Has your child decided to take a different route and not go to university on a full time basis? Tell the National Apprenticeship Service about your experience. £300 voucher to be won! NOW CLOSED

[PoppyMumsnet]

Figuring out whether your DC wants to go to university or not can be a stressful period for both parents and DCs alike. If your child has decided not to go to uni full time, it’s often hard to know what other options are out there. The National Apprenticeship Service, which is part of the Department for Education, wants to hear about Mumsnetters’ experiences of finding alternatives to uni. They want to know whether you’ve heard of the different apprenticeships options and whether they’re appealing to you and your DCs.

Here’s what the National Apprenticeship Service has to say on apprenticeships:

“The government has stated that all young people must stay in some sort of education or training until at least their 18th birthday. This does not necessarily mean staying in school. Young people have a choice about how they continue in education or training post 16. One of these choices could be an apprenticeship. An apprenticeship is a real job, with real training, meaning you can earn while you learn and gain the necessary skills and professional competencies in your chosen career. They are available to anyone over the age of 16 living in England. There are different entry requirements depending on the sector and job and can last from a minimum of one year up to five years.

At any one time, there are up to 28,000 apprenticeship vacancies available online in a variety of careers and industries across England such as the likes of Rolls-Royce, BBC, ASOS, ITV, Barclays, Airbus, IBM and Google, as well as thousands of small and medium-sized businesses.”

Here is more information from the National Apprenticeships Service about apprenticeships

They also have a partnership with The Student Room which you can access here

Here are a few questions that the National Apprenticeships Service is interested in hearing your thoughts about. Please comment on the thread below.

• If your child has decided not to go to college/university, have you been able to find out what other options are out there?
• Do you know how apprenticeships work - do you know what qualifications they give and what they pay? Please tell us about your experience.
• How difficult has it been for you to find information about apprenticeships and what types of apprenticeships are available?
• Did you know that there are degree apprenticeships?
• Did you know you can become a solicitor without going to university full time?

Everyone who posts on the thread will be entered into a prize draw and one person will win a £300 voucher.

Thanks and good luck with the prize draw!

MNHQ

Standard T&Cs apply

visit www.apprenticeships.scot for info on apprenticeships in Scotland. its a bit different from south of the border. they can do apprenticeships at school, modern apprenticeships and new ones where you can get a degree.

i have one son(19) at uni but my 15 year old son is unsure and is looking at college as an option. we will look into apprenticeships now after reading this. not really sure what his options are but we will be looking at the website to get information

My child applied for lots of apprenticeships but didn't get accepted for any. It was quite hard finding out what was available.
So they are now working part time and didn't do what the Government says they must...stay in some sort of education or training... I would love that to have happened but there wasn't any help with ensuring that

My DD had a very rough time at school and ended up being permanently excluded. This was just before her GCSE's , she wasn't allowed to take part in any of the revision classes and I held out little hope that she would pass any. She was allowed to sit the exams in isolation and managed to gain 5 all at C grade. I was thrilled for her.

She didn't want to go to college as it would mean seeing her class mates which she felt unable to do, so she decided to opt for an apprenticeship. She started as a Business Administration apprentice and it turned her life around , so much so that she was given an award for outstanding contribution to education.

We found that there was lots of information on apprenticeships and the National Appreciateship website was very straightforward to use. I really would recommend it to others .

My son completed a higher diploma in engineering at the local college and then due to a serious operation he stayed working at a garage as he needed a long period of sick leave. Now at age 19 and fully recovered he has got a 4 year higher apprenticeship as a crane engineer at a local company which is part of a global group and offers a mix of on the job trains no with further qualifications from a college. This has really suited him and allows him to earn some money while gains no further qualifications.

I meant to add that her Apprenticeship is helping youngsters find suitable Apprenticeships , so if anyone has any questions, I can ask her for you.

My daughter is at uni

I couldn't get much info on it.
my experience with school have been they are all pushing for higest grades and uni
I wouldn't know if there is already but I think it would be an idea to have a talk,assembly imformation in school open for students to come talk to them about different options like apprenticships.i no there are career advisors but I still always see them pushing grades and uni choices.

oh another thing is all I here of in apprentiships is people saying they do the dogsbody stuff that nooone else wants to

My son has taken up an electrical engineering apprenticeship this September.

Many years ago our eldest daughter wanted to be a Lawyer but didn't want to go to Uni and put an extra financial burden on us. Instead on leaving school she got a job with a local solicitors and over the next few years she did her Law degree via the OU. She has now been a Lawyer for over 15 years and she now lives in Australia.

They decided to get a job instead of going to university, after a year of saving money from the job they went travelling around the world and came back a much more confident person and has now decided that not going to university was the best decision they could have made. They have now got another job and couldn't be happier.

My daughter tried an apprenticeship, but her health collapsed due to long term illness. She had just nearly finished and had begun to apply for jobs, although the jobs she did apply for went on to appoint graduates, even where the degree was not related. Now she is doing an Open University course at home.

thankfully we don't have to think about that for a few years yet

• If your child has decided not to go to college/university, have you been able to find out what other options are out there?

Early days yet, my dc hasn't thought about college much yet and changes what she wants to be when she is older on a frequent basis.

• Do you know how apprenticeships work - do you know what qualifications they give and what they pay? Please tell us about your experience.

No experience in this area yet but will be researching about apprenticeships nearer the time when dc is considering her options

• How difficult has it been for you to find information about apprenticeships and what types of apprenticeships are available? no applicable yet and envisage it changing the by time my dc is affected
• Did you know that there are degree apprenticeships? no
• Did you know you can become a solicitor without going to university full time? no

University is proving to be a costly burden for life. Though I’d rather my child made an informed choice based on what is a good career fit. Personally, I went via the vocational route.

They're a bit young yet but my parents supported me in whatever decision me and my brother choose so I will help them of course but not push them into anything they didn't want to do!

Three of my step daughters have chosen not to go to university, but to stay at home, work full time and study with The Open University. One managed a baby, teacher training and major spinal surgery as well! (And got 1st class honours in her masters!) I don't know how they've done it.

My children are a little young to think about university yet, however I was shocked to see that they could become a solicitor without going to university full time?

One did and it has been better off. His call wasn't schooling more than it needed be and I was concerned but...It is not fair to force a Uni career on a child. All being said we are truly happy with the results...In my head I still say College would have being so good ...

Mine is too little to be thinking about this, but I have had apprentices where I work and would definitely recommend them. I've had varying degrees of success with apprentices, but I think those who are engaged, interested and want to learn can take way more away than if they had gone to University.

My nephew has decided to train as a carpenter after seeing my eldest and his older siblings work their socks off at Oxbridge and leave with enormous debt despite working over every summer at well paid internships. He enjoys working with his hands and judging by my neighbour who is a builder/carpenter he could have a very lucrative and satisfying career. I think far too much emphasis is put on getting a degree for some children who are not suited to the academic route rather than other further qualifications.

If your child has decided not to go to college/university, have you been able to find out what other options are out there? - He really needs advice as to what he wants to do first!

• Do you know how apprenticeships work - do you know what qualifications they give and what they pay? Please tell us about your experience. I know there are different levels; so Yes

• How difficult has it been for you to find information about apprenticeships and what types of apprenticeships are available? easy to google 'Apprenticeships'!

• Did you know that there are degree apprenticeships? Yes

• Did you know you can become a solicitor without going to university full time? No, quite surprised actually

My son is still trying to find his way! He wasn't interested in learning and although he has worked at various things is drifting a bit. I don't even know that an apprenticeship would have helped until he is in the right frame of mind! In the meantime I am just glad he isn't a burgler...that is what he told me he wanted to be when he grew up at age 5!

There are so many people now who go to University and struggle to find work so I think learning skills via an apprenticeship is in some ways better equipping my daughter for the future , so I see this as a good option for her.