The hours of revising and cramming are nearly over! With GCSEs and A Levels soon to be done and dusted and now it’s just the nervous wait for the results. There is also the ever burning question …….what am I going to do now?!
With hours of free time now available to our teenagers, they may be wondering what they are going to do. I’m sure many of them relish the idea of playing Call of Duty to their hearts content and staying up all night while sleeping all day, however, most parents definitely DON’T relish this thought… particularly with the messy bedrooms and fall out that ensues!
The obvious solution is having the ultimate beach life – learn to surf, bbqs at the beach, sunbathe – parents don’t usually mind teenagers doing this to their hearts content! However, the weather may not be beach friendly every day, and they are still going to want some cash and what if Mum’s taxi has already been booked by your sibling????
How about earning some money? Saturday (or part-time) jobs are available to anyone over the age of 13yrs. With seasonal trends increasing the opportunities during the Summer, this may be the perfect time for your teenager to learn some basic life skills like;
- importance of being punctual
- reliability and good work ethic
- good customer service
- and, of course, learn how to handle/budget their earnings
Most jobs (part-time or not) rely on all the above capabilities, however, our children don’t necessarily learn these things from us (and if they do, they don’t pay any attention to them as being important). In a work environment with other people relying on them they get a sense of the “9 to 5” that Mum and Dad have been talking about for so long! If your child is working it is worth knowing the restrictions, there are on young workers and what they can expect. You can find information on the States of Jersey website and the States of Guernsey have a useful pdf with all the details.
Thankfully, a lot of the young adults leaving school these days do not have to fully embark on a career for the next 40 years – the days of “steady and pensionable” jobs are truly a thing of the past. Current thinking is for a more fluid career, taking opportunities as they arise and keeping your horizons open. The more students can experience work life in any of its guises, from a Saturday job selling ice cream on King Street to an internship at one of our many finance companies this will lead them to forge their own path towards a career that they will embrace and excel in for many years to come.
So, what will your teenager be doing this Summer?
