Its exam results season and lots of young people having received their GCSE and A-Level results. When I think back to when I received mine, I had a very traditional route through education through GCSEs and on to A Levels. The only route that I thought was an option for me was to go onto university and do a degree. So, after taking a gap year where I worked for a charity and did some travelling in Thailand and New Zealand, I journeyed up to Sheffield to get stuck into uni life.

I can’t ever remember being aware of other potential career routes. I was a young person who thrived in learning environments outside the classroom, maybe something else would have better suited to me? Despite that there was a lot of pressure to achieve the right set of results at the culmination of each stage of my education journey. I was concerned and worried about what would happen if I wasn’t able to achieve the exact grades that were required of me.

The Youth Workers at Future are here 52 weeks a year to speak to young people about their options and talk through their concerns or worries about school. This week has been no different. Young people have come in regardless of their grades and been able to somewhere to go, something to do and someone to talk to.

We are really proud of what young people have been able to achieve. A huge well done to all those young people who have got to the end of their school journeys and picked up their results this week.  The good news is that whatever results were inside those envelopes there are now lots of opportunities to seek a route into work that doesn’t have to be as traditional as mine was.

Not only have the Youth Zone team been on hand to support young people this week, we have collaborated with the local Job Shop who are a free service help people get a job. They came into the Youth Zone to support young people just receiving their results to figure out what their options were after their results.

Another opportunity for young people to figure out their next steps would be to attend our Careers Event at Future Youth Zone on Tuesday 19th September from 4pm. We will have a range of employers from lots of different industries, from fashion to sport, banking to construction and much more. See you there.