My son is thinking of ditching A-Levels for an apprenticeship

[Justwingingitsince2007]

Long time lurker, first time poster.

My DS is in Y12. After doing ok in his GCSEs (not as well as predicted, but still good enough, predicted 7s, got mostly 6s and an 8 in Maths) he embarked on A-Levels (Maths, Physics, Chemistry). He has coasted all year, and has pretty much bombed his mocks, getting E’s across the board. His plan was always A-Levels, then Mechanical Engineering at uni.

He has resits in August to get into Y13, and to be fair has been revising throughout the hols so far.

However, he did his work experience at a large well known car manufacturer and off the back of that they have offered him an apprenticeship. They only offer 2 every 3 years. It’s a level 3 light vehicle maintenance qualification. It’s 3 years long. They have block release to their own specialist college. He will earn a wage.

He is volunteering there through the holidays and they have talked to him again about this apprenticeship. They have said he can have it now, or they will wait for him to finish his A-Levels and keep it open for him.

He wants to ditch his A-Levels and do the apprenticeship now instead. He couldn’t get into uni on this apprenticeship because it’s only worth 48 UCAS points. He says he doesn’t want to go to uni anyway now.

I think he should finish his A-Levels and then do the apprenticeship, so he has that back up, and he thinks he should just go for it now.

Will not having A-Levels hinder him in the future? I really don’t know what’s best. I know it’s ultimately his decision, but he wants my opinion and I want to give him the best advice.

Apprenticeship for sure and do it now. If he's already flunking his A levels what motivation will he have over the next year when he knows hebdoesnt need them for what he wants to do anyway.

Well done to him for impressing the employers enough to get the offer.
I have three who are very academic so it has been difficult not to push them towards uni but the two youngest have seen the eldest graduate with debt and try and find a decent job. One did an apprenticeship and is on £42k at 21. The other is working in an OK job she enjoys and doing some travelling with what she saves.
Apprenticeships or jobs!

You are right, it’s a company like Vauxhall etc. it offers two apprenticeships at a time. The situation is one apprentice left 6 months ago and they currently only have one apprentice at the moment.

They weren’t looking to fill the other one, so there is no live vacancy currently, they were just going to wait until the apprentice left finished and then get two new ones, however the boss can fill it anytime he wants. And he said he has been so impressed by DS that they want him to have it.

He went in to talk to the boss yesterday and the boss said he would start him as soon as DS wanted, right now, September, or once he has finished his A-Levels. And in the meantime DS can carry on volunteering there.

So my first reaction was ‘Brilliant! Carry on with A-Levels and then do the apprenticeship!’ But my gut feeling is DS doesn’t want to do that. And then there probably isn’t much point if he isn’t going to put in the work.

His other point was what if things change and they withdraw it, or what if the boss left the company before next year and the new boss didn’t take him on, and he lost the opportunity (no inkling that the boss is leaving, he has been there for years, but I get where he is coming from).

But I feel the same as you, as in completing A-Levels when he is older will be so much harder, and once you are in the world of work it’s difficult to go back to study and no wage. Plus if he started again in the future he would be starting from scratch. He finishes mid June next year, so it’s only 10.5 months.

And then I think if he isn’t going to enjoy his A-Levels, and do badly then what’s the point carrying on. It’s so hard to give him decent advice when I keep changing my mind about what that advice should be!

I said to him he may as well resit anyway, as resits are in 2 weeks, he doesn’t have to give his answer yet. He could see how his resits go and if they go badly then it’s an obvious choice. If does better (his teachers seem to think he will, his targets are Bs and they think a lot of the issue is poor exam technique and not really answering what the question is asking), then it may be worth delaying it until after his A-Levels. But ultimately it’s his decision.

I’m massively proud of him, and either way I’ll support him in what he wants to do, but it just feels like such a huge decision.

Another vote for apprenticeship from me! Work experience is just as attractive, probably more so, for practical careers, than A levels. My DS did electrical apprenticeship, is now a skilled engineer, job he loves, prospects, great money etc. Don’t worry OP.

I understand your dilemma but an extra year doing A levels reluctantly might be miserable and if it's a level 3 apprenticeship then it could lead to university eventually if that's what he wanted later.

I followed an entirely conventional academic path but my bright dyslexic kids have not. BTEC qualifications have been great for some of them and got them on really fab degree courses.

One of my YP crashed out of year 12 and then got a level 3 apprenticeship, then did hnc then went to uni a bit later and is now an engineer. So has really had the best of all worlds. However there are many ways of progressing without going to uni.

I will say that level 3 study on an apprenticeship is demanding because you are working and having to study and do a lot of coursework so it's not a lightweight option. Your DS will probably go to a local college and may do some residential courses with other apprentices in the company which are great fun.

Sorry for the long post but in the world of engineering/technical level 3 is level 3 and work based learning is equally valued or even seen as better than conventional a levels plus degree.

Good luck! It's hard launching these young people.

It is a Level 3 apprenticeship, and he has been told they have their own training facilities where he will go for 6 blocks, 2 weeks at a time each year.

It sounds like it was definitely the right choice for your YP, and maybe I’m just making too big a deal of A-Levels in my own head.

It’s just such a shift, and I’m quite a quick period, I don’t want him to jump into something unless he is 100%

If he got E's then unless he really understands what went wrong then it will be a long hard road to get these grades up. If he is committed to uni then it might be worth trying but if not the apprenticeship seems like a fabulous opportunity.

If you say no to the apprenticeship, he may just not work towards his A levels then he's left with nothing. Not everyone wants uni and debt

This more or less happened with our friends DS except in Scotland. 1.5 years on he is loving his apprenticeship and about to move to an even better one at another garage. He has paid for himself and his GF to go on holiday.

Meanwhile my DS got good higher grades and is off to uni where he won't earn for another 4 years and is doing a non specialised degree which may not lead to a job.

With pension age being so late these days, there is a lot to be said for getting into the job market as soon as you can if that's what you want to do.

I would tell him to do what his heart and gut is saying and I think that is taking the apprenticeship now. My friends son gets up at 6 every morning but says he doesn't mind because he loves what he is doing.

Take the Apprenticeship - my brother was similar 40yrs ago failed his AL did a IT apprenticeship worked his way up for 20yrs. Earning 100k+ then switched in his 40s did a degree in surveying later in life runs his own business still earning 6figs.
My DH did similar in engineering but after failing his first year of Degree, and he now mentors a young apprentice who they pay for day release for btec & now degree level training whilst paying him a good wage. Honestly if you have a kid who’s more practical let them follow that path and other opportunities always open doors you don’t know exist. Good luck to him

Another saying take the apprenticeship. Situation would be different if he was enjoying & excelling in his Alevels but he’s not so take the door that’s opened that he is enjoying & which has a great pathway.

At BMW they get the qualification & are earning 50k after 4 years without accruing student debt, it’s a very good option for those interested in the car industry.

This is a really good point. Because he's getting Es across his subjects, he's got a lot of work to do to improve his grades as it is. If for whatever reason the company doesn't keep its promise to hold the apprenticeship open, it will be very hard to motivate him.

My son went down the apprentice route at 16 with my blessing. He had excellent GCSE results but the experience an apprenticeship gives you is valued very highly against academic qualifications in future employment. He is now 30 and at managerial level whilst completing his last year with the Open University. He was head hunted for his most recent job despite no A levels or degree. Your son can always do a degree in his own time to further his career progression.

Some of the brightest pupils in Y11 are working out for themselves that A levels then university is not always the best goal and that apprenticeships, if offered, are the way to a fulfilling and well-paid career.
The country needs skilled, well-trained workers with vocational qualifications.

I would advise him to take his A Levels. He’ll then have his level 3 qualifications to go to Uni should be change his mind in a few years. As the garage has said they’ll wait for him to do his A Levels it’s a no brainier I think. My DD wanted to go drama college, she worked hard for her A Levels & got excellent grades. 4 years later she hasn’t got into drama school & is starting a degree apprenticeship for which she needed level 3 qualifications

If he doesn't want to go to uni then he doesn't need the A levels. And he's got all Es anyway which won't help with anything. Take the apprenticeship!

Take the apprenticeship.

1. He can always go back and sit a-levels or an appropriate access course to top up UCAS points if he changes his mind later.

2. He isn't enjoying the study, so he isn't going to do as well as he is capable of.
   He may return with motivation if he has a specific goal later and a break from formal education.

3. If he wants to work in the industry his apprenticeship is in, then opportunities from the employer for higher-level qualifications may well come along after the apprenticeship.

Apprenticeship 💯 big potential earnings and no debt. Their should be more Apprenticeships training young people in areas that are actually needed. Bricklayers, plumbers, electricians, chefs,hairdresser,rather than hordes of mickey mouse degrees and a mountain of debt which saddles people for years on end

Let him do the Apprenticeship now.
Trust me, there is a shortage of skilled and qualified mechanics in the UK. It will also be pushing water up hill trying to get him to do A levels.
If he wants to do a degree later on, there will be a way. If he is interested enough to work for free there it is clear that is where his heart is and he will fit in.

My son did this for an accounting apprenticeship and is now a chartered accountant aged 21 and saved enough to buy his own home.

I also think apprenticeship, and by taking it he would be ahead of the curve.

There is going to be a big reckoning for universities/HE sector in the next few years. There are already heaps of redundancies. Courses being dropped through lack of take-up. The sector has boomed but the debts graduates are coming out with are increasingly farcical and unsustainable - and the value for money just isn't there. Young people are not going to be signing up for degrees. If taxes are going up, Bank of Mum and Dad won't be able to help them through. Increasingly, I think, the switch back towards vocational options and practical routes will prevail. And that is what should happen. Employers value a proven attitude towards work and cracking on with things. This obsession with graduates is absurd.

Your DS will just be nicely ahead of the rest.

If he ends up with mediocre A levels or even a mediocre degree he will struggle to get anything like the opportunity the apprenticeship is offering. The academic path isn’t for everyone and unless he is a high flyer the outcome is often not worth the effort. He will regret it if he doesn't take this apprenticeship.

He should DEFINITELY do the apprenticeship. There are heaps of pathways to uni if he changes his mind but often only one shot at an apprenticeship. He'll learn, earn and grow up far faster too.