Higher level apprenticeships

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moved
Posts: 3826
Joined: Fri Oct 12, 2007 1:42 pm
Location: Chelmsford and pleased

Higher level apprenticeships

Post by moved »

Anyone else have children considering these? Have you found anything suitable?

Not sure how they are viewed but DS doesn't really want the enormous debt that a 4 yr engineering degree will bring.
asdguest
Posts: 144
Joined: Thu Jan 10, 2008 9:06 pm

Re: Higher level apprenticeships

Post by asdguest »

Have heard good things about Astrium engineering apprenticeships.
Tinkers
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Location: Reading

Re: Higher level apprenticeships

Post by Tinkers »

I know my company take apprentices, but not higher level, so with GCSEs. My DD has no interest in engineering at the moment, but if she did and she wanted to do an apprenticeship rather than a degree, I'd support that choice.

Our apprentices start on £18k (might be a bit more now) at 16 years old and grads start on £29k at least 5, usually 6 or 7 years later, depending if they do MEng. The apprentices don't have any student loans and have their Tutition paid.

Check what the apprenticeship entails and what qualifications they get at the end.
ToadMum
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Location: Essex

Re: Higher level apprenticeships

Post by ToadMum »

According to a family friend who works for Ford, they offer post-A level apprenticeships (sorry, not up on these but assume this is 'higher level'?), minimum requirement B grades. I know he mentioned Engineering and IT, also possibly Finance (I remember that the lad on whose behalf I was enquiring wouldn't have been interested in the third one, so it has slipped my mind).

I know Essex is a bit 'Ford-centric' - although less so nowadays, I suppose - but I've never met anyone who didn't regard them as a good place to be offered a job, so to speak.
Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.Groucho Marx
kenyancowgirl
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Re: Higher level apprenticeships

Post by kenyancowgirl »

A good higher apprenticeship with a reputable company like Ford (that has a history of good on the job training) would be worth its' weight in gold. Certainly I would expect an HA in engineering at Ford to lead to at least an HND in Engineering (via on the job training) eventually - and possibly a degree with the benefit of a salary rather than a debt. I would expect Ford to offer Engineering, IT, Finance and Admin apprenticeships. The obvious difficulty is that apprenticeships are few and far between (despite heavy advertising by the government) as they are expensive in terms of £ and time for an employer. However, if my dc wanted to shun traditional university degrees in favour of an apprenticeship with a reputable company, I would be hard pressed to dissuade them. By the time one of their cohort came out of university with a relevant degree, they would have a good 5 or 6 years relevant work experience under their belt - as well as a qualification!
KB
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Joined: Tue Mar 04, 2008 3:28 pm

Re: Higher level apprenticeships

Post by KB »

Do some googling and you should find them.
Best support degree level study while employed.
Would certainly support my DC if they chose this option.
The only proviso is that they are reasonably sure of the employment area they want to go into as qualification may be less portable. Although work experience and training will still have some general use of course.
moved
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Joined: Fri Oct 12, 2007 1:42 pm
Location: Chelmsford and pleased

Re: Higher level apprenticeships

Post by moved »

Thanks everyone, DS is looking for a degree apprenticeship.

There were quite a few around last year but very few this year.
Warks mum
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Location: Warwickshire

Re: Higher level apprenticeships

Post by Warks mum »

I was chatting to a relative's fiance the other day - a young man who's done an accountancy degree and is now training on the job for chartered status. He was saying he wouldn't recommend an accountancy degree to a youngster now, knowing what he does! He said he'd either have taken a degree in a completely different subject for the enjoyment of learning (he mentioned history) and continued with the training he's now doing or would have done an apprenticeship. He commented that he's trying to catch up with those who went straight into accountancy at 18 (who have no debt) but wasn't really ahead of those who'd done a different degree!

I imagine engineering can be similar, depending on your interests in the long term. However, if you're looking for a graduate engineering job at Rolls Royce these days you'll need a 1st class degree to get an interview...
southbucks3
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Joined: Tue Dec 18, 2012 11:59 am

Re: Higher level apprenticeships

Post by southbucks3 »

The local authority my dh works for has several trainees of various ages doing part time degrees in specialist departments. They have obviously had massive recent budget cuts, but still need staff to keep things rolling, so low salaried learners are still occasionally getting placements. This can be done by applying for say an admin roll in the department, then asking if it is possible do a p/t degree in the department's specialism. Don't assume the answer will be no, but do assume it would be a rolling or short term contract with any council jobs at the moment.
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