Miltonkeynes1 wrote:
They sound like a great idea, but I just wondered whether they will be on a par/ as respected as going through the traditional University route to get a degree?
They are on a par with traditional routes, as long as the subject studied still has academic rigour. Graduates can then go on to apply to graduate schemes as if they had studied the traditional way, or can carry on as they are, often well ahead of the graduate intake to which they would have been assigned had they followed a traditional path, with no debt and a bag full of relevant work experience. They are become increasingly popular. A couple of caveats, as Mitasol said, work load can be an issue, particularly when they have a much smaller peer group for advice and support and are remote from their university. Depending on how the apprenticeship is structured I think it is easier to feel a bit isolated unless a DC is quite proactive about networking/finding a peer group and building relationships with the Uni. Secondly of course they (tend to) miss out on the Uni experience, not just the fun but the developmental opportunities, independence etc.