Apprenticeships are becoming more popular than ever! They can be a great alternative to a public college or sixth form. However, before knowing whether you should study one or not, it is important to understand the benefits and drawbacks. Some people will flourish from being an apprentice. However, for others, an apprenticeship may not be the best option. It depends on an individual basis. Therefore, learning about what apprenticeships entail is essential.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article may not be the same as yours. This article is purely from one student’s perspective, and you should research everything yourself before making important decisions.
If you want to discover whether you should study an apprenticeship or not, carry on reading!
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What is an apprenticeship?
You may have heard the term ‘apprenticeship’ talked about more and more lately. This is because many companies are now offering them, and they are a fantastic way to learn!
Put simply, apprenticeships are paid jobs where you learn and work at the same time. During an apprenticeship, you will spend at least 20% of your working hours completing classroom-based learning.
The rest of your time will be spent in the workplace. Here, you will learn the key skills needed to be an employee in the company you are working for.
You can complete this learning in a university, college, or training provider. However, there is certain criterion you must adhere to in order to apply for an apprenticeship.
You must be over 16 and not in full time education. Many apprenticeships require you to have passed GCSE English and GCSE Maths. Check out this article on Think Student to find out what level apprenticeship you can do after GCSEs.
There are also different levels of apprenticeships, depending on the different levels of your education. The different levels are intermediate, advanced, higher and degree.
More information about this can be found on the government website.
Who are apprenticeships suited to?
When students finish their GCSEs, college or sixth form seems like the obvious next step. However, you must be aware that apprenticeships are also a great option.
A-levels and many college courses are exam heavy. Students have to learn a great amount of content and will often be given hours of homework to do.
If you are academic, then A-Levels and exam heavy college courses won’t be a problem for you! However, if you are fed up with learning theory all of the time, apprenticeships may be a good option.
Apprenticeships are good for students who enjoy hands-on learning, as well as some classroom-based study. If you feel ready to work and learn at the same time, then apprenticeships are a great option.
Apprenticeships require you to be present in the workplace for most of the time. Therefore, a person participating in an apprenticeship needs to be independent and must be ready for this new environment.
For more information on this, click this link to check out the UCAS website.
Apprenticeships are not just restricted to young people. A person of any age can do them! Check out this Think Student article to find out more information on this.
Why would you study an apprenticeship?
Apprenticeships are for people who may have become fed up with purely learning in a classroom but don’t yet want to completely go into a full time job. If you want to work but want to learn at the same time, then this is a great option.
To find out how to apply for an apprenticeship, check out this article from Think Student.
Studying an apprenticeship allows you to gather a range of skills. You gain a lot of hands-on experience, meaning your skills will be transferrable in the real world.
If you don’t want to go to university after college or sixth form, you also have the opportunity to do an apprenticeship. University may seem frightening to you, and this is understandable.
Being away from home and dealing with the stress of lectures may not be the right path for you. Therefore, apprenticeships could be a great option.
If there is a company you are interested in that offer apprenticeships, this is another good reason to do one. Check out this article on Think Student to learn how to find an apprenticeship employer.
What are the benefits of doing an apprenticeship?
Apprenticeships definitely have a lot of benefits! The main one is the number of valuable skills and experience you will earn. This will definitely increase your employability and make you seem more desirable to employers.
Not only do you get to earn lots of skills, but you also get to earn a wage! Learning and earning at the same time is a great way to spend your education.
This also means that you won’t have any debts or student loans which you would sadly have to suffer with if you went to university.
You also have the potential to earn more after completing your apprenticeship because you have the skills needed that the job requires already!
Many apprenticeships also provide one to one support. Therefore, you may receive more help and support than you would than any other types of higher education.
More benefits of apprenticeships can be found on the Indeed.com website if you click here.
Some apprenticeships also allow you to achieve a degree at the same time. Check out this article on Think Student to find out how.
What are the drawbacks of doing an apprenticeship?
Doing an apprenticeship may seem like the perfect opportunity. However, you need to be aware that there are plenty of drawbacks.
For example, earning money whilst learning seems fantastic! However, the pay you will be on is likely to be very low. This is because you will not yet have all of the skills needed for the job.
Learning and working at the same time might also be a challenge. Therefore, a choice like university may be easier for you. In university, you will normally have the opportunity to do work placements. However, courses are mostly based on learning the theory.
As a result, you are able to focus more on one aspect, instead of having to think about multiple things. This can be very stressful!
Further to this, some apprenticeships don’t let you do all activities required in the job. This could be due to ethical or practical issues. Employers may also give you menial tasks, which they don’t want to do themselves.
Therefore, you need to fully research the apprenticeship you want to apply to. Even talk to the employers if they are available. This will allow you to make sure that you will get the best quality experience possible.
If you want to find out more information about drawbacks associated with apprenticeships, click this link to check out the Chron website.
Do the benefits of an apprenticeship outweigh the cons?
There are plenty of benefits of doing an apprenticeship and many drawbacks too. However, these different factors depend on each individual.
Money may not be important to some people, however to others, this could be a great benefit of apprenticeships!
In my opinion, choosing whether to do an apprenticeship or not depends on the kind of person you are. If you learn better from doing hands on experience and want to learn while you work, then this is a great option.
However, if you are more academic and want to learn more before experiencing the workplace, then this probably isn’t the best option.
To find out more pros and cons of apprenticeships, check out this article on Think Student.
Make sure that you familiarise yourself with these pros and cons. It can also be beneficial to research different apprenticeships thoroughly. This means you will be able to make the best decision possible.