16 - 18?

Now you are about to leave school there are choices to be made about the best types of education and training after your GCSE’s.

It's important that you do your homework on one of the most important choices you will ever make, choosing the right options and the right routes into engineering.

On this page we hope to provide you with useful information and some useful websites that will help you to make those decisions.

Entry into engineering is possible through a number of different entry routes. Training can begin straight from school with either academic or vocational qualifications. Apprenticeships combine work and study, and can lead to craft and technician jobs. Alternatively, taking a degree can open up opportunities for graduate entry.

For a useful starting point in helping you decide what to do next please click here to download 'It's Your Choice' which provides educational and careers guidance for Year 10 and 11 students. It sets out the main choices available to you - further education or moving into the world of training and work - with tips for finding out more, including quizzes.

Knowing about the different full time education establishments that offer engineering courses might help you decide the direction to go in after year 11. You can contiune in full time learning at school sixth form, sixth form college; or further education college. School sixth forms or sixth form colleges tend to offer AS and A2 levels. FE colleges offer the same but also a wider range of vocational qualifications and may be able to offer you a more flexible way of learning.

Below are links to your local area prospectus where you can find out about the engineering courses and qualifications avaialble to you in your area.

Norfolk

Suffolk

Cambridgeshire

Essex

Bedford

shire

Hertfordshire

With excellent GCSE results, including Maths, English and double Science you could go onto do A levels.

If you ultimate goal is to obtain an engineering degree and you have more academic interest in engineering, you can go to one of the many universities that offer degree courses. In order to do so, you’ll need to study three subjects at A level with an ongoing emphasis on Physics and Mathematics. Depending on your results, you can move on to an engineering degree of your choice.

Please click here for further information on the A Level in Engineering

With some good GCSE’s at 16 you could pursue an Apprenticeship in Engineering. Apprenticeships are a good alternative to continuing full time academic study at 16 or 17 and offer academic study on a part time basis combined with vocational qualifications with an employer who will pay you wages whilst you learn and develop skills on the job.

Apprenticeships in engineering usually last from three to five years. As you’d expect from such a wide field, there’s huge range of apprenticeships on offer, and the sort of work you’ll be doing varies, depending on your employer.

At the end of your Apprenticeship or Advanced Apprenticeship, you’ll have highly sought-after skills and there’ll be no shortage of interesting work opportunities. If you feel that A levels are too theoretical for you, but might like the option of going to university in the future then this route would be ideal as it provides the necessary entrance qualifications for university.

The Apprenticeship Guide is the ultimate guide for information about apprenticeship schemes across the UK’s many industries. It also includes an in-depth engineering section with loads of information on companies offering training programmes and other helpful contacts.

The Apprentice website puts apprentices in touch with employers. You can search for vacancies in your region.

If going into full time work after finishing school or studying A levels doesn’t rally appeal to you there are still other options that you could look at pursing.

Vocational qualifications enable you to study a work related course and are delivered on a part time or full time basis, Qualifications include BTEC Diplomas, Vocational GCSE’s, Advanced Vocational Certificates of Education (AVCE), General National Vocational Qualifications, high National Certificates (HNC) and Higher National Diplomas (HND).

Many further education colleges and some schools offer GNVQ and BTEC qualification programmes. These courses are comparable to academic qualifications and, depending on the level you reach, can lead to equivalent of two A levels.

If you have achieved four passes (A- C) at GCSE, Including English, Maths and Science you can get straight onto an advanced GNVQ or a BTEC National diploma course in engineering.

If your grades are lower than this, you can opt for vocational GCSE’s or a BTEC First Diploma and then move on to the advanced courses.

The vocational route allows students to progress onto degree level study, proceed directly into employment with option of further part time study, or opt for an Advanced Apprenticeship.

What ever route you choose it's important to make sure your chosen subjects for years 12 & 13 match the entry requirements of any HE courses you are interested in. You can check the precise entry requirements for each course by clicking here and visting the UCAS website

The Engineering Education Scheme enables Year 12 students studying relevant subjects to solve real industrial problems for real companies. A professional engineer from the company liaises with and advises the teams of students and their teachers in solving the problem and producing a report and presentation. Universities support the scheme and provide residential workshops during the course of the projects.

The Year In Industry programme provides high-calibre students to gain pre-university experience of industry backed by comprehensive ‘off the job’ training during a gap year.

The headstart scheme enables Year 12 students to spend a week at a university engineering department, getting a taste of life as an engineering undergraduate and learning about potential careers and undergraduate courses in engineering.

The following links will provide 16 -18 year olds advice and information on careers and qualifications in engineering


Science Worlds is a magazine and web portal which will inform students about the types of rewarding careers which science and mathematics qualifications can lead to