Until a few years ago, 16 year olds only had the two options of going to college or sixth form after finishing their GCSEs in secondary school but another option was needed as some young people would prosper and learn more by going straight into a job.
Apprenticeships are what the government came up with to combat this issue, these are government funded work-based training programmes which allow people aged 16 and over to go straight into a job while training them for qualifications. They are designed by sector skill councils and employers to give the specific set of skills needed for the apprentice to do the job properly. All apprentices will earn a fair salary since apprenticeships are real jobs and should work for at least 30 hours a week. These apprenticeships can last one to five years depending on the level of apprenticeship, the field of work and prior skills.
The government recently launched The Get In Go Far campaign. This campaign is used to show young people, their parents and teachers the value of an apprenticeship and make them recognise that they are a valid and credible route to a rewarding career. Two examples of how good these apprenticeships are doing are Chris Achiampong and Xavier Williams who are both used to promote the campaign due to their success.
Xavier is 18 and doing a Level 2 Intermediate Apprenticeship at Lloyds Bank. He started the job in February last year in Lloyds’ fraud department. He lives at home with his 8 family members who are all very proud of where he has come with the apprenticeship and appears all over the Get In Go Far website.
Chris, a 21- year old from Newham who is in his first year of his apprenticeship at IBM in a sales role. His main reason for doing an apprenticeship is in order to repay his mum for raising him and his brothers by herself. He says: “My dream is to help my mum retire. My mum raised me and my brothers up on her own. I thought to myself, I need to make money and give something back. An apprenticeship was a way of doing that.” Chris features on giant billboards across the country and is currently working at IBM’s Southbank offices. He seems to love his new apprenticeship, saying “I’ve had the most amazing time since joining IBM, working with experienced colleagues, other apprentices and graduates, going out to visit clients. The education I’ve received alongside this has really helped my development, and I’ve been able to put the learning straight into practice in my role. I’m really looking forward to taking on the IBM Global Sales School programme, and developing my skills further alongside a wide variety of graduate and experienced colleagues.”
