Taking the apprenticeship route after college could now land you a starting salary of 30k or above. While you get the opportunity to learn the necessary skills in your field with the added bonus of avoiding student debt, apprenticeships are paid, skill-based programs which drop students from the classrooms, into their chosen working environment. One of the main beneficial factors of an apprenticeship is that these students pick up not only the knowledge of working but have also gained experience from their course. This is something that most degree students do not have upon finishing their course. Evidence can be found in the fact that the number of people taking apprenticeships.
The misconception about apprenticeships is that they are for people who do not meet the grades to get into universities, but realistically they meet the demanding needs of employers who are looking for people who they can use productively, and use their skills from the beginning of their positions within a company.
Now that they have been made harder, top-tier apprenticeships are now becoming more prominent. This means that in 2015 a level 6 or 7 apprenticeship is equivalent to Bachelor’s and Master’s degree level. For example, Virgin Media, have just promoted 107 recruits as part of their annual apprentice graduation evening, with a larger plan to create 1000 apprenticeship roles with higher level qualifications in the next 5 years.
Apprenticeships vs degrees Average salaries
A report from the Daily Mail described how an average salary of a starting Oxford or Cambridge graduate was £26,600 however this is also combined with the accumulated debt of on average £44,000 which is why many young college graduates seek the route of an apprenticeship rather than a university degree. This factor seems to be amplified by the fact that Apprenticeship positions allow workers to start earning from the day they start propelling graduates onto the earnings ladder 3 years or more before those who decide to take a university course.
Therefore when sat side-by-side it is easy to see how Apprenticeships are suddenly becoming a serious contender for the new form of education when leaving college. Again, The Daily Mail states that a university graduate, who earns £150,000 on average over their career is now overshadowed by that a level 5 apprentice who will earn £105,000 on top of the original £150,000 over the course of their career.
The syllabus of a great apprenticeship is Digital Marketing learning key skills such; as Search – SEO which focuses on adapting the visibility of a website through the internet. PPC looks at charging for viewers on a site who click through from an Ad or link. Designing a website. Online advertising, Email marketing, social media, Image and video editing, Adobe ACA.
The final benefit of not taking the university route is that training is free, and the learning which is provided gives workers the experience they need to put themselves in a more employable position than those at a university. In 2014 only 4.5% of all level 4+ apprentices were unemployed which is contrasted with the almost 40% of university graduates who were unemployed in 2014.
