The great resurgence: How apprenticeships are well and truly back in fashion

Decades ago, they were part of the norm. Then, apprenticeships died something of a slow death.

To say that they are back on the incline would be a gross understatement though. Whether it’s due to the economy, an increase in tuition fees or a whole host of other variables, we’re not going to speculate. What is for sure, is that apprenticeships are grabbing a great slice of the job-hunt pie with more and more young people turning to them. In short, the likes of the City & Guilds apprenticeship have never been so popular.

Following on from the above, let’s take a look at some of the reasons why apprenticeships have become so popular and commonplace over recent years.

The earn while you learn factor

In truth, this has always been there, but it’s only been recently that apprentices have been able to earn a comfortable wage. Sure, it’s by no means comparable to full time employment (at least not a lot of the time) but it’s certainly sufficient when you consider the fact that you are learning along the way.

When this is compared to the enormously high university fees that are now charged, and the fact that students of this ilk don’t earn anything, it starts to become clear why a lot of young people may have shifted focus for instant financial reasons.

There’s now more variety than ever before

When we talk about how interest in apprenticeships have spiked over recent times, this is probably one of the main factors behind it.

There was a bit of an “engineering” stereotype associated with apprentices years ago. In other words, they seemingly targeted aspiring plumbers, electricians and tradesman of similar ilk. Now, that’s not the case. There are umpteen sectors for apprenticeships to experience, whether it’s involved in sport, business or even marketing.

The money quickly increases

We’ve already talked about money through this page, but let’s return to the topic. For years, apprenticeships were associated with low wages and as we’ve already mentioned, this is still somewhat the case when compared to regular jobs.

However, studies have shown that these earnings increase phenomenally by the conclusion of training. It means that those who opt to do apprenticeships will be much higher on the earnings curve than those who attempt to gain qualifications via other means.

The elusive experience

Let’s conclude by talking about the elusive experience factor. It’s something that can drive young job hunters up the wall; being told you need more experience is painful to say the least during the early stages of your career.

Suffice to say, an apprenticeship changes this. You gain experience on the job, and this is invaluable. Once again, it means that you gain a huge head-start when compared to those who opt for other forms of training before starting employment, and this also aids with the starting income that we have just spoken about in the previous section.