Apprenticeship Lies: Ain't Nobody Got Time for That

🙅‍♂️ Apprenticeships Aren’t a Lesser Option Compared to Degrees

“My son’s not doing an apprenticeships, they are for thick people” this is an actual response from a parent when I was teaching, and I still hear variations of this myth today.

This is absolutely not the case, they are highly valued and can lead to progressive careers faster than the degree route. Even better, is that with a degree apprenticeship they’ll gain a degree, fully paid for, whilst earning a full time wage from day one, being paid to do a day a week at uni, and getting that valuable work experience that the traditional degree route simply doesn’t offer.

🙅‍♀️Apprenticeships Aren’t Just for People Who Didn’t Do Well at School

Apprenticeships are for everyone, regardless of academic background. They have different entry requirements, just like any job or degree. Very few need formal qualifications, while other specific routes like engineering or health may need a certain A-level.

🙅 Apprenticeships Aren’t Limited to Vocational Industries

OK, you could be forgiven when looking at Careers Wales website where they are skewed to more ‘old-school paths’. But Apprenticeships aren’t just for trades like construction or hairdressing. At @miFutureHQ social we often posting links to a wide range of industries, including digital, STEM, business, marketing, engineering, marketing, and media. There’s something for everyone, and we are always shouting about these future-focussed paths, like this one below at De Novo Solutions 👇

🙅‍♂️ Apprentices Don’t Just Make the Tea and Coffee’s

Apprentices are working on real projects from day one, yeah they might put the kettle on and make a round, but so will everyone else. They are an employee, not a volunteer or intern. They’ll likely be working with clients, treating patients, generating content, interacting with customers, or designing buildings. Plus, they’ll have support and guidance from an employer and mentor as they are doing it.

🙅‍♀️ Apprenticeships Aren’t Badly Paid

Yeah they aren’t paid great, we agree with you on that. It’s hugely frustrating when apprentices still have the travelling and commuting to pay, mobile bills, lunch and snacks to buy, and all the other bills that come with just existing in this economy. We’d love to see Transport For Wales introduce a free ‘apprentice travel card’, but that’s for another day.

But all apprentices are entitled to a minimum wage, and some companies even pay more. The average salary for a degree apprentice in the UK is £22,500. Research on starting pay has revealed significant pay growth or degree-level apprentices with starting salaries rising by 31% between 2018 and 2024. In contrast, the median starting salary for graduates has grown slowly over the same period, increasing by just 8%.

🙅‍♂️ Apprenticeships Aren’t Just for School Leavers

There’s no upper age limit for apprenticeships. They’re suitable for anyone over 16, and some require you to be over 18. Apprenticeships can be a great opportunity for a career change later in life, allowing you to earn and learn at the same time.

I want to see change here. I believe there should be a shift in focus to create a really appealing 16-18 apprentice offer, the majority of apprenticeships are a form of training given to those that are currently employed as a form of ‘upskilling’, but this doesn’t solve the problem of bringing young people into the workforce, and more needs to be done in this space to ‘attract’ school leavers with a unique and modern apprenticeship offer.

🙅 Apprenticeships Don’t Lead to Dead-End Jobs

Define a dead-end job?! Is it a zero-hour contract in a sector that isn’t growing and that doesn’t offer any training, progression, or other benefits? Because that’s the opposite of an apprenticeship.

By the time they’ve qualified, they’ll have specific industry experience, qualifications, and actual workplace skills. Degree apprentices will also have a degree level qualification with specific experience, and no-debt to repay.

Couple this with pursuing an apprenticeship in an emerging, growth, or priority sector like Construction, FinTech, Digital, Cyber, Health, Education etc. and you have a greater opportunity for progression and demand for their skill.