Study choices

Leaving school?

Many pupils leave school and go on to study prior to entering employment. Studying at college helps you acquire the knowledge, skills and qualifications necessary to enter the world of work. Many school leavers regard studying at a college as being a preparation for the rest of their life - a sort of investment in their future. College courses are mostly composed of units tailored to the needs of particular employment sectors or to individual student needs. Many courses have periods of real work experience or are delivered in realistic work environments.

Exceptional Entry

It can be a big decision, deciding whether or not to come to college. Exceptional Entry is for young people whose date of birth requires them to remain in school until the winter break and is a fantastic option for those who are ready to leave school, and take the next step in their education.

If your 16th birthday falls between 1st October and 28th/29th February, you would be eligible to start certain full-time, non-advanced courses at UHI Moray from August, even though you are still officially a school pupil.

Between August and the winter break in December, your school would be regularly informed of your attendance and progress, but to all intents and purposes you would be a full-time student at UHI Moray. If however, you found that college wasn’t quite right for you, you still have the option of returning to school anytime over that period.

Do you have the skills employers are looking for?

A period of study at college can help you to further develop the skills you acquired at school and also to develop a range of additional skills so that when you leave college to try and enter the 21st century world of work you do so with a portfolio of skills which match as closely as possible the skills employers are looking for

• People Skills
• Leadership - taking responsibility and getting things done
• Teamworking - working well with colleagues and being able to listen
• Interpersonal Skills - being good with people from a wide range of backgrounds and able to get your ideas over easily

• Self-reliance skills
• Self-awareness - feeling confident about yourself and what you can do
• Resourcefulness - having drive, using your initiative and planning ahead
• Networking Skills - being good at linking up with other people so you can help each other

• General skills
• Problem Solving - being practical and quick witted so that you get results
• Commitment - being dependable, trustworthy and putting everything into your work
• Flexibility - being adaptable and willing to do lots of different work

• Specialist skills
• IT Skills - basic IT skills are needed for almost every job these days
• Technical Skills - having knowledge of real work areas eg. engineering, hospitality, care, hairdressing, beauty therapy 

Gaining new skills for life and work

You might be looking to build on existing skills or achieve a specific qualification that will allow you to convert a hobby into a career?  We are confident that within our portfolio of courses, there will be something that meets your needs.  We aim to be as flexible as possible in our course delivery, offering options to study full or part time, evening, short courses or by open learning so we hope you will be able to fit your studies around other commitments.

Perhaps you are already working and are keen to develop your professional skills?  We have something for you too.  We can provide customised training programmes and offer a range of short courses to meet the needs of industry.

We are also committed to helping unemployed people to return to work and offer a number of initiatives including 'Employability Fund' and 'Work Preparation Courses'.  Please get in touch with us to find out more.