Routes into careers. It isn’t all one pathway.

At Push we’re all about making the right choice about your future.

Don’t forget there’s so many different options for you right now, arguably more than any generation before you. It’s all about sitting down to think, how you learn best and what it is you want from life.

While some really specialised careers may have one particular pathway, such as obtaining a medical degree to become a doctor, it isn’t the case with a lot of careers now and some are opening their metaphorical doors to allow other routes into them that aren’t just university.

For example the College of Policing is now offering Police Constable degree apprenticeships. Meaning you can now get a degree in professional policing practice while getting paid and receiving the practical on-the-job training for the role eradicating the need to get involved with any of that pesky student finance stuff. Fantastic!

Degree apprenticeships are still relatively in their infancy. 

The aim of them is to combine studying part-time with working. You are employed throughout the programme, which can range from 3 to 6 years depending on the level of the course (These can go right up to masters degree level). So you spend some time with your employer, which can vary from being day-to-day to blocks of time, depending on the needs of the employer and the requirements of the university course, and the other part studying at a university.

So that's how they work broadly but how do you benefit from choosing this route?

Well, I've already mentioned you don't have to pay student fees for the university course, as these are co-funded by the government and your employer. Also, due to actually gaining work experience while studying, you gain a head start in your career, so it's already getting going while you're still studying.

Downsides of this route include having a lot less free time and having to juggle your studies with working, which some people do struggle with. It also means you've already decided your career while you're studying, while a traditional degree offers flexibility to find this out along the way by discovering what you're passionate about. Also some employers still see a degree apprenticeship as 'second best' to a traditional degree, despite them being just as academically challenging.

The Police Constable course is just one of the latest examples of Degree Apprenticeships being introduced for pre-existing roles. There’s more universities and industries becoming involved in this kind of offering. UCAS say that the current industries offering Degree Apprenticeships are currently;

•     Business and administration
•     Childcare and education
•     Construction
•     Creative and design
•     Digital
•     Engineering and manufacturing
•     Health and science
•     Legal, finance, and accounting
•     Protective services (e.g. police)

So as you can see apprenticeships are becoming much more than just roles in manual labour industries. By combining with degree level qualifications it makes these much more suitable for a higher number of individuals.

So if you’ve ever thought about getting a degree but have been put off by the idea of student fees and not receiving a wage for a few years, then a degree apprenticeship may be the route for you by getting the best of the two.

The only downside of course is that these don’t exist for every industry and every role, so you will have to do your research and hope that your interests align with the current offering of courses and careers. However if they do, this could be one of the more recent developments in careers and higher education that may appeal to you.

Have a look at our video from our presenter Moj discussing Apprenticeships and Degree Apprenticeships.

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Author

ARON TENNANT is the Talks and Editorial manager and designated GDPR Data Controller for Push. He is originally from South Yorkshire and has a BA in English Language and Literature from the University of Sheffield. He also has a MA degree in Creative Play and Screenwriting from City, University of London and came runner up in Nickelodeon's international screenwriting competition in 2018 and his short film ''Donkey Tooth'  was screened at the London Raindance Film Festival in 2018. He is IMDB credited and alongside Push he does screenplay work for independent production companies and is working on his own independent film and theatre projects and writes articles for JumpcutOnline.com