tell me about apprenticeships

[ssd]

what are they

are any of your kids doing this?

any info appreciated

[ssd]

bump

[TheWoollybacksWife]

DH (HR bod) recommends looking at the National Apprenticeship website.

[ssd]

ah thank you xx

[ssd]

just clicked on the link, does it apply to Scotland as well?

[TheWoollybacksWife]

No - National Apprenticeship Council is for England and Wales. Skills Development Scotland looks like it may be the equivalent.

[secretscwirrels]

I work in a large public sector organisation where they have taken on many apprentices.
All placed in roles formerly done by proper paid staff and with little training or support, often left alone after a couple of weeks to do the job which was previously done by a proper paid member of staff. I fully expect them all to be got rid of after the one year contract and replaced by more.
( Yes -- you guessed it's the NHS)
I despair and I'm angry, they have been conned and I urge any parent who's DC is thinking of apprenticeship to look long and hard at the track record and small print.

[exoticfruits]

DS 2 did one and is skilled with no debt. Unfortunately they are like gold dust- he wrote over a hundred letters with very little response - he got one just in time. Hopefully they are getting easier.

[kansasmum]

My ED did one and they created a job for her at the end of her training. She is working for the NHS in a medical practice and is doing very well. There are some great apprenticeships out there.

[Lonecatwithkitten]

I take on apprentices, but don't pay the pittance they recommend. They are often hard work for example in my field the achieve the same qualification as a foundation degree. The degree has two years full time at college and one in industry. The apprenticeship is four days in industry and one a college for nine terms. The volume to be learnt is the same.
You need to be very organised and very dedicated.

[ruby1234]

My DS has almost completed a years apprenticeship with Vital Rail, he is trained and (almost) qualified as a rail engineer.

This will enable him to work on the railways, but the jobs are all self-employed. The money is good, once qualified. He received £95/week pay as an apprentice and has thoroughly enjoyed the course.

[ontheallotment]

Mine's about to start one next week for engineering. It lasts four years, the first two away from home (with accomodation & food provided) and the pay increases each year, starting on about minimum wage and rising to something quite decent by the end. There were over 200 applicants per place though.

[exoticfruits]

I think the 200 applicants per place is quite normal.

[northernlurker]

Secret - that is NOT true of all apprenticeships in the NHS. I manage an apprenticeship post. It came about when we converted a part time Band 2 post in to a full time apprentice. The postholder is properly trained and supported and always has a more senior member of staff to go to if I'm not there. The pay is awful but they get the same paid holidays and sick pay as permanent staff and 1/2 day a week to go to college - the NVQ is funded. I take my responsibilities very seriously and put a lot of work in building their skills and doing application form prep and intereview prep with them. Both my previous apprentices have gone straight on to 'proper' jobs. The first was promoted again within 6 months. I will be recruiting again this month and fully expect next year's apprentice to do the same.

OP - picked carefully an apprenticeship, even one paying the pittance that's the wage - can be a great start to a career.

[secretscwirrels]

northernlurker I'm sure they are not all the same which is why I said look at the track record. Sadly from what I have seen they are using them as cheap labour.
Example: 16 year "ward clerk" old left on her own after two weeks on a busy ward because all the proper staff were off. IMO she should have been moved elsewhere or someone should have been put on with her. She got very stressed and went off sick.

[ssd]

this is really interesting, I always naively thought apprenticeships were for kids who couldn't make the grades required for college/uni, but they seem to be better than that

would you rather your kids did an apprenticeship or go to uni/college, anyone?

[exoticfruits]

I have 3DSs and the one with the apprenticeship is the best off. He has a skill and has done every course going since. One day he might take it further and continue at university.
If you go to university you need a clear idea of what you want to do. Our restaurants and shops are full of graduates with good degrees who can't get jobs.
Many graduates are starting in jobs that you used to get after O'levels in my day.
Apprenticeships are even more difficult to get now that students with good A'levels are applying as a better bet than thousands of pounds worth of debt with no guarantee of a job at the end of it.

[northernlurker]

ssd - my apprentice last year had very good grades and so did NVQ level 3 rather than 2. I expect dd1 will go to university but tbh if she wanted to do an apprenticeship and it was one with a future then I'd be ok with that.