As this year's National Apprenticeship Week draws to a close, perhaps it's fitting that today's theme is "Apprenticeships deliver".
And indeed they do.
On Monday, we saw that apprenticeships deliver pride. Businesses and organisations have a right to be proud of themselves - for boosting their own productivity, for helping the economy get back up on its feet ... and for providing a brighter future for those who need it most.
On Tuesday, we saw that apprenticeships deliver growth. The predicted rise in the number of apprenticeships over the next decade, according to a new report from the Centre for Economics and Business Research, will be contributing £4.2 billion to the nation's economy. In particular, thanks to last year's Olympics, the hospitality and tourism sector will be growing by 10% in the next four years, and apprenticeships are going to be critical to that growth.
On Wednesday, we saw that apprenticeships deliver choice. We at NotGoingToUni conducted a survey of 1,774 graduates who'd left university in the past couple of years, and discovered that 76% of them weren't even aware that there was an alternative to a degree course. That's because they'd been pushed in that direction, which made it appear that their schools were much more concerned with the number of students they'd shipped off to uni than with the present and future wellbeing of those students. Sadly, more than half of those graduates said that if they'd been told about vocational training or apprenticeships, they'd have gone down that route instead - for reasons ranging from improved job prospects to that fifty-thousand pound plus student debt hanging over them.
Yesterday, we took a light-hearted look at a hypothetical apprenticeship hall of fame and discovered that plumbing apprentices had been known to branch out into Hollywood superstardom, while electrical apprentices tended to drift into rock'n'roll superstardom. As did one particular stained glass design apprentice, later elevated to deity status - and for very good reason. However, we did also discover that there are some superstars who actually stuck with their apprenticeship, finished it and went on to become successful in their chosen trade on the football pitch.
So apprenticeships really do deliver - and it's up to all of us to let as many people know about the pride, growth, choice and potential they can deliver to young people right now ... and well into the future.
