Schools therefore must continue to close this knowledge gap through official careers advice and guidance , particularly for young people who may rely on limited ( or indeed no ) outside information about apprenticeships and other vocational choices . It also suggests that schools can play a role in helping to increase the knowledge of apprenticeships with parents / guardians , in order to support their children in making more informed choices about their future educational plans .
Recommendations
Based on the results from the research , the following recommendations are made :
• Schools should be continuing to work towards achieving the Gatsby Benchmarks whilst also ensuring apprenticeships are being presented on an equal footing to the traditional A-level – university route , particularly within schools with sixth forms . This includes breaking down stereotypes surrounding apprenticeships ;
• Schools should consider making greater use of past or present apprentices as role models / mentors to encourage more young people to consider the apprenticeship route ;
• Schools have a role to play in engaging with all parents / carers but particularly those of NCOP learners to improve their awareness and knowledge of apprenticeships ;
• Future research should examine the experiences of learners that are not part of the NCOP cohort in order to establish whether there are differences in the experiences of NCOP learners and non NCOP learners ;
• Future research should also adopt a multi perspective approach by examining the experiences of other groups such as parents / guardians .
References
Braun , V ., & Clarke , V . ( 2006 ). Using thematic analysis in psychology . Qualitative Research in Psychology , 3 ( 2 ), 77-101 .
Careers and Enterprise Company . ( 2019 ). Understand the Gatsby Benchmarks . Retrieved from https :// www . careersandenterprise . co . uk / schools-colleges / understand-gatsby-benchmarks
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