18 Feb 2020

With summer wrapping up and 2020 well underway, some of you are probably being bombarded with the same question.

What are you going to do now?

Well, our teachers and parents teach us the formula to a good life. Get a red-hot ATAR to get into a red-hot course to get a red-hot job…

Plot twist. This formula works for some, but those breaking it are the true MVP’s as it isn’t the only way to succeed.

It’s sad that the word apprenticeship is like a myth whispered around school halls. It’s sad that they aren’t discussed further as a viable option. It’s sad that so many school leavers choose uni lecture halls, study notes and group assignments just because they think they should.

If uni doesn’t tickle your fancy, that is more than okay! Let us enlighten you on another red-hot option – apprenticeships.

 

Apprenticeships combine formal classroom learning with practical training working for a real-life company, all while earning yourself some dosh. Talk about killing two birds with one stone.

There are more than 500 occupations available through apprenticeships. Things like plumbing, carpentry, hairdressing, electrical, cooking and bricklaying – just to name a few. But hang on, it gets even better.

Instead of a massive uni debt over your shoulders for years to come, doing an apprenticeship means you’re actually earning money while you train. In fact, Australian apprentices have the potential to finish their training nearly $150,000 ahead of university students when considering their earnings and the lack of university debt. Woah.

Whilst your mates are slogging it trying to pay their uni debt back, you could be off travelling with the money you’ve earnt before jumping straight into a job. Oh yeah – did we mention you’re basically guaranteed employment?

Recent stats show that over 91% of trade apprentices get employed after finishing their training. That’s a much higher rate than university graduates. I mean let’s be real – 20% of Australian first year uni students drop out of their degree right off the bat.

 

Many of these uni drop-outs would have been unaware of apprenticeships as an option. They were probably told that uni was the be-all end-all before they realised it just didn’t tickle their fancy.

If the construction industry interests you, go check out our mates at Construction Skills Queensland (CSQ). They support people looking to get into the industry by actually clarifying what options you have outside of uni – and supporting you along the way. They can help you find a course that interests you and they even fund up to 75%-100% of your training costs. Basically, they’re here to make the whole process a whole lot easier since they know not many others are there to do so!

Look, most of my year group went to uni. So, so, so many of us dropped out. A few of us started apprenticeships. I remember when one of the brightest guys in the year didn’t go to uni and became an apprentice instead. Everyone said he had become a dropkick. I mean, that’s what we were taught to believe right?

He just bought a house and a car and is one of the happiest guys you’ll ever meet. I guess he was, like so many other tradies, more clued in than the rest of us.