1 of 1Emma Harvey found an apprenticeship suited her better than three years studying at university Fabio De Paola/The Times
It started the moment Emma Harvey entered Year 12: which universities will you apply to? What will you study? When are you going to fill in your Ucas form? It was as if no other options existed, says Harvey, who was accused of being a troublemaker when she refused to complete an application.
“I said I wasn’t going to, because there was no point spending the money when I knew I didn’t want to go to university,” she says. “My teacher said I was just being difficult.”
This mismatch between teachers and students is not uncommon. A survey by the Edge Foundation, which promotes vocational learning, found that more than two thirds of teachers have a good or very good understanding of undergraduate and postgraduate degrees — but only 32 per cent know about foundation degrees and 13 per cent about advanced apprenticeships. Young people, however, are becoming more interested in these and other alternatives to university, says Vince Peart, a lead adviser at the National Careers Service. “They’re thinking about what will give them the best skills and make them the most employable, and sometimes university and a degree does not always give that option.”
Harvey, 22, finished a higher apprenticeship in IT at BT Openreach last year and works in its escalations team. She has a sheaf of qualifications, a pension and four years’ work experience — and is still only at the age when university graduates are looking for work. “The apprenticeship was a massive learning curve ... (but) it was brilliant. In three years I have done coaching, I have done training and I have given presentations to all sorts of audiences ... doing an apprenticeship means you get really valuable work experience as well as the qualifications,” Harvey says.
Apprenticeships are available at intermediate, advanced and higher levels in fields from aerospace engineering to television, but their biggest draw is that you earn while you learn (about £170 a week), instead of paying to get a qualification, and you generally mix time on the job with college.
Despite the advantages of apprenticeships, they don’t suit everyone. Peart says: “Consider whether you are willing to commit yourself to a certain career path at 19. Some of these, particularly in engineering and technical areas, can take up to four years, which can be longer than a degree, and you will be in the world of work with all the commitments that come with that.” Also be aware that apprenticeships are growing in popularity and competitiveness. Peart says: “I recently spoke to one employer who said that a decade ago he had three people apply to be an apprentice and none was really desirable, whereas last year they had 60 people apply and they could have employed any of them.”
Foundation degrees are shorter, cheaper and more vocationally focused than bachelor degrees. Most include a workplace module, meaning that work experience is built into the course, and tend to be offered by further education colleges with more flexible entrance requirements than universities.
“They also give the young person the opportunity to ‘top up’ by going to a partner university and joining its third year to get a degree,” Peart says.
Rachel Florey, 23, is, however, an enthusiastic advocate of the third option on Peart’s list: going straight into work. She left school during sixth form when she realised she enjoyed her part-time job more than studying.
She is now the group financial controller at Bauer Millett, a specialist car dealership.
“I love encouraging people not to go to uni because it’s such a big expense when 9 times out of 10 you can get where you want to be via on-the-job training,” she says. “I’ve come across people who have been to uni and are now in similar positions to me but do not feel that they are as experienced as I am. They spent three or four years in a classroom while I was doing the job.”
Florey didn’t get where she is without studying though: she spent two-and-a-half years in night school to get qualifications from the Association of Accounting Technicians.
“Working and studying at the same time was demanding but I had a fantastic employer. I was also able to go to class and learn something, then go to work the next day and do it.” Being able to put theory into practice straight away helped the subject to stick, she says.
• Tomorrow in The Times Business section: entrepreneurial careers
The Times has teamed up with Barclays to support its LifeSkills campaign. By 2015, LifeSkills aims to equip a million young people with the skills they need for work and to connect them with opportunities to experience work.
This week (June 17-21) is LifeSkills Work Week and is dedicated to getting young people thinking about work-related skills and taking part in work experience opportunties.
To find out more visit barclayslifeskills.com
“I said I wasn’t going to, because there was no point spending the money when I knew I didn’t want to go to university,” she says. “My teacher said I was just being difficult.”
This mismatch between teachers and students is not uncommon. A survey by the Edge Foundation, which promotes vocational learning, found that more than two thirds of teachers have a good or very good understanding of undergraduate and postgraduate degrees — but only 32 per cent know about foundation degrees and 13 per cent about advanced apprenticeships. Young people, however, are becoming more interested in these and other alternatives to university, says Vince Peart, a lead adviser at the National Careers Service. “They’re thinking about what will give them the best skills and make them the most employable, and sometimes university and a degree does not always give that option.”
Harvey, 22, finished a higher apprenticeship in IT at BT Openreach last year and works in its escalations team. She has a sheaf of qualifications, a pension and four years’ work experience — and is still only at the age when university graduates are looking for work. “The apprenticeship was a massive learning curve ... (but) it was brilliant. In three years I have done coaching, I have done training and I have given presentations to all sorts of audiences ... doing an apprenticeship means you get really valuable work experience as well as the qualifications,” Harvey says.
Apprenticeships are available at intermediate, advanced and higher levels in fields from aerospace engineering to television, but their biggest draw is that you earn while you learn (about £170 a week), instead of paying to get a qualification, and you generally mix time on the job with college.
Despite the advantages of apprenticeships, they don’t suit everyone. Peart says: “Consider whether you are willing to commit yourself to a certain career path at 19. Some of these, particularly in engineering and technical areas, can take up to four years, which can be longer than a degree, and you will be in the world of work with all the commitments that come with that.” Also be aware that apprenticeships are growing in popularity and competitiveness. Peart says: “I recently spoke to one employer who said that a decade ago he had three people apply to be an apprentice and none was really desirable, whereas last year they had 60 people apply and they could have employed any of them.”
Foundation degrees are shorter, cheaper and more vocationally focused than bachelor degrees. Most include a workplace module, meaning that work experience is built into the course, and tend to be offered by further education colleges with more flexible entrance requirements than universities.
“They also give the young person the opportunity to ‘top up’ by going to a partner university and joining its third year to get a degree,” Peart says.
Rachel Florey, 23, is, however, an enthusiastic advocate of the third option on Peart’s list: going straight into work. She left school during sixth form when she realised she enjoyed her part-time job more than studying.
She is now the group financial controller at Bauer Millett, a specialist car dealership.
“I love encouraging people not to go to uni because it’s such a big expense when 9 times out of 10 you can get where you want to be via on-the-job training,” she says. “I’ve come across people who have been to uni and are now in similar positions to me but do not feel that they are as experienced as I am. They spent three or four years in a classroom while I was doing the job.”
Florey didn’t get where she is without studying though: she spent two-and-a-half years in night school to get qualifications from the Association of Accounting Technicians.
“Working and studying at the same time was demanding but I had a fantastic employer. I was also able to go to class and learn something, then go to work the next day and do it.” Being able to put theory into practice straight away helped the subject to stick, she says.
• Tomorrow in The Times Business section: entrepreneurial careers
The Times has teamed up with Barclays to support its LifeSkills campaign. By 2015, LifeSkills aims to equip a million young people with the skills they need for work and to connect them with opportunities to experience work.
This week (June 17-21) is LifeSkills Work Week and is dedicated to getting young people thinking about work-related skills and taking part in work experience opportunties.
To find out more visit barclayslifeskills.com
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