As we approach exam results, the option for a young person to undertake an apprenticeship needs to be a mainstream consideration, equal to that of choosing to study at university. To reach the point that both pathways are seen in equal terms, we need to make sure apprenticeships are better understood by students, the teachers who support them and their parents or carers who wish to help them pursue their ambitions.
The challenge, as shown in a recent report from PLMR’s Education Practice, is that teachers in schools are not confidently well-equipped to signpost students to information about apprenticeships or how to apply for one. Whilst staff in further education and sixth form colleges are better prepared to do so, there is a paucity of clear, easily-accessible information available and known to teachers, students and their parents or carers. UCAS has been making strides in this space but we need to do much more.
So-called ‘careers advice’ needs to be about what is right for students, not institutions.
