good foundation of qualifications before stepping out into the big, bad world. AFAIK, James Watt/Kilmarnock will let you into 'Pathways' or 'Access to Further/Higher Education' with no/little SGs.

Trying to find a good, decent job is very hard in this economic climate, for everyone. And very few employers will take on 15 year olds (is that even legal? Isn't the school leaving age 16? :s-smilie:

)

I know this is biased but take a good, long think about it.

I will have my national security number thingy in sept and it is illegal for employers to set age limits without prior reason :/
and college/school has never been for me. I just can't focus on stuff like coursework and exams, especially for the amount of time required to get the qualifications.

Reply 6

Mase94

OP

2

ENNGUF

I think you're being a little unrealistic. You can't expect highly paid jobs to come flying by with only SGs to offer in a recession/fragile economy, especially when they're are hardly any jobs around first place. Only having Standard Grades you're limiting yourself as to what jobs you are qualified to apply for. It's the way it goes.

I'm pretty sure since you're Capricorn, born in 1994 it suggests your birthday is in December which is when you'll turn 16, (don't worry I'm not stalking you :p:

) but LuhLah brings up a good point. I think your age is another problem, although I'm sure 15 years can work legally, they can for very restricted hours so I doubt you could find a full time job. Also, are you sure you are able to leave straight after 4th year with your birthday?

Take into consideration some of your other options you have, like college and I'd also recommend staying with your mum until you're a little more financially secure. I hope this is helpful in some way. :o:

Yeah man I get were your coming from.
uhhhmmmmm I know I can't expect high paid jobs to come flying past, I just wanted to vent some frustration ya'know? Thanks for stalking me and I have been informed by my school that I can't leave until chirstmas. But im not going to attend it. Especially when I don't have intentions on finishing the term (which would render me attending until christmas pointless, no?) As for college, I am rubbish at studying and applying myself to courses and such on top of the fact I have no idea what I want to do with my life. Staying with my Mum is just not an option as we both don't enjoy living with each other and it's been this way since I was 13 so moving out the first chance I get has always been the dream

anyways I have had a think about it and I've settled on doing something like medical records clerk or something, not to taxing and kinda easy going. and if I could get something that pays out like that (13-16k) I went online and priced everything, I could get myself a decent 1 bed house with some money left over each month.

Not the most Ideal existence, but certainly not the worst. :smile:

Reply 7

ENNGUF

Mase94

Yeah man I get were your coming from.
uhhhmmmmm I know I can't expect high paid jobs to come flying past, I just wanted to vent some frustration ya'know? Thanks for stalking me and I have been informed by my school that I can't leave until chirstmas. But im not going to attend it. Especially when I don't have intentions on finishing the term (which would render me attending until christmas pointless, no?) As for college, I am rubbish at studying and applying myself to courses and such on top of the fact I have no idea what I want to do with my life. Staying with my Mum is just not an option as we both don't enjoy living with each other and it's been this way since I was 13 so moving out the first chance I get has always been the dream

anyways I have had a think about it and I've settled on doing something like medical records clerk or something, not to taxing and kinda easy going. and if I could get something that pays out like that (13-16k) I went online and priced everything, I could get myself a decent 1 bed house with some money left over each month.

Not the most Ideal existence, but certainly not the worst. :smile:

Yeah I thought you'd have to stay until Christmas. I guess it doesn't make much sense staying for half a year when you're aren't getting anything out of it at the end but it's the way it goes. :frown:

I hope you are able to resolve things with your mum though.

All the best to you. :smile:

Reply 8

Delaney

16

Mase94

I will have my national security number thingy in sept and it is illegal for employers to set age limits without prior reason :/
and college/school has never been for me. I just can't focus on stuff like coursework and exams, especially for the amount of time required to get the qualifications.

You will probably have to stay on till Christmas of 5th year. Usually most schools offer a selection of short courses that are more vocational rather than sitting in classes all day.

Children are of compulsory school age up to the last Friday in June in the academic year of their 16th birthday. After this they have reached the MSLA and they can apply for their National Insurance Number and work full time.

and actually, employers have to follow the law.

Working hours
There are rules that regulate what times of the day you can work and for how long. These are different depending on your age.
14 year olds
There are a lot of rules that control working hours of children, but the basic ones are:
during term time, you can only work for two hours on weekdays and Sundays
during term time, you can only work for five hours on Saturdays
during a school holiday, you can work for up to five hours on a week day or a Saturday
during a school holiday, you can't work for more than two hours on a Sunday
you cannot work before 7.00 am or after 7.00 pm on any day

15 and 16 year olds
If you're 15 or 16 and are working while you're still at school, your rights are almost identical to those of 14 year olds. However, you are allowed to work for up to eight hours on Saturdays or during the school holidays.

So GL with that.

Reply 9

Mase94

OP

2

Delaney

You will probably have to stay on till Christmas of 5th year. Usually most schools offer a selection of short courses that are more vocational rather than sitting in classes all day.

and actually, employers have to follow the law.

So GL with that.

I have no idea what your trying to say, sorry :/

Reply 10

Delaney

16

You won't be able to get a job till you're 16.

Reply 11

LuhLah

3

Look, leaving school and moving out won't really solve anything. You'll be stuck in a **** job with **** pay cos of your age, and living on your own will only cause more pressure/stress. Also, that "I can't be bothered" attitude is quite bad :p:

We all have to do things that we don't like/can't be bothered with, but that's life. Any job you go into will have more demanding tasks than Standard Grades.

I personally think that you should spend the next year trying to fix the relationship with your mum and possibly developing a better attitude and/or work ethic. All the mature students that did this in my college group regretted it a lot.

(Sorry if that's harsh, it's not meant to be!)

Reply 12

Ecosse_14

19

You need a reality check.

Leaving school in the hope to get a high paid job and moving into your own house when you're 16. Not going to happen.

May be harsh but it's true.

EDIT: You're not even 16 yet :s-smilie:

Reply 13

Mase94

OP

2

Ecosse_14

You need a reality check.

Leaving school in the hope to get a high paid job and moving into your own house when you're 16. Not going to happen.

May be harsh but it's true.

EDIT: You're not even 16 yet :s-smilie:

Your probobly right, I just can't stay at my mums.

Reply 14

24craigour

10

Mase94

Hi, I am just asking this because I am a school leaver who is now considering what job to get. I have typed in my expected standard grade results into every single job search engine thingy possible and everyone has came back saying I am qualified to do ..... Nothing.
what is the point in doing these exams unless you are staying on for further education? The only real employment oppertunities open to people like me is stuff like pizza hut and asda.... and I am fairly certain my expected A in intermediate History is not going to meen jack there, or for that matter my Credit english.... my access art or my general science. If I seem angry and annoyd its because I am, Im not just some lazy person who does not want to go to school or college, I've just never really been able to apply myself to school and I do not know what I want to do with my life so I had no idea which college course to pick of the few choices I had (few because they all required either experience or Highers and 8 standard grades).
Next year I will have moved out of my mums house and will obviously need to get a job before that time comes....
These type of jobs will only pay for the rent of miniscule unfurnished flats..in the most undesirable areas....
Hard to belive im 15 with no friends and live with my mum which we both dislike.... and my life is only going to go downhill from here.

Well that sounds pretty bad, but its not the end of the tunnel yet. I'm pretty sure with the current government attitude, more emphasis will be placed on vocational qualifications...for school leavers. I'm pretty sure i saw an advert for BMW looking for apprentices....

Reply 15

Mase94

OP

2

24craigour

Well that sounds pretty bad, but its not the end of the tunnel yet. I'm pretty sure with the current government attitude, more emphasis will be placed on vocational qualifications...for school leavers. I'm pretty sure i saw an advert for BMW looking for apprentices....