TEWKESBURY Business
Youngsters’ support for apprenticeship schemes
1:05pm Thursday 16th February 2012
MORE young people are opting for apprenticeships instead of taking on the costs of higher education, according to a Worcestershire-based national apprenticeship training provider.
Apprenticeship Training Limited (ATL), of Hartlebury near Kidderminster, has been helping hundreds of young apprentices from Worcester and the West Midlands to find employment in the building engineering sector while they gain new knowledge towards completing their qualifications. Around 850 Worcestershire people, aged between 16 and 21, participated in a range of apprenticeship schemes in 2010/11.
This is almost a 60 per cent increase compared with the previous year.
“Choosing an apprenticeship seems to be an increasingly popular option for young people in Britain,” said Milko Hadzhigenov of ATL.
“Apprentices are given the opportunity to earn while they learn, as well as gain practical experience from the workplace.”
Paul Barnes, aged 18, from Bromsgrove, who studies with ATL for a qualification in electrics level three, is convinced that he made the right decision by taking up an apprenticeship.
After completing his GCSEs with two A and three B grades, Mr Barnes chose not to go on to university because of the huge debt he would have to pay back after graduating.
“I didn’t want to go to university because the fees are very expensive, plus I’d have had to spend two years at college doing my A-levels,” said Mr Barnes.
“So I am skipping that and am getting paid for the time I would have been doing my A-levels at college and studying at university, instead of me having to pay them to be learning.
“I might even come out of this with some savings, rather than coming out with the debt of around £40,000.”