Gap year shrinks to a month amid job worries

It is a rite of passage for many young people after their A-levels. But now, it appears the gap year is shrinking.

Today’s school leavers, say experts, opt for a “mini gap year” of just a few weeks. Leonie Mcilroy of Raleigh International, a company which arranges volunteering gap years and has introduced a four-week scheme, said: “Young people and their parents are feeling greater pressure to use time out constructively. There is more anxiety about their job prospects.”