ALICE was unsure as to whether she wanted to pursue customer service, retail or administration careers. Discussion with her Connexions Personal Adviser after using the GenEd feedback report assisted her to reach the right decision.

STUART had been training on a Life Skills course. He chose to do painting and decorating at the end of this programme and was transferred, believing that he was capable. However it became apparent that his chosen vocation was not right for him and he agreed to complete the GenEd Occupational Interest Profile to help decide his future options. The results were discussed with him and he appeared to gain confidence from knowing that his preference was actually for administrative rather than practical work. Within a matter of weeks his Training Provider had been able to offer him an alternative job in an office environment .

DAVID, who had already applied for a Business Administration NVQ, completed the GenEd assessment, which revealed that he clearly showed an interest in practical engineering-type jobs. When challenged about this discrepancy by his Connexions Personal Adviser, he said that his mum had in fact advised him to pursue office work. A few weeks later he successfully submitted an application for an Engineering Installation & Commissioning NVQ programme.

BEVERLEY was 17 but had not taken her GCSEs, as a result of bullying at school. She was unsure what she wanted to do but enjoyed using her home computer. In order to try to place her, her Training Provider referred to her GenEd reasoning ability test results, which indicated she had scored above average for her age group. Together with her school reports, GCSE predictions and National Record of Achievement, her GenEd attainment level helped secure her entry to a job in IT.