INTERVIEW WITH EX-STUDENT REGARDING APPRENTICESHIPS

Year 13 Wollaston School Leaver , Austin Coleman was recently asked a few questions by Mr Myers (Careers Leader), regarding his decision to pursue the apprenticeship route:

Why do an apprenticeship?

The list is almost endless. It puts you in a unique position which gets you ahead of those who go down a traditional route. Naturally, being young you are put at a disadvantage due to perceived naivety – this can make it hard to stand out and get a job. With an apprenticeship puts you straight into the job to learn straight away with a hands on approach– no learning things irrelevant to your job! Not only that but you get paid which allows you to not only enjoy yourself but also get on your feet faster.

 

Advantages compared to university?

Firstly, no debt! You may spend thousands on accommodation and  education to get a qualification which may not help you to get a job. You can straight away get on with the job and work your way up. In comparison to someone who goes to university, after they get a degree, you would already be around three years into your job, possibly had promotions, pay rises and gained qualifications.

 

Best thing of my apprenticeship experience?

Naturally I love that I am getting paid to learn so I am not getting in debt and I can start to progress my adult life. Not only that but I have started my career at the earliest possible chance, making friends that I will have for life. After all of that I will get a degree (I am doing a degree apprenticeship)  so I will have a qualification that I can use for my job to get promotions or to use elsewhere

 

My advice for those who are not sure is to NOT think that “I should go to uni because everyone else is and I don’t know what to do”. My opinion is that although university is the “traditional” route, (degree) apprenticeships are the future to education. Time is very precious and it is something that you have a lot of so make the most of it. Start your career now, not years in the future.

 

Quotes:

“Kick start your career now”

“Forget about debt”

“Get hands on”

“Start earning”