Which is the right choice for you?
We meet a lot of school and college students who are undecided between the university route and apprenticeships. With a lot of teachers and careers advisors directing students down the university route, many young people feel compelled to apply without considering the benefits that a work-based apprenticeship can offer. It is a tough choice, but we are here to help.
There are definitely some appealing reasons to go to university, the social scene, independence, the parties! However, more and more people are wising up to the benefits of apprenticeships, including careers advisors at some of the colleges we work with! Apprenticeships are a lot different to what they used to be!
Watch the video below, where we spoke to three of our recent apprentices, Jovilda, Fernando and Rea about their apprenticeship experience:
Jovilda, Finance Apprentice at Network Rail, completed her accountancy apprenticeship in 2019. She loved how smooth the process was to get her AAT qualifications.
Fernando, Property Apprentice at Oakland Residential, expressed that apprenticeships are unique compared to university, pointing out that what you learn in a classroom environment can be implemented straight into the workplace.
Rea liked the idea of earning and learning whilst on the job. She is a Business Administration apprentice at NICE (The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence).
The three apprenticeships on offer
There are over 500 new apprenticeship standards approved for delivery right now, with over 100 more in development. That’s a lot of apprenticeships! The Academy are specialists in five programmes, with three of the five being aimed at young people just coming out of school or college, looking to get their foot in the door, in an office-based apprenticeship role.
Property Management – 10 workshops and project work allow you to gain vast knowledge about the housing/property industry gaining ARLA or IRPM accreditation.
Programme info here.
Accountancy – Get your foot in the door at a firm of Accountants or finance team and gain valuable AAT qualifications.
Programme info here.
Business Administration – Gain experience in an office environment and gain valuable Microsoft qualifications. Completers of this programme tend to progress into more specialist areas, like marketing, customer service and management.
Programme info here.
Other things to consider when looking at Apprenticeships
- Apprenticeships offer both on and off the job training, whereas university is more focused on learning academic knowledge.
- Some apprenticeships include valuable qualifications such as AAT or CIPs. These are expensive qualifications which employer’s value. This will help to enhance your career prospects.
- Apprenticeships don’t cost you a thing, with no tuition fees or student loans as they are funded by the government and your employer.
- Apprenticeships offer the chance to earn whilst you learn.
- Apprenticeship salaries are on the rise. Last year our apprentices earned from £10,000 to £18,000 in their first year
- Travel perks on offer as an apprentice, including bus, tram and ‘Bike to Work’ schemes.
Next Steps
For advice on your next steps or to discuss apprenticeship roles in Manchester, get in touch for more information. Contact Us
Or, you can follow us on our social media feeds, where we share our latest vacancies and other apprenticeship news:
Or, you can follow us on our social media feeds, where we share our latest vacancies and other apprenticeship news:
and Instagram!
All our newest apprenticeship jobs (that you can apply to now), can be found here – Current Vacancies.