APPRENTICESHIPS ARE on the rise and have been at the forefront of the government’s agenda. Here are the five reasons to consider an Apprenticeship.

1. EARN WHILE YOU LEARN:
An apprenticeship is a way for young people and adults to earn while they learn in a real job, gaining a real qualification and a real future. Time and time again apprentices enforce the importance of earning while they learn.

2. SHINE AT WHAT YOU ARE GOOD AT:
Currently, more than 100,000 employers in England offer apprenticeships in approximately 250,000 locations, covering over 170 industries and 1,500 different job roles, in a range of sectors from marketing to accountancy, engineering to veterinary nursing, community arts to construction, enabling you to shine wherever your enthusiasm and interest is sparked.

3. WORK TO GET QUALIFIED:
Many people who don’t want to stay in a traditional classroom environment find that work-based learning and study with an apprenticeship allows them to progress much further.

High achievers are also finding apprenticeships really enable them to get ahead in their careers, with a combination of work and study that means they can be well on their way within an industry, qualified and earning a decent salary before many university graduates have even had their first job offer.

Higher apprenticeships, for example, offer a new way to enter professional careers and gain valuable work experience while achieving a degree level qualification. Over 40 different subjects are covered with Higher apprenticeships, ranging from commercial airline piloting to legal services, representing hundreds of job roles.

4. REAL-WORK EXPERIENCE:
Builds your confidence and your skills. The on-the-job experience is often the most rapid way of learning about an industry and apprentices comment on how it builds not only their work-experience but their confidence and personal skills beyond the job itself. Most apprentices work for at least 30 hours a week, apart from in exceptional circumstances.

5. BUILD A CAREER:
A high proportion of apprentices go on to work in their chosen industry for the rest of their working life. Many apprentices will get to realise the title of Director, managing director or run their own business successfully (e.g. Steve Gelder MBE founder and director of the Gelder Group and Nigel Whitehead, group managing director of Programmes & Support at BAE Systems.