If you are going to be leaving school soon, your thoughts will no doubt have turned to your future prospects. Since nursery school you might have had a particular vocation in mind and if so an apprenticeship could provide the perfect solution.
There is no substitute for real-life experience. It impresses future employers, shows that you have initiative and drive to go and do something and gives you a real feel for what a profession might actually involve.
Because many schools lack vocational training, it can be really difficult to know what your chosen career path actually involves and this is where apprenticeships come into their own.
You will get a proper feel for the day-to-day requirements of working in your chosen field. It may well be that you decide a particular path is not for you once you have tried it out, but apprenticeships give you the opportunity to make an educated decision about your future. They also give you flexibility.
Once you begin working at a company, it is much easier to move to other departments and experience different roles until you find the one for you.
Earn while you learn
Many school-leavers are put off going to university by the prospect of ever increasing fees. With an apprenticeship you get to earn as you learn your trade. What’s more, it means you can start to make steps up the career ladder well before your college-going counterparts.
Apprenticeships give you transferable skills
It may be that you decide to train in a particular company but move on elsewhere once you have completed your training. Because apprenticeships are a nationally recognised qualification, you can be sure that your efforts and training will be acknowledged by other companies.
Training like this shows prospective employers that you have focus, are willing to work hard to achieve your goals and have a clear idea of the direction you want your career to go in.
Experience counts for a lot in the world of business and being able to demonstrate to would-be employers that you have already had real hands-on knowledge of a particular environment can prove invaluable.
It is also a great way to boost confidence. When you go for interviews, you can be sure that you have more of an idea of what employers are searching for from the perfect candidate. You will know a lot more about how business works and that will make you much better informed.
Government funds more apprenticeships
The value of apprenticeships was outlined in the 2014 Budget when Chancellor George Osborne announced there would be an increasing the number of grants to get businesses training youngsters in work.
Speaking in the House of Commons, he said: “To make sure we give young people the skills they need to get good jobs in this modern world, we’ve doubled the number of apprenticeships and I will extend the grants for smaller businesses to support over 100,000 more.”
Proof that the government and employers value on the job training as a way to improve prospects for the young and boost the economy at large.
