Benefits of vocational career routes ‘remain under-appreciated’
Employers have called for a centralised point where all apprenticeships and other educational routes into work can be found, like the UCAS system for degrees, to help students navigate the myriad of options.
Recruitment specialists speaking at a panel debate on ‘debunking apprenticeship myths’ yesterday praised the value of these vocational schemes. However, they also aired concerns that many schools, parents and students remain unclear about the benefits of an apprenticeship or why bright young people would choose this career route over university.
Speaking at the event, Liz Noble, supervising associate (assistant manager) of EY’s schools and undergraduate recruitment, said: “For university courses the UCAS system means students can access information easily. Why isn’t there something like this for alternatives routes?”
Noble also said that employers want to go into schools more to talk to students about the options on offer, something EY does currently.
Jenny Fraeznel, student recruitment adviser at accountancy firm BDO, added: “Everybody who comes on our apprenticeship scheme gets two qualifications, an ACA accountancy qualification and a level 7 apprenticeship.
“We are looking for people who are proactive and who want to join careers starting at 18 or 19 years old straight from school.”
However, members of the panel currently on apprenticeship schemes told the audience that teachers and parents had initially been dismayed when they announced their intentions to sign up to a vocational qualification.
Alice Bercher, who is on the Higher Apprenticeship scheme at Jaguar Land Rover, explained: “My teachers didn’t understand why I wanted to do an apprenticeship, they thought I was a bit mad.
“Now I go back to my old school to talk about apprenticeships and the teachers love it. There’s this whole world that people don’t know exists. It’s a career that you can go straight into and you’re earning from day one, with £16,000 a year.”
And Ollie Sidwell, co-founder of the RateMyApprenticeship website, said that many schemes require good A Level results to get onto them, with one he’d seen asking for 300 UCAS points. “Apprenticeships are a real alternative because these are good people,” he said.
Noble and Fraeznel agreed that schools and employers could offer more information to students to help them make the best choices for their future. Noble said that employers did want to go into schools, adding “some educational institutions bite your hand off [for careers speakers]” however, it would be better if the system for sharing information was “standardised”.
Rebecca Page, audit trainee at BDO, said that even though the online community around alternative vocational options was strong, “more messages need to be put out through social media and advertising online”, so more students know what’s on offer.
The benefit for employers is clear, Noble explained: “The return on investment with apprenticeships is in some ways better than for graduates because grads don’t stay as long. So there’s a business case for apprenticeships.”
Fraeznel added: “These schemes help with continuity because apprentices come and stay for five years.”