Careers and post-16 options

11-19 Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance (CEIAG)

The responsibility for the provision of independent, impartial careers guidance has moved from local authorities to schools.

If you are still at school your first point of contact will be your school's CEIAG adviser.

Young people are required to continue in education or training until their 18^th birthday. This doesn’t necessarily mean staying on in school.

Young people can choose how they participate post 16, which could be through:

full-time education such as school, college, other training provider or home-education (a minimum of 540 hours per year)
an apprenticeship
part-time education or training if they are employed, self-employed or volunteering for 20 hours or more a week

Leaving school is one of the most stressful events of anyone's life and ranks amongst other life-changing events such as births, deaths and marriage.

So what are the choices?

This can be either academic (A-level) or vocational (work-related) courses or a mix of both.

Darlington has four main post-16 education providers:

Central Park, Haughton Road, Darlington, DL1 1DR

Vane Terrace, Darlington, DL3 7AU

The Headlands, Darlington, DL3 8RW

The Coleridge Centre / Bennet House

There are several training providers that offer Apprenticeships and study programmes, including Darlington Borough Council.

You can find further details on the providers in Tees Valley at Tees Valley Learning Provider Network [external link]

these are jobs with training so you can earn as you learn and gain qualifications.

Further details can be found at the Apprenticeships website [external link] or on the Learning & Skills apprenticeships webpage.

This is a programme of qualifications which aims to support young people to advance into further learning or employment with training.

Further advice and guidance is available from your school, or you can contact: The National Careers Service [external link] or by phone on 0800 100 900.