It’s time to invest in your own success

Qualifications open doors. If you’ve decided to add to yours in the new year, now is the time to prepare. By Niki Chesworth

IT may only be five weeks until Christmas, but if you want to change your future in the new year, perhaps you should consider leaving your shopping until the last minute.

With only a few weekends left during this academic term, this is your last chance to take a tour of universities and colleges to discover whether studying for an undergraduate or postgraduate degree or a professional qualification could be your pathway to a new job or career.

Simply go to ucas.com and search for open days.

You can find out more about full time, part time and online learning — and not just for degrees.

Teaching: Over the coming months, there are a number of open events for school-centred initial teacher training for those who already have a degree or are in their final year at university. Once again, see ucas.com.

Also, you can visit getintoteaching. education.gov.uk where you can find out more about Train to Teach events — there is one in London this Saturday, November 24.

Postgrad and professional: Many postgraduate programmes have January/February starts and often, these also lead to a professional accreditation to further boost your job prospects. If you graduated in the summer but have yet to land a job that reflects your degree qualification, or want to change careers or gain a promotion, then studying for a master’s degree can open doors. See ucas.com for a list of courses available.

First degrees: Remember, the deadline for Ucas applications to start degrees in September 2019 is January 15. However, if you are applying via your school or college, you will generally need to submit your application by the end of this month to give your teachers and tutors time to check the application and submit it.

If you are not at school or college, you do not have to wait until

January 15. You can apply early and may even receive an early offer. You also have the option of starting a degree in January. If you are not waiting for A-level results, why wait until September?

A growing number of university courses now have a January start, and you can even opt for a condensed first year, enabling you to graduate in just three-and-a-half years. January is a great time to make changes to your life — and deciding to take a new course is a one way to transform your prospects

Vocational courses: January is also the ideal time to start an evening, online or weekend course in areas as diverse as accounting — for example, an AAT qualification — web design, cyber security or another in-demand skill-set that you can add to your CV.

Opt for courses that lead to a recognised qualification. See floodlight.co.uk.