16 Aug 2023
The reasons to start an apprenticeship are plentiful and it can be easy to establish whether you are eligible to take part in one. They can give a kickstart to career prospects and help you to reach your full potential. Apprenticeships are often ideal for people who are not very academic but who deal well with other people or who are talented with their hands. Mechanics and engineers are always in demand and these are very popular career paths.
What do we Mean by Career Paths?
A career path is the route you take throughout your working life and hopefully encapsulates your career progression and plans for advancement. There are over 1500 career paths open to apprentices at the moment in the UK that can lead to becoming anything from a gas engineer to a social worker or dental nurse. The only limit is the imagination when it comes to choosing the best career path to follow.
The best advice we can give is to find what you are passionate about and take the steps that follow the path to making that your full-time career. That way you are much more likely to be happy in your job and you will be less likely to burn out or feel the need to change careers half-way through.
Career Prospects for Apprentices
The prospects for apprentices to go on to future success are high in both the immediate and longer term after successfully completing an apprenticeship. Many employers see apprenticeships as a chance to help mould young people to fit the roles that they need to fill. Apprenticeships are increasingly being seen as a way to solve the UK skills gap which is beginning to manifest itself across many different industries and sectors.
In the Short Term
The short-term prospects for an apprentice who successfully completes their apprenticeship are excellent. Apprentices who have completed a Level 4 apprenticeship have an 85% chance of staying in the job role that they had during the apprenticeship, whether this is with the same employer or another in the same field. Two-thirds of these apprentices will remain with the same employer they apprenticed with, which is a remarkable statistic.
This shows how much employers value the skills and contributions of apprentices and that an apprenticeship is considered to be a worthwhile qualification to have achieved. The combination of hands-on experience and learning is an attractive combination for employers.
In the Longer Term
This is where the new gets even better for apprentices with them being considered excellent candidates for promotion and career advancement. Employers continue to show that they have a commitment to promoting former apprentices, with around 20% of apprentices reaching the boardroom in the course of their careers. Around half of companies believe that apprentices will enter their management tier within their first five years of employment, which is a truly remarkable vote of confidence and an acknowledgement that the young people who are undertaking them are the leaders of the future.
