Changing attitudes towards Modern Apprenticeships

For many young people and their parents in Britain there is still a belief that apprenticeships are just for those students who want to get into some form of traditional manual work or those who were ‘not smart enough’ to go to university. These beliefs see thousands of sixth form students apply to university without ever fully investigating or understanding the options that are available to them. This outdated view of apprenticeships is something that the government is keen to change as they continue to push towards their goal of 3 million new apprenticeship starts by 2020.

Recently Nick Boles, the minister for skills and equalities, explained, “A lot of parents and teachers don’t understand that pretty much everything from law to web developing can be accessed through a modern apprenticeship,” adding, “You can get a degree through an apprenticeship, so it’s not about capping your ambition. It’s a choice to secure the qualification through working and studying rather than full-time study.” His aim is to try and promote the scheme and change people’s perspectives and opinions regarding the employability after the apprenticeships and the stereotypical view that they are only designed for those who can’t achieve a degree level qualification.

Taking a more vocational than an academic route to the training offers genuine work experience and training that employers value. It is little surprise that the majority of qualified apprentices go straight into relevant work, as compared to less than half of university graduates.

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