Apprenticeship, an alternative to university
22.08.2019
A new report by In-Comm reveals that vocational training is indeed an alternative to tertiary education and the findings were emphatic.
The ability to earn while you learn and fast-tracking your career are two of the main reasons young people choose apprenticeships, according to a new survey released recently. In-Comm Training, which supports over 2,000 learners every year, asked two cohorts of students their opinion on vocational training and the results were emphatic, with 95% of respondents saying that undertaking an apprenticeship has helped accelerate their career.
Some 90% would recommend it as an alternative to going to university, which indeed is an interesting statistic, with HNC Higher Apprenticeships being launched this month that will take budding engineers all the way to a getting a degree.
When asked what they liked best about being an apprentice, over two thirds quoted the ability to ‘earn while you learn’, while a quarter said one can immediately apply learning to a real world environment.
“There has been a massive change in attitudes towards vocational learning and that is reflected in the number of young people who are now choosing to go down the apprenticeship route as ‘first choice’ and not as a backstop,” explained Bekki Phillips, managing director of In-Comm Training. Phillips added that it did take a while to reach this stage but thought that businesses and education had started to make real inroads into putting together a persuasive case for being an apprentice.
In the UK, apprentices who make it all the way through to getting a degree enjoy a £100,000 opportunity, considering the wages to the trainee, tuition fees that is saved, while being able to apply learning to live manufacturing situations.
In-Comm Training currently has over 100 vacancies for young people collecting their A-Level or GCSE results this month, with cohorts beginning in September at its three technical academies in Aldridge and at the Marches Centre of Technology in Bridgnorth and Shrewsbury. Over £7.5m has been spent on equipping the centres with the latest CNC machinery, fluid power cells, 3D printing capability and metrology as well as being host to the National Power Press and Tooling Centre.