Apprenticeship or University?

[PottyLotty]

Im looking at returning to work after having 10 years out of the workplace bringing up my family.

I do not need to return to work immediately and I am unable to return to my previous role due to medical issues.

I had initially considered going back to university to retrain in a whole new career but it has been suggested to me that an apprenticeship would offer the same qualifications (over a longer period of time) and would give me that up to date work experience that I currently lack.

Is doing an apprenticeship at 40+ years of age a sensible route to take or would a university degree be a better option?

I would be hugely out of pocket initially if I chose the apprenticeship route as I have primary school age children and I would need to pay for childcare (my OH is a higher tax rate payer so we would not get any assistance in paying for this). The wage for Apprentices is nowhere near enough to cover the childcare in the first year but it would give me valuable workplace experience.

Would being a University student be a more sensible option? I believe I could apply for various family friendly grants/loans/bursaries that could help cover the cost of a large portion of my childcare fees.

Does anyone have any experience of being a mature apprentice ? Is it a better option than being a traditional student ?