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Everyone's talking about Life Long Learning!Are you just about to leave school or college? Do you feel like you've been studying forever? Do words like LIFE LONG Learning send you into panic? It really isn't as bad as it seems! |
Life Long Learning isn't just about learning for a school / college course or for work. Learning can be fun! Life Long Learning is about upgrading your skills for life. This could be a 'book keeping' course to help you start your own business, a 'customer services course' to help you develop your career or an 'Arts and Crafts' course because you are interested in making things in your spare time!
Once you leave school you will find that you have the opportunity to learn totally different skills, on a range of subjects, in lot's of different ways. It is recognised that not all people do well in exams, so they could consider an NVQ where you build a portfolio of the things that you have learned and experienced during the course. You are not under the same pressure as an exam situation.
There are loads of different ways that you can learn :-
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PC Based:
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Using CD Roms or learning online. |
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Distance Learning:
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Instead of attending classes you can work from home, where you are sent all of the course materials and post your assignments to be marked. You can get tutor support over the phone and even attend a summer school in some cases. This can be more flexible to meet your learning needs, regardless of your working hours or family circumstances. |
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Learning Centres:
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Maybe you want to learn some IT skills? Find out what's available in your local area. |
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Part-Time Courses:
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Going back to college doesn't always mean full-time. There are evening courses that you can fit around your working hours. Check out what's available at your local college. |
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Adult Education:
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It's not all sewing and cake making (although you can do that too!) Maybe you've had the life long urge to cook a sausage to perfection! There are loads of courses in different areas and you will be surprised at the variety and sometimes 'bizarre' subjects that are available. |
The list goes on and your opportunities are varied. Learning doesn't have to be about sitting in a classroom, full of people who don't want to be there, trying desperately to stay awake to a subject that bores them to death! You have more choices for courses and a great opportunity to meet other people who obviously share your interests!
Getting a job is difficult enough. Keeping one, or moving on up with your career is getting more difficult and competitive. You might not be as fortunate as your Great Uncle Norman, who has been in the same job from leaving school to retirement. Employers want people with skills and you need to update these. Think about it like this……
15 years ago, a secretary might have thought that they were doing well by learning shorthand and typewriting skills……WELCOME TO THE 21ST CENTURY……now you need to add word processing, spreadsheets and internet skills to that list. THINGS CHANGE and you want to keep up with it!
'Learn Direct offers high quality learning at a time, place and pace to suit you'. They can also give you details of all sorts of course information over the telephone or on their website.
Check out your local Careers / Connexions service. Many have their own learning help lines or websites. You could find a course that's right for you and you'd probably never heard or thought of it before!
What ever you do……don't think of learning as a prison sentence….use it to your advantage and get what you want…whether that's more qualifications, work skills, or a chance to enjoy yourself and meet new people!
Please use the Career Services and the Higher Education sections on this site to find careers and course information specific to you!
Additional Links
Learn Direct (On-Line learning opportunities & information and advice on over 500,000 courses nationwide)
BBC Learning-Site (Learning information for all)
The International Centre for Distance Learning (Providing links to institutions/courses and various related distance learning resources)
Open University (Various links & resources relating to distance learning)
Good Luck!
Jennie Glitherow
At school or college? Look out for Jennie's future articles which we'll have
here for the first Monday of each month, and which we'll link to the best sites
we can find on the Web. Why not bookmark us now?
To get back to this page to use the links on it - enter http://www.careers-gateway.co.uk/mainpage.htm
and click on Magazine then It's Not a Life Sentence.
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