There are many different ways and sources of information that will help you to find out precisely what qualifications and skills you need for your career.
Let’s work through some examples. If you want to go into teaching, you should go through the ‘A’ level route and then go on to university for your degree, either in the subject of your intended teaching area, or a direct education degree (Bachelor of Education), both topped up with a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) or equivalent. The Department for Education, with its new National College for Teaching and Leadership, and sources on Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) will help you here. You will need to have good written and communication skills, confidence and enthusiasm.
Similarly, for a career in marketing, adverting and promotion or sales, a degree followed by a qualification such as those offered by the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM), will help you to get a good start and boost your promotion prospects. For marketing, you will need to be creative and imaginative.
If you want to be a doctor, you will need a degree (five years in this case) and then carry out foundation training followed by further specialist training. Each branch of medicine has its own Royal College, from which you can find plenty of useful information concerning their branch and any additional training or special qualifications required. For medicine, you will need to have technical knowledge, patience and commitment.
You can look at websites for the professional associations in your vocational area (for example, the Association of Accounting Technicians), awarding bodies for professional examinations (for example, Chartered Institute of Personnel Development), and of universities both in the UK and abroad containing plenty of useful career information relating to the particular degrees they offer. All of these will also contain information on the skills required for that profession. But you will need to assess what skills you have already. Think about what you were good at or enjoyed at school or college. What kind of things have done in your spare time, such as a hobby or being a member of a club. What skills do you think you used in those contexts? What skills would you like to acquire and how are you going to go about this?
One other way to find out information is to get work experience in your chosen area or areas, or try to organise some work shadowing. Both of these will give you a wonderful and invaluable opportunity to work in the field – even for a short period – and see exactly what skills are essential in that area. Your school or college careers staff can help you to think through and work out your skills, and how you can use them in the vocational area of your choice. With knowledge of your natural skills and information about careers from the various bodies suggested above, you are ready to collect all the relevant information you need to boost your career prospects.