Apprenticeships - any experience (for your children)?

[nostaples]

I have 2 dcs. Dc1 happily at university, the right move for her, but dc2 not hugely academic, probs won't get a job which needs a degree. She's looking at apprenticeships (possibly for the BBC). Have any of your children gone through this route? Did it work for them? TIA

No personal experience but I researched them a bit for my dissertation.
Young people who did STEM subjects and construction tended to have positive experiences and find decent jobs afterwards. Less so for those that did them in traditional 'female industries' - especially hairdressing iirc.

(I wrote it this summer so recent data)

My son took this route. Overall I think apprenticeships are excellent but there are some caveats. Some apprenticeships (desirable ones) and particular those with further study requirements are i resold. The one my son landed had hundreds of applicants fro two places. He got one.

The first week he realised he had made a huge mistake. The reality was what he would be doing is not what the reality was and was much more manual Labour and basically boring monitoring. Despite really good salary ultimately it wasn't for him and he left

Basically, make sure you go to everything with him that you can. Ask detailed questions with him especially as to the actual job and opposite for future development

I'm not in the U.K. but their may be something similar

My niece is in Ireland and after her a level equivalent she managed to get on an apprenticeship scheme in a pharmaceutical company! They are paying her university fees for her degree, they pay her €25k per year and a whole host of other benefits including healthcare, bonuses and pension. My Dsis is thrilled for her!! She has pretty much a guaranteed job at the end too.

There not Their

A relative of mine did an apprenticeship after leaving uni mid way through. He was a straight A student at school and went to an excellent uni, but it just wasn't for him. It turned out to be a great decision as he has a great career and has a masters which was paid for by his employer.
All of the apprentices that were taken on at that time were around his age (20/21) and had very good school grades, college or uni experience and had some experience of working. Hundreds applied so the company could cherry pick the highest achievers with some experience of life and the world of work.

It's an excellent route to a secure job but the example I give is to demonstrate how fierce competition for apprenticeships is. Apprenticeships are no longer just for non-academic 16 years old school leavers. So I would suggest your DD think about what she would like to do then try to get part time work or volunteer doing something to gain relevant experience. Meanwhile she should work towards getting the best grades she can

I think the value of apprenticeships varies between the industries. If they can get an apprenticeship with a big name, or a council or NHS - go for it. IME the smaller companies are just after cheap labour and the grant and need to be avoided at all costs. Where I am there’s also not many places taking on apprentices. Also, with the new style ones they’re more academic than the old style ones - although I appreciate that this will vary between the different industries.

I did 2 years at uni and left to do a business admin apprenticeship with the civil service, I was about 21 at the time. It was very much luck of the draw as to which dept and area you got put into . I was lucky and got put in a digital area doing project management. The salary is usually at executive officer level so around 24/25,000 dependent on dept etc. I think it's a really good stepping stone into other areas. I'm now in HR and 2 grades above where I started. Plenty of training paid for and I'm just about to do another L7 apprenticeship in HR. I wish I'd took this route in the first place!

It does all hinge in getting a good one in a good industry unless you actually do want to be childcare worker or a hairdresser. I have seen great ones advertised recently for supermarkets where you will gain a degree and others via the MOD but these are obviously very competitive. If your young person gets their grades for English and Maths they will have better choices but apprenticeships are a good choice for those who leave with no qualifications as the maths, English ans possibly ict will be part of the training.