07 Jul 2015

How often do you hear the word “apprenticeship” in high school? When discussing your future, do your teachers ever talk about trades? Does your careers advisor ever recommend that an apprenticeship might be right for you, or even explain what an apprenticeship is or how it works?

I, for one, have zero recollection of any of these discussions taking place at high school, and every future opportunity or career path that was ever laid out in front of us involved university and university only.

This is a big problem.

Apprenticeships are a legitimate and perfectly worthwhile option for your post-school education, but for some reason many high schools seem to neglect that fact. This in turn attaches a certain stigma to apprenticeships, especially in the eyes of students and young people, which just doesn’t exist in the real world. This is another problem, because young Aussies and school-leavers are the ones who can most benefit from an apprenticeship.

In actual fact, people who work in trades work just as hard and earn just as much (if not more) as many people who’ve studied at university and obtained a degree. They can be just as smart and just as driven, and they can work their way up the ranks into high-paying, senior positions as well.

There are actually a few benefits of choosing to do an apprenticeship when compared to heading to university, the first of which being that you are paid to do your training, rather than the other way around. With an apprenticeship, you’ll be earning money while learning skills and gaining your qualification, while a few years at university will rack up thousands of dollars in debt.

Many universities also lack the ability to give their students practical experience in their chosen field. This isn’t the case with an apprenticeship, where almost all of your training is completed on-the-job. It is a far more dynamic way of learning, and means you’re not going to be stuck in a classroom for another four years after high school.

Getting out in the field also means that you’re going to be connecting with potential employers and other important contacts in your industry, so you’ll have a better shot at finding employment once your apprenticeship is over.

So, why don’t more high schools discuss apprenticeships as an option for students’ futures?

Think about it: if schools offered apprenticeships as a viable career choice, then maybe there would be less confusion about what students want to do when they leave school. Those young people who don’t see themselves enjoying university might have an easier time choosing another career path. If high schools offered subjects that provided skills for trade jobs, maybe less people would struggle finding an apprenticeship. If teachers and careers advisors discussed apprenticeships more, maybe everyone would stop looking down upon them as the “lesser” option.

It’s time for high schools to get rid of this old-fashioned way of thinking and start providing students with all the possibilities for their future. Apprenticeships are just as important and should be equally as respected as studying at university, so let’s get rid of the stigma surrounding apprenticeships and start getting our hands dirty!