Going back to Education

Hey,

I am planning on going back to education after 2 years gap year and thinking of either going back to college or university and also improve my GCSE maths and English. I am also working and doing 16 hours and I can't find any Further education colleges in Cardiff. Since they only accept 16-19 year old students and they offer the access to further studies and I have to do an assessment and also I have applied for City of Westminster college and it is not that far from London Paddington station and got enrolment on 24th August.

I tried to apply for Open University and they have said since I have struggled a bit with the access module and it is too advance for and said that I should take a step back and go back to further education and get my skills up to date.

I am not sure which route to take since I have been offered a place at LSBU doing Mechanical engineering again (part time), as I did some of it in UWTSD for 4 years and left during my 2nd year due to covid.

I want to do something in the design industry or something in software development. Want a new career. I do have a university in mind and have been offered a place at London South Bank University to study Meng Mechanical Engineering.

I do have certificate in higher education in STEM. I had an E in GCSE maths and F in English and BTEC Level 3 diploma in business pass pass .

The reason why there are so many gaps is because I have been affected by covid due to everything being online including exams and I have lost my motivation and did have health problems during my 2nd year in university and I did not get the grades I required to progress onto the my final year.

I have failed one module due to being told last minute about the exam and the university did not accept my extenuating circumstance due to being late.

I decided to work and gain experience and I did lose my motivation to study and I have decided to go back into education this year either college or go to London south bank university.

Strictly speaking, the design industry (assuming you meant fashion design, graphics, product design, etc.) and software development don't require you to have a degree of any sort. Most allow you to get into the industry with minimal qualifications, so long you have a track record or be willing to work from the ground up.

Don't get me wrong, a MEng in Mechanical Engineering will get you very very far, but it's not necessary should this not be something you really want. Mechanical Engineering can be applied to product design engineering (as opposed to just drawing nice pictures of products) and can be used to get into software engineering (as programming should be included in the degree). It's also recognised worldwide if the degree is accredited by iMechE (see: https://www.imeche.org/, https://www.imeche.org/membership-registration/become-a-member/academic-requirements, https://www.engc.org.uk/education-skills/course-search/accredited-course-search/) i.e. it should be.

I would agree that you should redo your GCSE English and Maths, since they would hold you back a lot (and you seem significantly more capable than the grades they seem to suggest). Personally, I would go for a degree apprenticeship in either design or software engineering after your GCSEs, but that's your decision to make.

Most vocational/adult colleges in London and Cardiff should offer you the opportunity to retake your GCSEs, and most of them should allow you to do this for free. I am not sure why you had difficulty finding them. For example:
https://cavc.ac.uk/en/subject/gcses#GCSEs
https://cardifftutorcompany.co.uk/2023/03/16/free-gcse-maths-english-courses-adults/
https://www.adultlearning.wales/en/about/our-courses/flexible-maths-and-english
https://www.southbankcolleges.ac.uk/courses/english-maths-for-adults
https://www.cnwl.ac.uk/student-support/free-courses-for-adults
https://www.waes.ac.uk/department/english-and-maths
https://www.wlc.ac.uk/search-results/?keyword=gcse
https://www.capitalccg.ac.uk/courses/english-and-maths/635/
There should be plenty more in London, but I the above should be more than get you started (I google the terms "GCSE English maths adult college [location]").

If you want to get into design, then more cases than not, you should be in London for this. In terms of software engineering, it's kind of spotted around the country (to my knowledge at least).

What I don't particularly recommend is to go back to college to do a course in software engineering or design, as they would very unlikely to help your case. If you feel particularly inept at programming, I suppose a Level 3 course in computing (with a lot of programming content) can help to an extent, but I would then focus on networking, attending career fairs/presentations, etc. to get the role in software development.
For design, I would focus on putting together a portfolio should you need it for entry level roles.

Should for any reason you wish to change your degree and go into either computer science or design, then it's your choice to make. However, I don't think they would particularly help you get the roles that you want.

Strictly speaking, the design industry (assuming you meant fashion design, graphics, product design, etc.) and software development don't require you to have a degree of any sort. Most allow you to get into the industry with minimal qualifications, so long you have a track record or be willing to work from the ground up.

Don't get me wrong, a MEng in Mechanical Engineering will get you very very far, but it's not necessary should this not be something you really want. Mechanical Engineering can be applied to product design engineering (as opposed to just drawing nice pictures of products) and can be used to get into software engineering (as programming should be included in the degree). It's also recognised worldwide if the degree is accredited by iMechE (see: https://www.imeche.org/, https://www.imeche.org/membership-registration/become-a-member/academic-requirements, https://www.engc.org.uk/education-skills/course-search/accredited-course-search/) i.e. it should be.

I would agree that you should redo your GCSE English and Maths, since they would hold you back a lot (and you seem significantly more capable than the grades they seem to suggest). Personally, I would go for a degree apprenticeship in either design or software engineering after your GCSEs, but that's your decision to make.

Most vocational/adult colleges in London and Cardiff should offer you the opportunity to retake your GCSEs, and most of them should allow you to do this for free. I am not sure why you had difficulty finding them. For example:
https://cavc.ac.uk/en/subject/gcses#GCSEs
https://cardifftutorcompany.co.uk/2023/03/16/free-gcse-maths-english-courses-adults/
https://www.adultlearning.wales/en/about/our-courses/flexible-maths-and-english
https://www.southbankcolleges.ac.uk/courses/english-maths-for-adults
https://www.cnwl.ac.uk/student-support/free-courses-for-adults
https://www.waes.ac.uk/department/english-and-maths
https://www.wlc.ac.uk/search-results/?keyword=gcse
https://www.capitalccg.ac.uk/courses/english-and-maths/635/
There should be plenty more in London, but I the above should be more than get you started (I google the terms "GCSE English maths adult college [location]").

If you want to get into design, then more cases than not, you should be in London for this. In terms of software engineering, it's kind of spotted around the country (to my knowledge at least).

What I don't particularly recommend is to go back to college to do a course in software engineering or design, as they would very unlikely to help your case. If you feel particularly inept at programming, I suppose a Level 3 course in computing (with a lot of programming content) can help to an extent, but I would then focus on networking, attending career fairs/presentations, etc. to get the role in software development.
For design, I would focus on putting together a portfolio should you need it for entry level roles.

Should for any reason you wish to change your degree and go into either computer science or design, then it's your choice to make. However, I don't think they would particularly help you get the roles that you want.

Hi there,

I have managed to enrol with the university and be going to college on Thursday 24th August to enrol on the part time GCSE Maths and English. The open university said that I should go back to Further education and brush up on my skills. I do have experience in higher education since I did 4 years of it but struggled in my 1st and second year due to covid. I decided to do part time which I could manage my commitment with other things and starting a fresh on the Mechanical Engineering course again from year one at a different university.

Hey,

I am planning on going back to education after 2 years gap year and thinking of either going back to college or university and also improve my GCSE maths and English. I am also working and doing 16 hours and I can't find any Further education colleges in Cardiff. Since they only accept 16-19 year old students and they offer the access to further studies and I have to do an assessment and also I have applied for City of Westminster college and it is not that far from London Paddington station and got enrolment on 24th August.

I tried to apply for Open University and they have said since I have struggled a bit with the access module and it is too advance for and said that I should take a step back and go back to further education and get my skills up to date.

I am not sure which route to take since I have been offered a place at LSBU doing Mechanical engineering again (part time), as I did some of it in UWTSD for 4 years and left during my 2nd year due to covid.

@Lion1996
Hi

I've taught on an Access to HE engineering program for the last 10 years (albeit it Nursing and Midwifery) and it sounds like you are a typical potential Access student. With engineering you would typically study modules in Mechanical and Chemical Engineering and also Maths. Some providers would let you re-sit GCSE's whilst doing Access however this can be very overbearing time wise so some providers like my F.E college do not allow this. For Nursing, as it is so competitive students are usually rejected when they apply for the degree if they don't have the GCSE already as you are considered a risk compared to someone already with them; I would consult the program leader for Access where you suggested as I am not over familiar with engineering.

if you have not studied a level 3 program before like A levels your course will be free, if you have you can apply for an Advanced learner loan via the college which is completely written off when you complete your degree

Marc
Arden University Student Ambassador