Ms Natalia Leane:

I would say first year. Based on my experience, we got a sample of all the trade subjects we could do in first year. We then had to pick about three of them that we wished to continue with. Going into them, we got a month's worth of experience in that one area and then we were moved on to another. If we got the opportunity to know what it would be possible for us to do if we continued with a subject, that would help. If we are shown a subject and we like it, we might take it on. It would be good, however, if we could know more about what we could do as a result of continuing on with a subject. Home economics, for example, is seen as a subject where people just do cooking. I am a chef and I am biased, but we also do a lot of financial work in home economics, as well as sewing. It would be possible to do many jobs as a result of having studied this subject, but when students experience it for one month and they make a curry, for example, they might come away from that experience thinking all they will be able to do in the long term as a result of taking on home economics is to take on a role as a chef. If it were to be explained to students what different apprenticeship programmes can be done based on the subjects taken, that would be great. It would especially be so in first year when students are picking their subjects.