Gap Years, internships and work experience

Whatever your next move is, there is usually time to fill before you reach your destination.

Whether you are planning on getting a job or apprenticeship right away, or going to college, there is usually a wait. This could be just a few months, or it might be an entire year.

This is a great opportunity to try out new things, improve your CV, earn a bit of money, get some work experience or just enjoy doing something that you love.

Gap Years

The benefits of a well-structured year out are now widely recognised by universities and colleges and cannot fail to stand you in good stead in later life. - Tony Higgins, Chief Executive UCAS

After 12 or more years in school you might want to take a year off before plunging into higher education or a career.

Lots of people take this time to try something completely different. Options can include travelling, spending some time as a volunteer in the UK or abroad, working and saving money towards higher education expenses, or learning a useful skill such as IT or a foreign language.

Key link: The Year Out Group

Volunteering

Being a volunteer has a lot going for it. You get valuable work experience. You can sample a number of different organisations to find out more about your likes and dislikes. You can make long-term contacts and friendships. And you get the satisfaction that comes from doing something to make the world a better place to live in.

There are opportunities at home and abroad.

Key link: Volunteering

Work experience

Jobseeking can be a major challenge when you're starting out. Work experience can help:

• Add content to your CV
• Show you have experience in the world of work
• Gain you new experiences and skills

Most schools have work experience programmes, but Connexions can help you get work experience even if you are not in employment education or training.

Key link: Connexions

Internships and volunteering

Internships offer young people a chance to work alongside staff in a field they aspire to join. There are all sorts of opportunities available, but usually you need to be able to work without pay. Expenses may sometimes be available, though, so make sure you ask.

There are lots of places to look for internships and volunteer placements:

• Trade magazines and websites
• Connexions
• Your friends and relatives, and their friends and relatives
• College or school

While it may seem strange to work as a volunteer alongside paid staff, interns and volunteers have a better chance of making a successful job application. This is because they are already known to the organisation, and have already proved that they are good workers.

Experience: Volunteering

Gosford Hill student Stuart Lavery, 18, coaches the Chipping Norton and Oxfordshire Under-15 rugby teams, runs the school sailing club and supervises activity trips for children. For the second year running he spent 5 months organising Kidlington’s “Commonwealth Games” in which about 200 children competed in athletics. Why does he volunteer? ‘I do it because I get a sense of achievement when they do something new thanks to my help,’ he says. Source - oxford mail, June 2003

Find it

Looking for somewhere you can get information, advice and guidance around careers, choices, study, jobs and education? You can talk to Connexions Adviser at school or in your local community. Find out more about Connexions Access.

Links

These websites will help you find information advice and guidance around careers and choices online:

• Go Gap Year.com
  Information for people who want to take a Gap Year from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office
• Year Out Group.org
  Information/guidance on taking a gap year or career break for young people
• Year in Industry
  9-12 month industry placements, perfect for a working gap year

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