go down apprenticeship avenue

University is not the right route for everyone. Push knows that, you know that.

Luckily the rest of the country is beginning to know that too and that is expanding the other options that you have available. With that, apprenticeships are getting more attention and variety.

If you aren’t exactly sure what an apprenticeship is, it’s a program run by employers which combines on-the-job training with some study. You get a wage while gaining qualifications and some valuable work experience from directly within a company. So you get qualified for a job without having to deal with things such as tuition fees and student finance. They can range in length depending on the level of apprenticeship you want to do. The four levels are intermediate, advanced, higher and now some employers and unis have even teamed up to offer apprenticeships where you get a degree at the same time. (They're helpfully called Degree Apprenticeships.) You study some of the time, but you also work and even earn money on the job.

There are apprenticeships all over the UK (especially England). They range widely, from working in the forces to training in accountancy to work in many of the main banks in this country.

We even found some that you might not expect to see. How about being an Aerospace Engineer, builing and maintaining vehicles or satellites in space? Or a Fashion Studio Assistant or working on video games to check and fix them before they go live?

Even if you’ve decided uni's not for you, but you like the idea of moving away, apprenticeships in larger cities like London, Manchester, Leeds or Bristol might be a chance to get away. You get all the same perks of leaving home, just without the student debt. Remember, though, you'll be paying rent which is a big cut out of your first pay cheque, which, when you’re on an apprenticeship may not be huge to start with.

Apprenticeships allow you a zero-debt way to get into a job but this is all dependent on the industry you’re interested in, and if it offers apprenticeships in your dream role. Luckily the government have put together a helpful apprenticeship search engine here so you can start your research now. We also have a page on apprenticeships here.

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.