Whilst schools’ careers services can be helpful, they’re only there to offer guidance. In other words, they can’t make the tough decisions for you.
This difficulty is compounded by mixed messages we often hear surrounding university and apprenticeships.
With National Apprenticeship Week been and gone, it’s also coming to the point where school-leavers decide their next step.
Kevin Brady, spokesman for job search site AdView, which advertises 1,000s of apprenticeship vacancies, told us: “Apprenticeships, perhaps even more so than degrees, come in many different shapes and sizes. This is why it’s important not to not put them all in the same bag.
“The main thing is to remember as an apprentice is that you’ll be gain career-specific skills on the job and earn a wage. During this time you’ll be studying towards a qualification relevant to the chosen career. Salaries average £256 a week.
“However, when it comes to applying for jobs, university degrees can be more of a mixed bag. Whilst some degrees, like medicine, steer you down a specific path, most often lead to a career path that’s completely different from what they studied.
“This means that a geography graduate, for example, might end up in sales.”
Yet with equally damning reports about employers complaining about a lack of suitable skills from graduates and the number of applications for apprenticeships flatlining, what are the main things that 16-24 year-olds should be considering?
“I’d tell people looking leaning towards an apprenticeship to thoroughly research each vacancy and have a fairly clear idea about what they want to do for the rest of their working lives.
“Though graduates are said to earn £500,000 more in a lifetime than non-graduates, this only tells part of the story.
“Not only are university leavers saddled with debt, but your lifetime career earnings are also determined by what degree you studied and the university you went to.
“This means that apprenticeships are often still a worthwhile option to consider.”
About AdView: AdView is a UK-based job search site. It adds 100,000+ new jobs weekly, covering every single job sector.