Paid Apprenticeships with degree

[Maggiethecat]

Dd2, year 10, has been telling me about paid apprenticeships and being very money driven would like to explore this path.

I'm not sure how serious she is as she doesn't even really know what she wants to do afterwards but she is very academic (social sciences leaning) and likely to get offers from very good unis.

I think that route is probably good for people who know what they want to do and getting paid experience and a degree at the end sounds appealing.

Does anyone have any experience of apprenticeships and which field?

There's is now no upper age limit on apprenticeships so anyone can apply.

The government introduced a levy fund system a few years ago which enables small and large business to access the fund which pays for the apprenticeship program

You can get an apprenticeship in almost any field these days!

Take a look here, it will show all of the companies seeking and apprentice

You can also register on here and show what type of apprenticeship your looking for and apply

www.gov.uk/apply-apprenticeship

Not recent experience but DD looked at degree apprenticeships (economics) in 2020.

Government Economic Service one looked great but location of job and university (Kent) didn't suit (we are in the Scotland).

Applied for Business Economics one with a bank locally. Got thru to the final assessment centre which was delayed due to covid but withdrew. They didn't provide the detail DD wanted about day to day job and modules of the degree. Attitude was let us decide whether we want you first before we provide you that level of detail. DD had done work experience with an investment bank the previous summer and hadn't loved it so was a bit meh about banking anyway.

In the end she chose a flexible 4 year uni course with a placement. Just as well as hated uni economics and has switched to social policy with quants. Fees are free for us and DD has continued to work part time so will leave uni without any student loan debt. She misses out on the guaranteed graduate job. However both my DSs have found grad jobs fairly easily so maybe not so big a deal.

A friend’s DC started with PwC a few years ago. The department theynwere in didn’t really match with their interests and they felt they wanted a more traditional university experience so they dropped out , resat an A level and went to university the next year.

You can get an apprenticeship in almost any field these days!

That's really not true! They are training for vocational jobs. So law, nursing, engineering, digital skills, HR yes - broad 'social science' - no.

If she knows exactly what job she wants then google or use the link posted below. If she doesn't know then you don't want her to end up with a degree that qualifies her for one and only one job, and no possibility of getting another degree.

Plus degree apprenticeships are hugely competitive - far more so than Oxbridge!

we have an apprentice architect!

We have tons of apprentices at work. I work in IT so a lot of ours are doing the Digital & Technology solutions degree which means they are paid full time and work for us 4 days a week, then do 1 day a week at Uni.

Our work pays for the degree as well. I don't know if other companies do this but we use the apprenticeship as a permanent offer of employment so once they have completed their degree they know they have a job.

DC is an Accountant and at the moment they only seem to have Apprentices rather than take on graduates.

@MumE78 - just had a look and it seems there are quite a few for engineering/accounting which doesn't surprise me but it reinforces the idea that it probably suits those who know specifically what they want to do.

@SandyIrvine - we're in Scotland too although she will consider down south too for uni or an apprenticeship. Couldn't work out if you need to pay if doing an apprenticeship in England. Screenshot shows the position in Scotland - although it says you don't have to pay you still have to apply for SASS funding so I'm presuming that if doing it in England you'd have to apply for funding which would be treated like the tuition loan for university or would tuition fee be picked up by the employer?

I can't really get excited about this option because she doesn't really know what she wants to do and we've been chatting about careers - she mentions the usual banking, finance, law.

It's funny, because I was looking at the less conventional degree courses thread and picked up social policy (didn't know that was a thing) and asked Dd about it but she seemed a bit meh.

From what you describe though it seems that the application process may be hit or miss and I also think that you have to be very confident in wanting the career path chosen.

Great that it's working out for your dd.

I don't understand how going to university one day per week is enough? I assume it is a weeks lectures condensed into one day, so wouldn't this be very pressured for a student who is essentially working full time?

They can be a good option.

Downsides - you don't get to choose where you do the degree, the employer does. That sometimes means an online only degree so you don't get to meet other students/experience student life. This maybe OK if working as part of a large company with lots of apprentices, but may be bit lonely in a smaller set up.
It can also mean having to cope with moving out of home to a new area/new job/studying all at the same time. There aren't generally Halls of residence for apprenticeship students. This will likely only suit very organised students.
Often relate to very specific degrees which means that if the student decides a career in that field isn't for them it's less easy to transfer to a different area than with a more generic degree.
You will probably be tied for working with the firm for a specified period post-graduation.
There are often professional qualifications required after gaining a degree (although this is obviously true if the normal path is followed too)
There is no central place to find apprenticeships, and no defined application route (unlike UCAS for unis). There is an awful lot of admin required just to keep up with several applications.
The selection process is rigorous and competitive - several rounds of interviews/testing etc and you still have to get your grades at the end of it.

Obviously the plus side is being paid, no student debt and a wealth of work experience once graduated.

You can apply direct to unis AND have applications for apprenticeships running at the same time.

Most don't attend uni physically. They receive online support, webinars rather than lectures, books, online assessment of modules. They get a day a week to work on these but will probably put some additional effort in.

Their day to day work should contribute to their practical use and understanding of the subjects they are studying.

For digital in particular the apprentices reach the end of their degree with multiple years of practical experience, which makes them far more employable than other graduates.

They can be well paid (my DS in third year of digital degree apprenticeship with a bank is now on £30k+) plus no degree debt.

The negative is that they miss out on the social aspects of uni, moving away from home etc.
As a self managed degree it only suits people who are self driven

Uni fees were paid by employer for the 2 apprenticeships DD looked at so need for SAAS or RUK equivalent. I think in both cases uni part was in blocks equivalent to 1 day per week. Salary for the Government one was just enough to live on away from home.

Government economic service degree apprenticeships looked good. However if anything like the FastStream they are really competitive.

They are an excellent option for driven students not looking for a university experience. Sil studied pt for her level 3 (btec I think) then pt for her degree all whilst being paid. She had bought a house (not SE) before even graduating. A friend of my kids is currently on this pathway due to graduate next year

@Seeline - thanks for those points. I think she should go for a uni experience despite the advantages the apprenticeship can offer.

Apprenticeships aren't full time - they're often a year or two longer than the equivalent.

The usual agreement is an 80/20 split. So 80% working 20% uni. The degree apprenticeships often last around 4 years and a lot of your work is on projects that are related to the modules covered in lectures.

Some unis do one day per week. Others do online web based learning every day and lots of other combinations available.

Often the uni and employer work closely together to make sure the relevant content is covered and that the students aren't getting burnt out

Perhaps the best solution is that she tries to find a job and thinks about applying for the year after for something. University is very expensive if you are going for the sake of it with no end goal in mind, and degree apprentiships are amazing but they are specific degrees rather than say generic humanities degrees that leave lots of doors open. Of course she might enjoy working and having a wage and not want to do on to study, but it's her life isn't it so up to her. Depending what she's into perhaps even the military would be a good option; the RAF especially has many opportunities to earn a decent wage whilst getting valuable civilian qualifications. I'd go for something in IT/tech if she's money driven.

x posted with a few posters - thanks for the perspective. sounds like it can work out very well for some.

They are training for vocational jobs.

This doesn't seem like a very helpful comment to me. Very few people walk into a fulfilling job straight from university. It takes some time to navigate the workplace and find the right place for a fulfilling career.

Degree apprenticeships are rightly highly sought after. Paid employment, support to take a degree and an almost guaranteed job at the end is a pretty good alternative to taking out loans in order to live and study with no job at the end.

People who have both a degree and three years experience in the work place are in many cases better placed to find a job than those with just one or the other.

Very many people go on to roles which have little or nothing to do with their degree subject. My employer runs three degree apprenticeships, in Finance, Marketing and Technology, all three are oversubscribed

The successful candidates are given a great start and many go on to be very successful in a wide range of roles.

Really not what I would call a 'vocational' training, much more a springboard to good things.

Ds is doing his degree level apprenticeship with network rail. They offer lots of different levels and options. He is in the engineering side but at the application process he met people who were applying for more office base roles and things like accounts or hr.

he’s enjoying it. It’s more on the job than college but he goes off for weeks at a time on courses and lectures and the first 6 months of it hadn’t been covid would have been all theory at uni. But was online. The rest is on the job and he has supervision and is assessed by line managers etc as he goes so I assume like other vocational courses part of the final mark includes practical grades as well as essays.

@Artwodeetoo - I did wonder about IT/tech for her too. She chose social sciences and despite me suggesting that she take CS to give her a bit more scope she didn't take it (strangely, because she is quite tech savvy and is bright). She's now saying that although she loves history etc she doesn't want to end up not having a high earning potential.

@Maggiethecat I was never convinced of the apprenticeship route for my DD. She's the most academic of my 3 and also a good all rounder. However her interests change frequently.

How about a flexible social science degree somewhere good eg LSE where she can do paid internships in the holidays to get a feel for where she wants to work. DD did an online internship with a management consultancy. They pay huge bucks (but expect a lot). That might suit your money orientated DD. My DS2 likes money and has sold his soul to big US tech.

@SandyIrvine - sounds exactly like my DD. She started off at about 7 yo saying she wanted to be an estate agent and would collect the espc magazine on the weekly shop for years 😂

She's very academic but in a peverse way is feeling the pressure of that and I think it has been mentioned at school that she would have been good at stem. But that's not where her interests lie.

I think a paid internship sounds good. I'll see if any scottish uni runs them as although LSE sounds good I would much rather she avoided fees if possible.

re Ds2 - I suppose the good thing is if you make enough money you can always leave it for something you love eventually 🤔

You can do an amazing accountancy apprenticeship. You study and work for around 4-5 years, become a qualified accountant with no uni debt and a good job with one of the large firms. Plus one of the accountancy bodies lets you sit a degree on top if you want. All with no uni debt.

I did it years ago so wasn't an apprenticeship but my employer let me do one day a week day release at local poly. Our day was 9 am to 7 pm, one of the lecturers said we did as many lectures in a day as fulltime students did in a week although it took us 4 years instead of 3.

I had a fulltime job and 2 kids. I found it easier than the young and fancy free, I used to say they were making a choice of doing assignments instead of going out clubbing, my choice was doing the ironing or my assignments. Funnily enough I found the assignments more appealing than the 18 year olds did.

It is demanding and I was broken by the end but it was worth it. I think just going off to uni for 3 years would be easier but I couldn't do that as I needed to work.