While a lot of students are focused on universities as their higher education option, there are plenty of others who may be tempted by other choices.
Degree apprenticeships are a relatively new addition to the HE space, but they are growing quickly. Here are three reasons why degree apprenticeships are a great option for your students to consider.
They’re a better financial deal
With student debt at all-time highs and the cost of going to university getting higher all the time, degree apprenticeships represent an easy way to avoid a lot of the financial pressure of university.
Degree apprenticeships have no tuition fees, meaning your students can avoid the large debt that they’ll often get if they choose university. While many students won’t be too concerned about their student loans, for some students the idea of taking on that much debt may be worrying.
With students like this, it’s best to talk them through why student debt isn’t necessarily as worrying as it might appear, but you can also bring up degree apprenticeships as another option for them.
In addition to not having any student debt, with a degree apprenticeship you’ll earn while you learn. Degree apprentices earn a salary while they study. The legal minimum wage for apprentices is low, with the 2018 figure at £3.70 per hour. However, most apprentices will earn significantly more than this.
All of this means that degree apprenticeships can be a great option for fiscally minded students, especially as concern about student loans is growing.
Students get lots of professional experience
Often graduates can struggle when they leave university and first gain employment. With degree apprentices, they’ll be gaining professional experience alongside their studies.
Employers are consistently saying that they value soft skills and real world experience in their younger employees, and a degree apprenticeship is a great way to gain these skills in a professional environment.
In addition, degree apprentices get an early opportunity to network and make contacts in their industry. Starting this vital process right from the point of starting their degree gives these students a significant advantage over graduates of traditional degrees.
Students can be more employable
With a degree apprenticeship, your students can benefit both from the academic qualification of a degree, and gaining the soft skills that can really differentiate them in the job market. This means that degree apprentices are often very employable.
As well as the soft skills, it’s also worth bearing in mind that degree apprentices build great relationships with the employers that they’re on placement with. Often, the employers themselves have designed the programmes that the students are following, and so this gives them an extra incentive to keep them around.
Most degree apprentices stay on with their employer after they finish. For an employment conscious student, this can be difficult to pass up!
Degree apprenticeships aren’t going to be right for all of your students. There’s still a lot of advantages to a traditional degree at a university. But, for many students they can be a great alternative that’s definitely worth considering.
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