A Level Revision and Applying for Degree Apprenticeships

[Lotty1970]

Hey all,

It's been a minute since I hopped on MumsNet, my no longer little son is now 18 and in the run up to A Level exams, whilst also applying for Higher/Degree Apprenticeships in Engineering.

I know I am not alone in my worries and frustration about his lack of urgency when it comes to sitting down and revising.

He's taking 3 very difficult A Levels, Mathematics, Physics and Design Engineering, all of which require maximum effort. Combine this with the humongous task of applying for Degree Apprenticeships, which definately shocked me (applications take hours to complete, then there are online psychometric tests and assessments, then there are group face to face assessments and then finally, presentations to prepare), I know its a huge investment from the companies, to pay a good salary and Degree fees l, but wow its alot, I'm beginning to wonder if my son should apply to University instead😉

Anyway, after all the waffle, I would genuinely appreciate any advice, suggestions or experience anyone has in handling this situation, ta very much👍

Below is a photo of my Whippet, Eddy (because we all need a reason to smile 😃)

[ohtobeinenglandinthespring]

Have no advice I am afraid, but loving the picture of Eddy! It does all take a lot longer than you think, doesn't it?

[AngelsWithSilverWings]

Gorgeous dog! No advice just sympathy from me as my DS is going through the same. The apprenticeship application process is so time consuming. He spent from 8:30 to 1pm doing a virtual assessment on teams for a big accountancy firm today. I feel like his A level revision is on a back burner while he ploughs through all these applications. The one that he did this morning is probably his last hope as he's fallen at the last post for the rest of them. He really doesn't want to pay uni fees if he can help it so has his heart set on getting a decent apprenticeship. Anyway here's a cat photo for you.

[Toothbrushh]

Hi all, I’ve got three sons one is at Oxbridge one went to a normal university and one is four years into a professional apprenticeship. So I’ve done the whole range of it all.

I can tell you that the apprenticeship scheme once you get in is amazing. My son would say it’s key to move away from home and just go through all the various sifting Things that you have within interviews and so on he loves it, he gives advice to the postgraduate people coming into his work because he’s busy doing his job a much higher level than they are starting it.!!

[Toothbrushh]

Mine had a year off because Covid then started at Jan after
I think he would say, don’t be worried about emailing companies you’re interested in and asking them if they’d offer it

[Hatty65]

I have a son who did a degree apprenticeship with Rolls Royce and is still there 15 or 16 years later. I don't think we appreciated how well he'd done to get it at the time, or what tough competition there was! At the time, I think he just applied and then had a face to face interview though. He did Maths, Physics and Chemistry at A level.

Royce have been fantastic to work for, and he still enjoys working for them, so I guess he's repaid their investment in him. He has travelled around the world for work. One of the things I think he felt was really good was that he worked in a lot of different departments, and got really good training. He also obviously got a MA without incurring any debt as they paid for it all!

[Toothbrushh]

yes!! No debt. Amazing

[Lotty1970]

Wow, you guys are ace!!! Thankyou so much for all your comments, it definitely makes me feel less crazy, knowing that others before me and after me will have to go through this... He's applied (well I did most of the leg work) to over 20 organisations, such as BAE, Mott Macdonald and the Royal Mail, he's been knocked back from 3 and currently has 18 still ticking along...I'm an ex recruitment consultant so I have a bit of an understanding, but it still tough.

Heres a quick question for you, do you think it's best to completely step back from the " have you done your revision today" or "have you completed the online assessment that needed to be done by today"

Or... do you think we need to keep knudging them along?

BTW, I'm an artist who does pet portraits, hope they make you smile c

[AngelsWithSilverWings]

We totally keep on at DS because he is the kind of person who always needs a push.

Wow that's so many applications - how on earth does he have time for revision too? He must be quite driven already to have applied for so many.

It's been bad enough here and I think he's only done 7.

[Lotty1970]

My DS is fortunate, in that I dont work (due to health reasons) so I have pretty much spent alot of my time searching for apprenticeships. Filling in the basic information, so my DS just focuses on the detailed questions etc

I picked up some good advice early on, create a word document for each application, drop the job description on it, along with the questions on the application. This makes it easier to pull out the strengths they are looking for to incorporate them into your answers. Having copies of all this information helps with new applications too, as you've built up a "library" of text which can then be adapted to each specific application (theres no need to re-invent the wheel😉👍)

Having said that, your spot on.. balancing revision with these applications is very hard, as is my DS having to take time away from college to attend assessment days/interviews... it just seems like everything is happening at once🥴🥴🥴

[crazycrofter]

This is really helpful info for me, so thank you! My ds is in year 13, knows he doesn't want to go to uni, but is still working out what degree apprenticeship he's interested in (maybe finance or surveying). He's having a gap year next year anyway.

He's very much a one thing at a time type of person and he's got ADHD, so is very last minute/deadline focused. He's also incredibly disorganised! At the moment, he's just begun to focus on his A Levels, but he's very behind as he missed lots of lessons. There's no way he could have focused on applications too.

He plans to spend at least half of next year abroad. When do most application deadlines happen? And is a lot of the process online? I was kind of hoping we could do applications before Christmas, whilst working at Tesco, and then he'd go abroad and wait for replies. But would he need to be attending any in person interviews during the period Jan- April?

[Lotty1970]

My DS has very recently got his ADHD Diagnosis, it's taken years and lots of perseverance.. he has his appointment for medication early April, we hoping it makes a significant improvement to his concentration and motivation 🤞I would suggest researching what type of Apprenticeships your son is interested in, my son is applying for various engineering roles, some of these opened November, some are still opening now, generally most of them close end of March/April. Applying for degree apprenticeships is hard, I think Uni applications are easy in comparison.. Good luck to you x

[crazycrofter]

Thanks! I’m thinking maybe he’ll need to have two gap years and do the applications the year after next. It will give him time to improve his organisational skills (I’m hoping travelling independently with friends round Asia will help there!).

He tried meds but they made him feel very flat and low so he has to manage without.

[Elisebev]

@Lotty1970

Wow, you guys are ace!!! Thankyou so much for all your comments, it definitely makes me feel less crazy, knowing that others before me and after me will have to go through this... He's applied (well I did most of the leg work) to over 20 organisations, such as BAE, Mott Macdonald and the Royal Mail, he's been knocked back from 3 and currently has 18 still ticking along...I'm an ex recruitment consultant so I have a bit of an understanding, but it still tough.

Heres a quick question for you, do you think it's best to completely step back from the " have you done your revision today" or "have you completed the online assessment that needed to be done by today"

Or... do you think we need to keep knudging them along?

BTW, I'm an artist who does pet portraits, hope they make you smile c

I work for BAE (not in engineering) I have been there almost 18 years. They are a really good company to work for. If I can be of any help with applying to them p/interviewing etc please message me

[Lotty1970]

Unfortunately he got knocked back after the video part of the online assessment, he was gutted. Thanks for the offer though, He is through to the next level with Babcock though, fingers crossed that goes well

[EffinMagicFairy]

Hi, can anyone tell me how long the application process is? DS applied for BAE, Rolls Royce, Thales, Leonardo, to name but a few, most of the applications were done before Christmas, he passed on line assessments, confirmed via email in all cases and told wait to hear . Rolls Royce sent follow up email to say they were still making selections from those that passed 1st hurdle, although that was weeks ago now, then nothing else from any others. Is the application process really this long or that they just haven’t bothered to tell DS he’s been unsuccessful, a bit miffed if this is the case as an email to say he’s been unsuccessful will help cement University plans which are the back up come September.

[Lotty1970]

We're in the same boat, wondering whats happening with each of the applications🤔from what I've gathered so far, especially with the very large, global companies is that as long as you've had the confirmation email saying your application has been completed, and then confirmation of completed assessments, your still in the race. Personally, I keep checking the status of my DS applications and every 2 weeks I email the Early Careers Team, to double check. More often than not, their response is "we're working our way through the applications, bare with us", but it makes me feel a bit more on top of things. To give you an idea, my DS applied for an apprenticeship with Leyland DAF, and found out 2 weeks later he has an interview (no psychometric tests,. cognitive testing or recorded video responses), the company recently posted on their LinkedIn page (another place to keep.an eye on things😉), that for the 28 different apprenticeship roles they were recruiting for,.they had had 950 applications 🙃😵‍💫 My advice, maintain contact, don't give up and if your DS gets a rejection realise that's not a negative thing, the sheer volume of applications is unreal, there's a reason why degree apprenticeships are so popular, the huge financial investment from the companies gives them the ability to be extremely selective. Good luck to your son!