Quote Damo-Leeds="Damo-Leeds"Education was a different kettle of fish back then. I’ve not come across one person whose 10 - 15 years older than me and on the dole. Its all from my era of going to school. Education Leeds is an absolute disgrace. There’s a conspiracy going on so that young people stay on the dole forever!'"
One could argue, that since leaving the system, what else have you done about it ?
Given that Leeds is a fairly large conurbation, a benefit of having a lot of people around is that it does have quite decent +16 educational facilities (night school / colleges etc.) scattered all over the city and offering a wide range of programmes or courses. They're certainly a lot better than the semi-rural location where I live.
Have you looked at them and why haven't you signed up for one of them ?
The chances are, if you're 'resting', the courses will be offered at a discount or will be free. You'll also find that in an 'adult' learning environment people are motivated (because they want to be there) and darn-sight more productive than the ones you used to do at school. It is one reason why a GCSE type course at College takes one year, rather than the three a school takes.
Once you've got the ball rolling, there's nothing to stop you doing something that will take you to University or it is perfectly possible to do a 'degree level' qualification without even setting foot inside a University.
The question you should really be asking yourself is what sort of career or occupation do you want and what qualifications do you need to get it, then signing up and completing that course (and the next one and the next one and the next one until you get it).
As the Chinese say, the journey of a thousand miles starts with one step .... The question is, have you actually taken that first step yet ? No-one is going to hand it to you on a plate and there will be a fair amount of graft, dedication and heart-ache on the way, but won't that be worth it in the end ?
