Parent and Guardian's Guide

As a parent or guardian, you play a crucial role in supporting your child to explore the opportunities available to them for life after school. It can be difficult to know where to start but it’s important to arm yourself with the latest information and resources.

This is where we come in.

If your child is considering their next steps, whether that is to continue in education or to find employment, there is no reason why they cannot do both with Jobs Growth Wales+ (JGW+) or an Apprenticeship.

Our programmes offer a great alternative to college or university, and could be the answer if your child wants to get a head start into employment and earn whilst they learn.

Read on to find out why work-based learning might be the right path for your child.

Jobs Growth Wales+

What is JGW+?

JGW+ is a fantastic training programme that will equip your child with the skills, confidence and experience needed to progress onto an Apprenticeship, set up their own business or land their dream job. They will receive employability training and all the support they need to progress onto the next stage of their life - all while being paid!

With your child having spent most of their time in school or college, our JGW+ programme gives them a helping hand progressing from education to the workplace.

What qualifications are on offer?

As part of their JGW+ learning journey, your child can choose to study a Level 1 qualification in the following vocational areas:

Animal

Care & Land-based Studies Automotive Engineering Beauty, Hairdressing & Barbering Care Construction Customer Service

I would strongly recommend ACT to anyone whose child is looking to find a way forward with education or employment. Staff were encouraging and caring with both our sons; they helped both boys, not only with their education and learning, but patiently helped them to overcome their various challenges.

Wellbeing Support

We have a highly skilled team with extensive industry experience to ensure your child receives all the support and guidance they need to progress through their qualification. This includes extra support services to help all our learners make the most of their ACT experience.

Enrichment Curriculum

We are excited to offer an engaging programme of enrichment activities as part of your child’s JGW+ journey. They will have the opportunity to take part in community projects, outdoor activities, volunteering and much more!

What’s in it for your child?

• A training allowance of up to £60 a week

• Flexible, tailored support

• Industry-focused work placements and tasters

• Employability support

• A meal allowance of up to £19.50 a week

• Support with travel costs

Owen James, father of Automotive Engineering learner, Darren James

Apprenticeships

What is an Apprenticeship?

An Apprenticeship is a work-based learning programme that enables your child to learn on the job, develop their skills, achieve nationally-recognised Level 2-5 qualifications, earn a wage and build a rewarding career.

What are the benefits of an Apprenticeship?

Apprenticeships offer a hands-on alternative to the continual demands of essays, exams and studying that university entails. So, what can your child expect instead? There are no classrooms or homework; they will learn working on the job with help and support with Essential Skills in English and Maths if needed. At university they can choose from a wide variety of degrees, but as an Apprentice they can work in almost any sector too.

Working with some of Wales’ biggest employers, ACT provides fully funded Apprenticeships in more than 30 sectors, including:

Learning

…and many more

The Apprenticeship gave me the confidence in my abilities to push myself and take the next step in my career, ultimately landing a position with more responsibility.

Hannah Drake-Jones, Social Media for Business Apprentice

Types of Apprenticeships

We offer three types of Apprenticeships. Many start with a Foundation Apprenticeship and work their way up to a Higher Apprenticeship. If your child has already achieved their education equivalent, they can start at the next level.

Things to know

• Apprenticeships are advertised on the ACT website and need to be applied for. We can help your child with this, we have a dedicated team to support their application process.

• Anyone age 16+ can apply.