Taking a Gap Year? Explore AppGallery to Upskill and Exceed Your Expectations

Keep inspired, in your business, creativity, education and interests.

This January saw the announcement of 2022 Matric results. While many students are looking forward to beginning their tertiary study in February, others maybe are choosing to take a gap year. The break from formal education to pursue other interests, travel, or gain real-world experiences can be an incredibly enriching time. Thanks to the variety of apps available on AppGallery, there are plenty of exciting opportunities to upskill you now and in future.

Testing the waters

Perhaps it’s a case of the matriculant trying to see whether a specific industry is right for them. There are plenty of entry-level jobs available that only require Grade 12. Often, these jobs are temporary. While the wages might not be that high, it’s certainly enough to cover basic living expenses while getting a feel for the world out there. Of course, there are many businesses that provide internships or even job shadowing opportunities. This is great to gain some experience in an office environment, learn proper business email etiquette and just see what a potential career is like in their field of interest.

There’re many incredible apps to get the job hunt going. For instance, Careers24 and Pnet are great starting points. Creating a CV also doesn’t have to be difficult. Curriculum Vitae, Professional CV Maker, and CV & Resume Creator are all great (and free) resources to provide starting points for matriculants to showcase their skills in the most effective ways possible.

Creative learning

If a part-time job isn’t something that is a priority at the moment, why not let the creative juices run free. Gaining experience using a variety of graphic editing tools can stand them in good stead either at a tertiary institute when compiling assignments or in the future world of work when presentations, projects and marketing becomes a way of life.

Canva provides a great foundation on which to build design skills. It makes design and video editing easy and fun. Logo and poster design, social media content and the like are all easily done using this tool. CapCut is another useful resource. Advanced filters, video editing and creative effects become a pleasure with this powerful solution. Of course, there is also plenty of education content such as Graphic Design Course that teaches the basics of visual communications.

Entrepreneurial spirit

It might even be a case of wanting to experiment with entrepreneurship before considering full-time studies. South Africans are known for their out of the box thinking and making do with unique products and services. Being an entrepreneur also enables the matriculant a master of their own destiny, quickly having to sink or swim in the business landscape.

There’re quite a few apps to help get those entrepreneurial juices flowing. The Business Ideas for Entrepreneurs and Startups provides great ideas to get started. It provides practical tips, tools and details on what might be needed to start a project. It’s also very online focused which makes it a great way to build a digital repertoire. FLASH Business can also be incredibly useful. Essentially, it’s a business in the matriculant’s pocket letting them sell on the move and earn straight from their smartphone.

Keeping in touch

Regardless of what the matriculant wants to do in their gap year, it’s always a clever idea to stay motivated and informed. Whether it’s getting a driver’s licence (K53 offers great training tips and tricks), knowing what’s going on in the world (News24 for all local and international news), or to experiment with other study options (Trace Academia provides unlimited free online learning courses), there’re just so many options to choose from.

The beauty of life is that its ever evolving. After high school many are uncertain about their life course but what matters is that they at least try to fulfil their desires. One can find what they absolutely love by exploring their interests and this is exactly what AppGallery is for.

February 01, 2023