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School leavers in Hull can continue their education and training this autumn – thanks to the 'September Guarantee'

When Joe Hebblethwaite (pictured right) left school last year, his first thought was to enrol on a training scheme to gain the skills he would need to find work.
After looking into a number of options he decided to enrol with Career Choices and study for an NVQ Level One in engineering and also take units in plumbing.
Career Choices, based in Raywell Street near Hull city centre, will this autumn be welcoming a new intake of young people on a wide range of training courses, who, like Joe, will be looking to improve their future prospects by learning new skills.
And the year-long period of training paid off for Joe – he is now working full-time for a Hull-based company called All Occasions, which specialises in supplying marquees and safety barriers for public events.
"Training with Career Choices worked out well for me and I'm glad I enrolled," says the 17-year-old.
"While I was training I received a £30 a week Education Maintenance Allowance which was a big help.
"I began by going in three days a week but this moved up to five days a week as I became a learning mentor for newer learners with Career Choices.
"I'm now in a job I enjoy and I feel my career has got off to a good start."

Options

Meanwhile, 16-year-olds in Hull who left school this summer have no need to worry about what to do next as every young person who recently left Year 11 is guaranteed an offer of a place in education or training by the end of September.
This is known as the 'September Guarantee' and is a commitment by Hull City Council, the Learning and Skills Council and Connexions to the young people of Hull.
Furthermore, if you are aged 17 and enrolled on a one-year or short course after having left school last year, the guarantee also applies to you.
The September Guarantee gives young people one of the following:

• an offer of full or part time education in a school sixth form, sixth form college or further education
• a place on an apprenticeship
• enrolment on a training course with Entry to Employment (E2E)

"Whilst we might not be able to guarantee you a job straight from school, we can guarantee that you will receive all the training and support you need to enable you to hold your own in the future job market," says Tim Morris, the area manager for Connexions in Hull.
"The offer is tailored to the needs of young people so it will take into account the qualifications a young person already has, be based somewhere they can travel to, and be on a subject they want to do.
"And if you need help making decisions on the options available, Connexions is the place to go to discuss any questions and concerns you may have.
"Connexions provides free support to all young people aged 13 to 19 and has personal advisers who are professionally trained in providing impartial careers advice and guidance to them and their parents."

What to do next

Depending on your GCSE results, you may have a number of reactions as well as questions about what to do next.
Below is advice from Connexions about how best to proceed.

• "I've done better than I thought I would"
  That's good news but is the course or training you've applied to do at the right level? It might be that you can switch to something different or something that you originally thought you wouldn't be able to do, or you might be able to start your chosen course or training at a higher level .
• "I've done okay but I could have done better. I want to take all my GCSEs again"
  The chances of doing this are slim. It's better to learn from experience and start with something new. You can retake some GCSEs, such as maths and English, but these will need to be studied alongside another course that you are interested in.
• "My results are disappointing – I feel I've failed"
  There are many successful people who did not do well at GCSE level.
  Now you've left school, there are many vocational courses that you might be really good at.
  You can start with entry-level programmes leading to Level 1 and work your way up towards a good job and a rewarding career.

info

For more information, contact or visit your local Connexions centre. City centre: 84-86 Paragon Street. Phone 223081. Bransholme: 6 Goodhart Road, North Point Shopping Centre. Phone 835780. Also visit www.hulltraining.com