When thinking of your future career path it is easy to get caught up in thinking about what you have to gain from your chosen path – whether that means earning a degree or heading out to work and gaining some real work experience right away. It is only natural that you think about what your career choice will do for you in the future, with many young people seeking a path to success, wealth, and happiness. Finding a career that you love and that pays enough for you to live comfortably is the goal of many, but what about looking outside your own concerns and seeing if your choice couldn’t also offer something to others in return?
Perhaps most obviously are those careers that directly seek to help other people – such as in healthcare, where there are already a variety of apprenticeships available. But, as more businesses see the value of hiring apprentices, including being able to train young people on-the-job with the right skills specific to a particular role, apprenticeship opportunities are opening up in the most unexpected areas.
For example, there has been a great deal of concern about the declining number of bees in Britain. With pests and diseases causing real problems for the bee population, the insects are dependent on bee-keepers to help them survive, but it is a career that has an aging workforce, with the average age of a bee-keeper being 65, and a 75% decline in the number of beehives in the UK over the last 100 years, it is clear that young people are needed to keep the profession going.
Helping to bridge the gap are a number of apprenticeships in bee-keeping that are helping to introduce young people to this important profession. Of course, bee-keeping is not just about honey, as the insects also help pollinate plants and flowers, meaning their loss could have a severe impact on agriculture, gardening and the countryside.
Bee-keeping is just one of the many apprenticeships that you may not have realised existed, but that can not only offer you an entry to a much-needed career, but also allow you to make a real positive difference with your work.
With so much choice on offer when it comes to the range of apprenticeships, it can feel tough to decide what direction to take. However, finding something that interests or excites you is a good way to go, and if you want your career to be about more than building up your own bank balance there are plenty of opportunities out there.
However, a lack of quality careers advice has created a situation where young people are chasing the same narrow pool of careers, rather than being aware of the full diversity of options available to them – leading many careers to be undersubscribed and desperate for new employees.
Apprenticeships give you the chance to get trained in your chosen career, without having to pay tuition and gaining real on-the-job experience at the same time. This experience and training makes you attractive to employers, although many apprentices actually end up staying with the company or business that trained them. The reasons for this are clear to see, as businesses enjoy the ability to train and then hire staff who have all the skills and experience to slot right into roles where they are needed. Because an apprenticeship is tied to a real job which needs doing, the chances of getting straight into your chosen career are high, as there is often a job waiting for you once you qualify.
If you thought that apprenticeships were all about manual work, then think again. From bee-keeping to banking, and advertising to wood-working, there is an apprenticeship to suit you, whether you want to make a difference in your work or not. Check out what apprenticeships are available right here on NotGoingToUni, get a head-start on your career and make a positive difference to the world we live in too!
