Young people are ready for apprenticeships - we need to make the opportunities visible
11 February 2025, 14:35 | Updated: 14 February 2025, 16:17
The tide is turning on apprenticeships as more students than ever prioritise on-the-job training over university.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
Apprenticeships have often been considered an afterthought for young people looking for their first step on the career ladder. However, the tide is turning, as our new research shows that the appetite for them is clear.
In fact, six in ten of the young people we recently surveyed said they would rather train on the job than go to a university.
The issue, though, is access to information; we also found one of the main barriers to apprenticeship uptake is awareness, with 44% saying they feel uninformed about available opportunities.
As an employer, we need to help teachers and careers advisors to better highlight the full spectrum of options available, so young people can make informed decisions about their future.
Our view is that preparing the workforce of today and tomorrow needs a blended approach, offering various pathways to training and employment.
At BAE Systems, our range of graduate and undergraduate roles, apprenticeships, experienced hires, along with upskilling our existing workforce, is proving to be an effective strategy to ensure we develop the talent we need to deliver for our customers.
There’s a really exciting opportunity for employers, educators and the Government to strengthen our collaboration and we think it’s really important that large companies, such as ours, help support smaller ones.
For our part, this year we’re recruiting for more than 2,400 new apprentice, undergraduate and graduate roles, which will result in 6,500 people in training by the end of the year.
Two thirds of our apprentice vacancies are for intermediate and advanced apprenticeships. A third of our apprenticeship entries are for higher and degree apprenticeships; a key solution to skills challenges that offer young people the best of both worlds, embarking on an apprenticeship while gaining qualifications.
Ultimately, it’s vital that businesses like BAE Systems raise awareness of the options available and offer a broad range of further education routes as a proven way to secure a necessary pipeline of talent that will sustain our future success.
That’s why, by the end of the year, we will have invested around £1 billion in education and skills since the start of the decade.
The secret to success is building on and creating an effective partnership between Government, education and employers.
________________
Richard Hamer is Education and Skills Director at BAE Systems.
LBC Views provides a platform for diverse opinions on current affairs and matters of public interest.
The views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official LBC position.
To contact us email views@lbc.co.uk
