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Planning your career goals

It can be confusing when you're deciding what career options to choose.

If your choices make the most of your skills and abilities, you can look forward to a happy future.

However, you might not even know what sort of career you want to follow yet. You may think that it’s still too soon to be thinking about what you're going to be doing in five or ten years' time.

As the world of work is changing so fast, how can you find the right path? To make the decisions that are right for you, you'll need help.

• Finding a career that's right for you

What help is on offer?

When you're planning your future, trained advisers will be able to give you:

• reliable and up-to-date information about choices in your personal life and your learning and career options
• advice on where to get help that's relevant to you and how to apply it to your own life

Your adviser will also help you:

• work out what you really want to do
• understand what you can achieve
• sort out any problems in your life
• find your way to a bright future

There's also lots of help online that you can read.

• Which way now? - a guide to choosing your key stage 4 options Opens new window

• It's your choice - how to choose your post-16 options Opens new window

• Help and advice for your personal life from need2know Opens new window

Get help from Year 7 onwards

If you're older than 11, a personal tutor will help you get specialist advice when you need it. They will also sort out any problems that are getting in the way of your learning.

For example, your tutor will help you find:

• high quality careers education to help you to plan and manage your career
• impartial advice about your learning and work options, including Apprenticeships, the Diploma, Foundation Learning, GCSEs and A levels
• opportunities to try out different qualifications to judge whether they're suitable for you
• information about the opportunities and benefits of higher education and what you need to do to get into university
  

• Qualifications explained (education and learning section)

• What can higher education do for you? (education and learning section)

Work-related learning in Years 10 and 11

In Years 10 and 11, you can take part in work-related learning. Your school will usually organise this, but it's up to you to decide what sort of career path you want to find out more about.

This work-related learning could be:

• work taster sessions
• visits to your school by employers
• experience of working in a real workplace

This will help you to understand the world of work to help you make your education and career choices.

• Work experience in Years 10 and 11 (education and learning section)

Get help from a careers expert

All young people have access to:

• one-to-one advice and support from a local Connexions adviser
• information and advice by telephone and online every day from Connexions Direct
• information about local support services for any personal, social, health or financial problems from your local authority
• information on all local learning programmes for 14-19 year olds in your local online prospectus

By 2011, you’ll also be able to apply online for learning opportunities through a common application process if you’re 16 or over.

This means you will apply for any course from the same website using the same application process, no matter where you live in the country.

• Find a Connexions personal adviser Opens new window

• Connexions Direct Opens new window

• Find your local 14-19 prospectus Opens new window

More useful links

• Find your local authority