Gap Year News Articles

"UCAS Does Not Understand Gap Years" Claims Head of Seasonal Work Firm

16 Aug 2010

The Managing Director of a company that helps gap year students find paid work suggested that recent comments made by the Chief Executive of UCAS show a lack of understanding about the value of a gap year.

Andrew Bird, MD of seasonal jobs site YearOutWork.co.uk comments on the suggestions made by UCAS Chief Executive Mary Curnock Cook in the Sunday Telegraph yesterday:

"To suggest that gap years are all about students taking a nice break to go out and see the world" ignores the reality for the thousands of students who spend a large part of their gap year working to fund their travels. Very few students have parents who can afford to fund unlimited travel or pay for expensive volunteer placements in developing countries. By taking a seasonal job in a European ski resort or camp site they can get paid as they gain valuable work experience in a different country. Many seasonal workers will also work in the UK before they go to fund their travels.

It is all very well for UCAS to talk about using a year out to focus on taking jobs and training that will "support an application to the course or university you are targeting," but this could ignore the longer term values of doing something completely different in your gap year. 18-19 year olds cannot be expected to have a clear view on their intended career path at such a young age and the opportunity to work in a radically different environment may broaden their outlook and give them a chance to meet a wider cross-section of people. Those who work during a gap year are often much better equipped to cope with the financial hardship of modern student life as they develop more skills and resourcefulness. More importantly they have some real experience of the working world before they continue their education for another 3 or 4 years. University education is a fantastic life-changing experience but it is not an end it itself and UCAS need to remember that. A gap year may be the only chance a person gets to work outside of a vocational career path."

Miss Curnock Cook of UCAS had suggested that a radical change is needed, including changing the name "gap year" to "bridging year".

"I believe the golden age of the gap year is over," she said. Candidates who want to achieve a good offer next year need to use their year strategically, to enhance their attractiveness to institutions.

These comments have been made in a year when it is estimated that up to 200,000 of this year's 660,500 applicants may be left without a place at University. Almost 57,000 A-level students who failed to win a university place last year have applied through UCAS this year.