Making apprenticeships a choice young people can picture

Why do young people choose university over an apprenticeship? At Active Care Group’s fourth Purpose Lab session, participants challenged the assumption within that question. One participant described friends who had applied unsuccessfully for apprenticeships. Another had struggled to find an apprenticeship connected to the work they wanted to do.

That distinction matters for employers trying to widen access. A young person studying for a degree may already have considered an apprenticeship carefully. Their decision can reflect what was available, how recruitment worked and whether they could see a suitable opportunity, as well as their preferences.

Active Care Group joined the Purpose Coalition’s session to explore how it could attract people into apprenticeship opportunities. The discussion exposed a gap between the range of careers employers can offer and the picture prospective applicants may have in mind. Participants associated apprenticeships with certain trades or with leaving school at a particular age. Clinical, care and other professional routes were less familiar.

The application process was another part of that picture. University applications offered a recognisable route through UCAS. Apprenticeship applications could mean finding individual employers and navigating separate recruitment processes, sometimes with several stages. Making the opportunity visible is therefore only one part of helping someone reach it.

Participants also described what attracted them to university beyond the qualification. Moving away from home, meeting people and gaining independence were part of its appeal. So was having time to explore a subject before settling on an occupation. For someone already confident about their career direction, joining an employer could look very different from how it appeared to someone still weighing up their options.

This led to one of the session’s strongest suggestions: present apprenticeships as a route into a profession in their own right. A message centred on avoiding university costs can overlook the questions an applicant really needs answered. What would a working week look like? How would learning fit alongside the job? What support would be available, and where could the experience lead?

Participants suggested ways to make those answers tangible, including hearing directly from apprentices and getting a closer view of a workplace. Insight opportunities could help people imagine themselves in a role, much as university open days help prospective students. The team acknowledged that visits in care settings would need to account for safeguarding and other practical requirements.

Active Care Group’s team identified the framing of the choice as an important takeaway. The discussion gave them more than ideas for recruitment messages. It showed why access depends on helping applicants understand the experience on offer, navigate the process and judge whether it fits the life and career they want to build.