To ask what you really think of apprenticeship s

[Soannoyingititchessobad]

My year 13 DS is looking at apprenticeships for his next step. We’ve seen some great ones and this route seems ideal for him. His girlfriend has already secured a great degree apprenticeship with an international company and will earn a good salary whilst getting this degree and experience.

DS’s girlfriend is very bright and is doing very academic A levels and is likely to do very well in them. She is really happy with the apprenticeship route and we are so proud of her.

This is my AIBU. Lots of my friends have said ‘I can’t believe she’s doing an apprenticeship. What a waste. She should be going to Uni because she’s so bright’. I’m really shocked. My family (siblings, husband, his family) have all been to Uni but see apprenticeships as an equally great career path. I just wanted to know what others think - is the general feeling really that apprenticeships are inferior to a degree and only for people who aren’t really academic?

I know people will say ‘do what’s right for your kid and ignore others’ thoughts’ but it just sparked an interest in me and wanted to understand what others think

One of my dd’s friends is doing a degree apprenticeship with a multinational law firm - there was huge competition for the six places starting in September and so far she’s really enjoying it. Another friend has just got an apprenticeship at the BBC. These are both very bright girls who also had offers from Russell group universities but decided that wasn’t for them. My dd did a level 3 apprenticeship on an eventing yard - she knew she wanted to ride professionally so that was the best route for her. And to be honest I’m glad she didn’t go to university as school was a disaster for her mental health and the thought of her perfectionism running wild without the moderating effect of being at home gave me he heebie-jeebies. As it was she moved out of home as soon as she’d sat her last A-level exam and rapidly learned about budgeting, managing her time, healthy nutrition etc and grew up very fast.

We have a paramedic degree apprenticeship but it’s only available for internal applicants. It’s a brilliant way to train paramedics. The police also run an apprenticeship. There is no reason why doctors couldn’t be educated using a well designed medical degree apprenticeship.

@thinkyone I think I would have struggled with that.
I kept telling myself that a lone 16yr old girl in a strange hotel room would be absolutely fine. She's one of two girls on the course.

Friend of DS goes to uni two days a week over four years (usual degree is three years). He also gets weeks of study leave. Uni days are long and intensive.
The practical side of the course would be more than covered in his working hours.
He has less time to socialise than straight uni students - it's harder work. The uni might not be top tier but in his field, it's a lot easier to get a job having both relevant work experience and a degree, than coming out as a fresh graduate. It's also very likely he will be kept on where he is, which at the moment is what he wants.

I just think people honestly don't understand them or are just not very bright.
I have 2 degrees.
1 done through University full time.
1 done through a degree apprenticeship. The amount of modules, assignments, exams were exactly the same as full time equivalent. It's an extremely intense route alongside working at the same time but we were all by far the most sought after applicants for jobs. Also I was paid nearly 30k a year plus all my Uni fees. There's a reason they're so competitive.

Far more difficult and competitive to gain a place on a highly sought after Degree Apprenticeship than a place at University to study a degree full time.

You do understand Degree Apprenticeships study their degree at University?

I think that degree apprentiships are brilliant and there should be far more of them. If someone gets one I assume they are very bright and motivated.

I think many level 3 and 4 apprentiships also are well structured and worth doing.

I think some of the level 2 and 3 ones are a bit dubious and are just cheap labour with no real job prospect and training that isnt yseful. Not all. Some are good.

Didn't RTFT. Just some of OP.

Degree apprenticeships are few in number and extremely difficult and competitive to get. They also tend to be part of career paths that my kids weren't keen to follow.

Trade and vocation apprenticeships are easier to get but also under-supplied and involve long travel hours from where my kids grew up, require being on low pay for years.

those are what I feel & believe.

I have never come across anyone who has done a degree/professional apprenticeship. Actually, traditional trades apprenticeships are pretty rare in my experience.

My experience, of "apprenticeships" has been the rebranding of the old "skillseekers/YTS" schemes as apprenticeships - i.e. slave labour. A family member, for example, was an apprentice warehouse worker, until he hit 18 and needed more than £1.50 per hour when he got binned.

They route you are referring to sounds amazing, but most people won't have come across it, and are maybe just cynical.

Ita a different route. What's better is down to the individual and to an extent, the kind of course they want to do.

Your friends say "what a waste".

That's a passive aggressive way of saying "your choice is wrong". Id be wondering why they're doing that. Are they perhaps worried about their own choices??

I can only speak for the course my eldest is on.

The apprentice students do 9 to 5 one day a week (and apply their knowledge in the workplace, more and more as the course progresses).

The course is 5 years.

The full time students do about 8 hours lectures a week for 3 years.

Whilst i completely agree with you about professional qualifications I don't think I've ever worked anywhere that the MD/CEO/Big boss was an accountant, they don't usually have the mindset required ime

They differ so no one can give a flat comment about them.

My DS did a degree apprenticeship and is still there 10 years later. He was paid well, could live, pay rent and run his car on the apprentice wage, and then went straight into work without any student debt. These are very very competitive. Not necessarily highest grades - hes a C grade GCSE student but with stellar BTEC grades and a whole load of personal stuff that illustrated his passion and showcased ability.

Then there are those that rely on paying the minimum apprentice wage and then NMW. If the experince and training is excellent these can still be worth doing. However it depends and some can be poorer quality.

What matters is the young person makes up their own mind.

I'm not sure what your point is, just amongst my friendship group and places I've worked there are young people who have done both professional and more traditional trade apprenticeships

Your experience is by no means typical and most school leavers now would be aware of degree apprenticeships imo

I guess because they don't have 20 weeks off a year and have their lectures over one long day rather than 10 - 15 hours spread over a week. There is often very little contact time on uni courses these days!

That said DS is doing a degree apprenticeship and hates the uni part. Loves his work, but uni is behind the curve and the teaching is too basic. Whole modules where he's learnt nothing new and they're now on their 4th course lead in a year and a half. It's a hugely missed opportunity, but he'll get a degree and has learnt an incredible amount from his job - much more than he would ever learn at a uni IMO. Fortunately his final project for uni will be decided by him and his workplace and not by his uni.

most people would kill to get on one

@poetryandwine The engineering apprentices that we interviewed knew how to use very complex software and had a better understanding of building regs, compliance, calculations and materials. University grads simply couldn't compete.

You learn SO much on the job. It's really amazing for some industries.

A degree apprenticeship is the best of both worlds. They are harder to get than almost any university entry.

My niece has got an offer from Oxbridge to do Law but is having an interview next week for a competitive apprenticeship with a Law firm. She says she won’t be able to decide if she has an offer from that too. I really think apprenticeships are seen as the better choice nowadays to be honest.

It depends on what the actual apprenticeship is but I think they are good . I hate to say it but I think in the future a lot of college degrees are going to be meaningless what with AI taking over. So it’s really all about what sort of career the apprenticeship would provide . I know it’s not a degree but I’d be delighted if my son decided to become a plumber or en electrician and got into an apprenticeship programme successfully..

This is pure silliness. Even F1 teams have engineering apprentices

Half of FTSE CEOs have a finance background and more than a quarter are qualified accountants. More than half of FTSE 100 CEOS have a background in finance | The Association of Corporate Treasurers

Precisely

Precisely what? 75% of CEOs aren't accountants.

Clearly you have met the ones in the 25%, I've worked with the ones in the 75%

Whose experience is more typical?

It depends on the person and the apprenticeship, my son went to uni and loved it, his friend didn’t want to and got an apprenticeship with one of the big four accountancy firms and did great, no student debt and earning a great wage from 18. Nothing to do with anyone but the people involved.