GOING UP?
GET ON THE
ROUTES FOR ALL
ESCALATOR.
GOING UP? GET ON THE ESCALATOR
The Routes for All ESCALATOR programme will prepare you to apply for college after S6. You will learn about college life from student mentors and college staff, research future careers and courses, plan your route to college and get ready for your S5 exams. These are all vital ways to climb higher - to go to the right college course, go to the right university and choose the right career for you.
ESCALATOR TAKES YOU UP THROUGH 3 LEVELS:
LEVEL 1: CAREERS, COURSES & QUALIFICATIONS
LEVEL 2: EXAM BOOSTER ZONE
LEVEL 3: THE COLLEGE EXPERIENCE
ESCALATOR LEVEL 1:
CAREERS, COURSES & QUALIFICATIONS
CAREERS
CHOOSING A CAREER? CONSIDER THESE FACTORS:
WHAT ARE YOU GOOD AT?
WHAT DO YOU LIKE DOING?
CHOOSING A CAREER? CONSIDER THESE FACTORS:
WHAT ARE YOU GOOD AT?
What are your best subjects at school, in which you consistently achieve good grades? Also, think about sporting activities or creative pursuits in which you excel. Are you good at fixing things, organising things or being caring?
WHAT DO YOU LIKE DOING?
You should positively choose a career area which you will enjoy. Think about what your chosen career will involve and reflect on what you like doing - if you don't like numbers then Accountancy is not for you!
WHICH WAY SHOULD YOU GO?
Choosing the right exam subjects will help you go in the right direction once you begin studying towards your chosen career. For example, you may need to have Higher English to study a Social Sciences course.
HOW DO YOU CHOOSE? Make your choices REALISTIC. Not everyone can be a Premiership footballer! How about Sports Coaching?
RESEARCH your careers choices and widen your search. Want to work in Medicine? You don't need to be a Doctor. You can also look at careers in Nursing, Radiography, Podiatry, Paramedics, or Operating Theatre Practice.
DISCOVER which qualifications you need for a certain career. To be a Primary Teacher, you need a degree and one year of post-graduate training. To be a Car Mechanic, you can get a job with an HNC or HND.
NO IDEA WHERE YOU ARE GOING?
If you are not sure about your career choices, you should get some advice from a Careers Advisor. Also, take a look at the online resources PLANITPLUS and MY WORLD OF WORK.
PLANITPLUS: www.planitplus.net
MY WORLD OF WORK: www.myworldofwork.co.uk
COURSES
CHOOSING A COURSE?
CONSIDER THESE FACTORS:
WHICH COURSE LEADS YOU TO THE RIGHT CAREER?
WILL THIS COURSE TAKE YOU ONWARDS TO UNIVERSITY?
CHOOSING A COLLEGE COURSE? CONSIDER THESE FACTORS:
WILL THIS COURSE TAKE ME INTO MY CHOSEN CAREER?
WILL THIS COURSE HELP ME GO TO UNIVERSITY?
CHECK the entry requirements for your chosen courses. Some courses require a specific qualification; for example, Engineering courses usually require Maths or Physics.
FOCUS your studies on qualifications (especially Highers) which will lead you into the most relevant course at college or university.
Find out what grades are needed and aim for the highest grade you can ACHIEVE.
Go to college open days or just pop in to get INFORMATION. Keep checking college websites for news updates.
KEEP GOING UP! FROM COLLEGE TO UNIVERSITY
You can use an HNC or HND course at college to jump into 2nd or 3rd year of a DEGREE at University, in a process called ARTICULATION. If you want to get a degree in a similar subject to the one you studied at college, you can do 2 years at college and 2 years at university to complete your degree in 4 years. You can also do 1 year at college plus 3 years at university. Either way, you get the same degree as every other student. The main West of Scotland universities that accept articulating students are:
Glasgow Caledonian University: www.gcu.ac.uk
University of the West of Scotland: www.uws.ac.uk
QUALIFICATIONS
YOU NEED QUALIFICATIONS TO STUDY AT UNIVERSITY AND AT MOST COLLEGE COURSES TOO.
In Scotland, qualifications at schools, colleges and universities are explained by the SCQF (Scottish Credit & Qualifications Framework). You can look at the SCQF website at www.scqf.org.uk. The diagram below shows the many qualifications you can achieve. In school, you can gain National 4 & 5, Highers and Advanced Highers. At college you can gain NC (National Certificate), HNC (Higher National Certificate) and HND (Higher National Diploma). At university most people study towards an Ordinary degree or an Honours degree.
