Best apprenticeship at 16?

[isthesolution]

My daughter is predicted 8s and 9s in GCSEs but definitely doesn’t want to do sixth form - she wants to do an apprenticeship. Ideally one that she can build on to degree level in the future.

There Is no subject she particularly loves. She’d love a job that could longer term be hybrid. Definitely doesn’t want to do anything in health/social care and is wary of jobs the AI might take over in the near future (although very hard to know!)

What have you/your children done as an apprenticeship at 16 that you love and has led on to a degree/good job?

Thanks

I'm going to assume you mean that they love not that you love.

My DS did his apprenticeship in manufacturing and is now making above £30,000 a year at just turned 18.

But that won't lead to hybrid working in the future. She could look at accountancy/tax, unlikely unless it's a really big firm they would want her to do an accountancy degree but continue through the accountancy qualifications via apprenticeship which eventually leads to a degree level qualification. I work in this field and our apprentices are well paid and have a clear progression route within the company.

I would just say, an apprenticeship is very committing. It's effectively choosing your career at 16. Can she get some work experience to help her narrow down a sector?

Thank you. She’s done work experience already. In a primary school and sort of rules out teaching. And then in a financial company which was more interesting to her but quite exam heavy and they advised A Levels first which she sees as a firm no.

How? I dobt understand why you would think that. Anyone can change career at any point in their lives. It's no more committing than any other form of training / learning. Apprenticeships can be studied in just about any field now. I left school at 17 and did the equivalent of an Apprenticeship. Im in my 50s now and have had 4 career changes over the years.

Because if she decides to change to another career which requires a degree she won’t have funding to get one.

Why is she so against A Levels? If she wants a career and uni it seems quite an odd statement. Certainly not a sensible considered decision. On that basis alone I’d question whether she had the maturity to make that decision.

Does she realise she’ll have to study at Level 3 if she wants a degree/degree apprenticeship?

Not really. You could easily do an apprenticeship then move to another field. I don't think anything really cuts off your options these days. My career has nothing to do with my degree and I did my apprenticeship in my current career in my late 30s.

An apprenticeship is a level 3 qualification @titchy. So she wouldn’t need a levels as well. She is extremely mature; I don’t know why her wanting to do an apprenticeship and then go on to have a career and do a degree would suggest otherwise.

An apprenticeship can be level 2 up to level 7 so if she may want to use the apprenticeship qualification to access uni make sure it's a level 3 rather than level 2. I am a huge advocate for apprenticeships, my DS did his at 16 and honestly it was the making of him.

It would depend on the size of the qualification she does. It would need to be the equivalent of 2 A levels at least. And at Level 3. Are there many level 3 apprenticeships? There’s lots of Level 2 in trades, hair and beauty etc but a lack at Level 3 I think. Difficult if she doesn’t have a clue what to do though!

Again - why is she adamant she won’t do A levels?

You may find that in the current climate her choices are limited by the huge numbers of candidates compared to number of available apprenticeships . It isn’t really a case of just choosing your ideal one anymore, as there are so many candidates for every role.

To clarify - an apprenticeship is a term for a role that includes formal ‘off the job’ training. Typically four days at work and one day at college studying for a qualification.

The main thing I’d like to know is what sector people have done / their children have done apprenticeships in recently that have led to a good job/job they love?

She would want to do a level 3 initially but would aim to carry on to a
level 4 and hopefully level 5 in time.

She doesn’t want to do A levels - she doesn’t want to study in this way any longer. She doesn’t want another 2 years of exams and tests. She wants to learn while she learns and get experience in the career.

Has she looked at BTECs and extended diplomas - no or very few exams. Project based vocational approach - great for setting them for work and then could a level 4 apprenticeship after.

A lot of places are stopping to offer these in favour of T levels and the new V levels that are on the way. We have been to several opened as with DS with a view to doing BTECs and most are saying it will have to be a T level instead.

Apparently I’m an outlier here but I think OPs daughter is switched on and it’s a great idea..a levels and university aren’t the be all and end all.

OP what subjects interest your daughter at the moment? That could help guide her into something. A lot of companies are trying to even the engineering field to be less male based and there’s a lot of different areas for engineering if that would interest her (but she’d probably have to enjoy maths as a subject). National grid have quite a lot of level 3 apprenticeships advertised at the moment that are worth looking at. Also what area of the country are you in? British airways do a HR apprenticeship but it’s near Heathrow. Rolls Royce, Airbus and AWE nuclear systems have got some open too at the moment.

My advice is check all the big companies (and the civil service) as whilst with rolls Royce you think cars - they do have other sorts of apprenticeship opportunities available in business management etc.

In direct answer to your question - Food Science. 3 years to do the Level 3 and then another 4 years to do the Level 6 though. It’s all lab/office based whilst qualifying but once qualified it can be hybrid working.

I work in Apprenticeships at a FE, lots of Apprenticeships for 16 year olds are Level 2, which is the equivalent of GCSEs, some Level 3 ones require learners having to do Level 2 first. This may be where some confusion arises.
If your daughter is mature then she may enjoy an apprenticeship, some learners however miss being around ppl their own age and can feel isolated if the company is small.
I hope your daughter finds something she enjoys, each college can offer different options so exploring that could be a starting point.

Not sure of the offerings at 16, but we have level 6 and 7 apprentices in analytical sciences. The sciences have a broad range of potential careers - could this be a possible area she would enjoy?

I’d probably suggest looking at pharmacy technician apprenticeships - they’re at level 3.

otherwise as op suggested do the ones that give the AAT accounts qual and go up through those levels.

T levels might be worth looking at or checking out companies like Cadent who offer 3 year apprenticeships with a job at the end.

if she changed her mind later then it’s easy- go on an Access course to get the new subject knowledge then use that for uni entry.

Near me the Level 3 apprenticeships (I know more about engineering than others) take 3-4 years so it is quite a lot of time to commit if you did decide you wanted to do something else after. And then you are quite sepcialised.

My DC did/are doing BTECs in subjects they liked to Level 3, then they have the option of a Level 4-6 apprenticeship, a job or even going to uni/degree apprenticeships.
Many of the law and business apprenticeships (again, round here) are Level 4.

OP, has she seen an apprenticeship that she wants to do yet?

Not my own kids but I work in HR and have worked and studied with people who have started off in a business or HR apprenticeship and then gone into higher levels, the highest being equivalent to a post grad, level 7.
Has she done any work experience?

Engineering. There's an aging workforce, plenty of room for advancement for those that are able. Very well paid. AI isn't going to be fixing engines.

@Littletreefrog You can go sideways but you cannot transfer from an engineering degree to nursing. You have to stay in your career and you cannot do every degree role afterwards. Likewise a nurse cannot do a degree in engineering later on without paying. It’s sensible to choose well.

I also agree it’s odd to not want A levels. The job will then matter a lot. Will they even give you a chance to do a degree. Some might but not universally. Beware of great salaries quoted. Most are very low and are not at grad level at 18.

@OhDear111 I'm not entirely sure what you are talking about. Of course you can't transfer mid degree from engineering to nursing and expect your previous years to count but there is absolutely nothing to stop you ending your engineering degree and starting a nursing degree.

You also absolutely don't "have to stay in your career' whatever that means.

Yes there are funding issues and doing multiple qualifications and switching between can mean you have to self fund more than maybe you would have had to if you hadn't but there is nothing actually stopping you as long as you can finance it.

I have a degree in a completely unrelated field to my career and I got my professional qualifications for my current career by completing a level 5 apprenticeship whilst in my 30s.

I don't think it's helpful to suggest to 16 year olds that what they choose at this stage will have life long implications and they can't change direction at a later date.

She’s going to have to exams in her apprenticeship and in many ways it’s harder because often its self-study, rather than being taught.

Also, it’s irrelevant what our children love, because they’re not your dc. What my child loves, yours may hate.

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