Member Article

Are schools doing enough to promote apprenticeships?

When life took an unexpected turn for 18 year old Jennifer, her plans to read Economics at Oxford were no longer viable. Her only option was to find paid work, which she found difficult to find information about from her school. With National Apprenticeship Week doing so much to promote Apprenticeships, are schools doing enough to give information to students who don’t want to go to University?

‘I was a top performer in my year, I was on track to read Economics at Oxford and was a key member of my School’s debating society and Model United Nations team. My school also had a fantastic Oxbridge coaching programme I was keen to be a part of. Then life changed significantly and University was no longer an option for me. I had no alternative but to find paid employment; I had no idea where to look for work or an Apprenticeship, how to write a CV, or how to prepare for an interview; and my school were not very helpful’.

Jennifer did not know what kind of work to do and applied for jobs in everything from beauty therapy to working in a call centre. She initially found a role working within the hospitality and events industry.

‘I felt like I was being treated as cheap labour, there was no training nor progression opportunities. I wanted a career and I risked being stuck in a dead end job, I asked myself if I wanted to be in this role in a year’s time and the answer was no. It was then through my own research that I discovered Apprenticeships. By this time I had turned 17 and already felt too old to be considered for an Apprenticeship. I knew I had to act quickly to avoid becoming a ‘NEET’, a 16-24 classified as Not In Education, Employment or Training. I have since learned that Apprenticeships are open to people of all ages, but nobody made me aware of this.

I have now found an Apprenticeship with EmptyLemon, a job board advertising jobs directly with employers. From the outset, the team have invested heavily in my training and personal development. My role has progressed from adding jobs to the website and administration work, to undertaking a trial as a Sales Executive, with added responsibility to generate new business for the company and to look after our existing customers. In addition to a promotion, I feel I have matured as a person, becoming more confident and learning how to manage my wages in a budget’.

It appears that Jennifer is not alone in her experience, a 2013 Ofsted report found that three quarters of schools failed to provide careers advice, instead, they usually only pushed their pupils towards A-level courses and university degrees; vocational qualifications and apprenticeships for more practically minded kids were often sidelined too.

As National Apprenticeships Week draws to a close, the question should be asked ‘are schools doing enough to promote Apprenticeships?’ With the National Apprenticeship Council targeting more Apprenticeships from small businesses, as well as promoting the range and breadth of Apprenticeships at higher level and within blue chip firms, it appears from Ofsted’s 2013 report that a lot of work still needs to be done to raise awareness of Apprenticeships as a career option.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Jo Rowbotham .