Where to look for jobs

Check out the following:

• Job search sites, such as fish4jobs, Get my first job and Indeed.
• Jobcentre Plus (your local job centre).
• Universal jobmatch. This government site enables you to search and apply for full or part-time jobs.
• Newspapers. For example, the Birmingham Mail has jobs on a Thursday.
• Employment agencies. They can help you to find temporary and permanent jobs.

Personal contacts. Ask your friends and family if they know about any vacancies.

• Local high streets. You can often find part-time or holiday work advertised in shop or restaurant windows.
• Online directories, such as yell.com to find employers and employment agencies. Check employer websites to see if they are advertising any jobs, or consider sending them a speculative letter or CV.

Self Employment

You will first need to come up with a realistic idea that you can turn into a product or service. You will then need to test the market and develop a business plan. You’ll also need funding to set the business up.

Advice about starting your own business is available on the government website.

 

The Prince’s Trust Enterprise programme can help you decide whether self-employment is right for you. It offers help to 18 to 30 year olds who are either unemployed or working less than 16 hours a week.

 

Voluntary Work

Although the work is usually unpaid, there are lots of good reasons to become a volunteer, such as doing something useful in your spare time, making a contribution to your community, meeting new people, making friends or learning a new skill. It’s also a great way to gain experience, which may also help you with your future career plans.

 

Use the Internet to search for local opportunities and check out the following websites:

• Birmingham Voluntary Service Council (BVSC) offers local volunteering opportunities.
• National Citizen Service  is open to all 16 and 17-year-olds in England. It helps you build your skills for work and life, while you take on new challenges and meet new friends. Participants develop a social action project to deal with a local issue they’re passionate about, and spend 30 hours putting the project into action in their community.
• Volunteering Matters This was formerly called CSV (Community Service Volunteers) and they offer a range of volunteering opportunities.
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Qualifications needed for chosen career

You can use the National Careers Service Job Profiles to check out careers and qualifications needed.

Other websites worth checking out are BBC Bitesize and UCAS. 

Choosing a career

You can use the National Careers Service Job Profiles to check out careers. For example, choose a job category from those listed to explore related careers.

Other websites worth checking out are:

 

• BBC Bitesize. You can search by job sectors or see where your favourite subject can take you.  
• UCAS. You can explore careers by job family (job sectors), by subjects and by skills (for example, pick a skill you have to explore jobs that need that skill).
• Buzz quiz. In under five minutes, discover your strengths and what makes you tick and which celebrities share your personality type. There are 16 possible results, each connected to an animal. Which animal are you?

Job trends and labour market information

The job market is constantly changing. You can use labour market information (LMI) to research job trends in different career areas.

Use the following websites to research LMI and to check what future trends are predicted for your chosen career:

• Prospects Graduate job sector information.
• Nomis : Provides a labour market profile of an area (for example, search for Birmingham). Includes data on population, employment, unemployment, qualifications, earnings, benefit claimants and businesses.

Minimum wage

The National Minimum Wage rate per hour depends on your age and whether you’re an apprentice.

The rates are usually updated every October. For the latest information go to the Government website.

 

Age you can work

The youngest age you can work part-time is 13, except if you are involved in areas such as television, theatre and modelling (children working in these areas will need a performance licence).

You can start full-time work once you have officially left school. You can work up to a maximum of 40 hours a week. Once you reach 18, adult employment rights and rules apply.

More information is available on the government website.

 

Part-time work restrictions for children at school

There are restrictions about what part-time work you can do and when you can do it.

You must be at least 13 years old and you are not allowed to work in places like a factory or industrial site.

You are also not allowed to work:

• During school hours.
• Before 7 am or after 7 pm.
• For more than one hour before school (unless local bylaws allow it).
• For more than 4 hours without taking a break of at least 1 hour.

There are also special rules which only apply during term-times and school holidays. For example, during term-time you can only work a maximum of 12 hours a week. This includes:

• A maximum of 2 hours on school days/Sundays.
• A maximum of 5 hours on Saturdays for 13 to 14-year-olds or 8 hours for 15 to 16-year-olds.

During school holidays, 13 to 14-year-olds are only allowed to work a maximum of 25 hours a week. This includes:

• A maximum of 5 hours on weekdays/Saturdays.
• A maximum of 2 hours on Sundays.

During school holidays, 15 to 16-year-olds can only work a maximum of 35 hours a week. This includes:

• A maximum of 8 hours on weekdays/Saturdays.
• A maximum of 2 hours on Sundays.

Full details are available on the government website.