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

My daughter is taking her second year out. She didn't get the grades she wanted first time around, took a year out, travelled around South America with my niece and retook this June. She did better this time around than we,or her expected and now wants to reasses her options. I am hoping she will get a job with the British Embassy here in Abu, learn to drive and reassess her options. With the cost of University these days and the amount of debt kids are looking at I don't see the point in forcing the issue. There are no apprentaship options here. There should be. As I'm in education myself, I have been saying it for years. Only school, A levels and Uni for kids here. Worse if you have a son and not a daughter as sponshership then becomes tricky. There is much to be done with education for expat kids. I can hardly send her home to the UK now as she has never lived there. And neither my parents, or the in-laws are young enough to have her. Tricky times ahead.

Mine's only 4 so we're not quite there yet! However, I chose to take two years out before University, simply because I wanted some experience in the world of work (and wanted to make some cash!)

My little one is too young at the moment to think about university but i know i will be encouraging him to assess all his options because the cost of going to university is so high and it means they start out with so much debt. There are so many apprenticeships now which might be a better option.

Not yet, we still have some time before that. I am genuinely interested and a little worried about this when the times comes. I didn't go and have been fairly successful but I really want to see what opportunities are there for school leavers when that time comes. Over and above everything though it's about what my kids want to do, if it's something that needs further education then I'm all for it but I always encourage mine to find something that they'd love to do rather than what they think they should do.

I think apprenticeships can be so confusing these days with hidden terms in job adverts and different kinds, I do think they can be very useful when done correctly and when they provide realistic on the job training with an end job

My kids are about to start gcse. I am interested in the different options available.

My Son has decided to do a plumbing apprentiship rather than go to university. I think it's great to get a trade under your belt as people will always need a plumber!

They are not old enough yet but would advise them to try and get a part time job in their interest this leaves many doors open such as an apprenticeship, carrying this on into a full time role or carry in on into higher education

I didn't know there were degree apprenticeships. A bit like the old sandwich degrees, but with an employer - they sound really interesting.

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

Yes, I have been looking into apprenticeships with my daughter and it looks like something that she is really wanting to do

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

Im just looking at them at the moment with my daughter but i did one when i finished school and my little sister has just started one so i feel i know quite a bit about how they work. From the information what we have seen though it seems some things may have changed. I went to college one day a week with mine where as my sister does her training for her qualification on the job. I need to help my daughter look more into this.

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

I live in a big busy city (leeds) and i thought there would be more information and a lot more companies offering apprenticeships than there actually is. Companies that offer these should actually advertise what they do more so young school leavers know what sort of careers there are available

• Did you know that there are degree apprenticeships?

No, i havent seen anything about that as of yet

• Did you know you can become a solicitor without going to university full time?

No. If that is true then thats really good.

After obtaining 3 A Levels my son completed an apprenticeship, got his training certificates and is now a self employed data cable engineer earning good money and working all over the country he's done so well and I am so proud of what he's achieved

My child isn't old enough yet but I decided to not go to uni. I travelled when I was 18 ( 6 years ago ) after my alevels and when I got back I started working in insurance and worked my way up! Best thing I ever did, earn more than some slot of my friends who went to uni and have none of the debt !

My kids are too young still, but my youngest brother has just started University, he took a few years out to discover what he actually wanted to study, he left school wanting to be a chef and is now studying engineering! I wish I had taken an alternative route, my studies didn't get me anywhere and were in essence 3 years wasted.

My child has just completed her GCSE's and had exceptional results. All her teachers thought she would automatically take 6th form and A-levels route but she has opted for a specialist IT BTEC course with the prospect of a well paid apprenticeship upon completion or a place at University. She really wants to follow the apprenticeship route and her dad & I are fully behind her taking this route as opposed to attending University upon completion

my daughter did the pret school leaver level 3 qualification, she learned barista and customer service skills that have put her in good dstead to get part time jobs to support herself through university - I think uni is her end goal, but she was too young and fed up with school to take an academic route at that stage.

my daughter studied A level french spanish and maths at collage but didn't go to uni because she didn't want debt around her neck she is now an assistant manager at spuerdrugs but regrets not going to uni

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

It is very difficult to find the information

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

I only have a vague idea

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

It is really difficult, the information is not at all easy to find

• Did you know that there are degree apprenticeships?

No

• Did you know you can become a solicitor without going to university full time?

No

Hi all
Can anyone give me any information about the CAT scores from year 7.
My son has scored 139 in quantitative, 87 in spatial , 114 verbal reasoning and 105 non verbal reasoning. It is the big difference between quantitative and spatial that concerns me. I am not sure what it means. I know he is very quick with arithmetic and struggles with symmetry and rotation but I do not know if such a large difference indicates other issues. Thanks

I have Twins, one has decided the Uni route, the otner wants an apprenticeship. Uni one is sorted, got a unconditional offers for their 1st choice. The one looking for an apprenticeship is struggling. He has done a 2 yr college course, which he passed with merit, and doesn't want a niche job (wants a automotive repair apprenticeship) but still has not found a position. Maybe that he wants something too popular. He and I are both getting very worried and frustrated. The businesses we have approached (these were numerous) have taken on younger (and cheaper, as they were under 18) It seems that by doing a 2 yr BTec he has shot himself in the foot!