Within school , knowledge of apprenticeships appeared to predominantly come from careers fairs , assemblies and within one-to-one interviews . However , for many , their knowledge from official school sources appeared limited and often vague . This was especially the case for participants in schools A and D . Participants within those schools used phrases such as :
I haven ’ t really heard a lot about apprenticeships really , especially not from this school ( Participant school A )
Not really that much , they don ’ t really talk about apprenticeships ( Participant school D )
For many of these young people , their knowledge about apprenticeships predominantly appeared to come from more informal sources such as family and friends .
Barriers to a career choice in technical apprenticeships
Whilst participants generally spoke about apprenticeships in a positive way , none of the participants were currently on a definitive pathway to an apprenticeship . Analysis identified three key barriers :
• The reinforcement of the A-level to university route ;
• The perception that apprenticeships are for certain ‘ types ’ of young people ;
• Limited knowledge .
The reinforcement of the A-level to university route
There was a clear hierarchy of aspiration within the accounts of participants , with A-levels and university being the perceived aspirational path for young people to take . This was reflected in that ten of the participants were considering A-levels and eleven had some level of aspiration to go to university . In relation to apprenticeships , this meant that although some participants were open to the idea of undertaking an apprenticeship , they saw it as something that could run either alongside or after the traditional path rather than as the main educational choice .
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