Education, employability and readiness for work courses

Courses  for finding work and developing the sort of skills which employers are looking for are offered by many organisations.

The following organisations  also offer employability and vocational skills training which may improve your chances of securing employment:

• City and Guilds have a number of skills for work qualifications including specific skills needed for the:
  • Construction industry
  • Health, adult care and childcare sectors
  • Retail industry
  • Hospitality and catering industry
• Employability courses offered through Adult Education and funded by the Skills Funding Agency are best found through the National Careers Service where you can do a course search, speak to an advisor or use the webchat service to find a course that meets your needs. They give an opportunity to develop basic qualifications in areas such as:
  • Food safety in catering
  • Health and safety in the workplace
  • Emergency First Aid at Work

Higher education

Higher education is any form of education that leads to a higher level qualification including: Higher National Diploma (HND), degree apprenticeship, foundation degree or university degree. It can open up career paths, and it can also give you an opportunity to study something you’re interested in if you don’t currently know what you do. For some roles, you need a specific degree, for others, the fact that you’re educated to degree standard may be all you need, as that in itself is an illustration of your intellect and application. Higher education generally requires you to have some previous qualifications, for example Scottish Highers, or A levels.

Further education

Further Education is any study after secondary education that isn’t part of an undergraduate or graduate degree. It includes technical and applied courses for 16 to 19-year-old people. Some courses may be funded by the government in order to help you build basic skills. It depends on your age, whether you are employed or unemployed and what level of qualification you already have. Many courses in reading, writing and basic maths are free, and you may not have to pay for tuition if you’re under 24 and studying for your first qualification equivalent to GCSE or A level. These are usually provided by Further Education Colleges.