An alternative route

I highlighted back in November that the fall in Welsh domiciled university applicants can be seen as unexpected, given that the changes in tuition fees for English students does not affect young people living in Wales.  Welsh domiciled university applicants are not facing rises in their tuition fees.  Since then there has been a big recovering on this time last year – with the latest figures showing that there has only been a 1.9% fall of people from Wales applying from this time last year.  Again it must be acknowledged that these are applicants up to now, and we will not know the true figures until after the deadline has passed.  However, given the year on year rises we have seen in the last decade, I would again say that even this small decrease on this time last year would be unexpected given that tuition fees remain unchanged for Welsh domiciled applicants.  It seems that misinformation, affecting working class groups the most, is likely to be the main reason behind this.

Underlying these statistics are the choices young people are making today in Wales.  At this moment in time, many young people in their last year of schooling are likely to have on their minds the issue of what to do after school.  At the same time they will be hearing in the news and from adults about our uncertain economic times and a saturated graduate labour market.  But what options are open to young people other than higher education entry?

An alternative to higher education which young people are often not made aware of is apprenticeships.   These not only provide further learning opportunities for young people, allowing them to gain an accredited qualification, but also secure them future employment.  We know that many people leave university and are unable to find work.  Of course this is rather different for graduates from ‘leading’ universities, particularly Oxbridge, who are much more likely to take the top jobs and benefit most from their higher education experience.  But if securing a job in the future is important to young people, and they don’t have the grades to access a ‘leading’ university, then perhaps they should consider an apprenticeship.  In order for this route to be opened up to young people a number of misconceptions about apprenticeships need to be overcome.  A common misconception is that apprenticeships are restricted to certain career paths such as construction or hairdressing.  However, from a quick scan of the Careers Wales website, you will find apprenticeships in all of the typically thought of areas such as hairdressing, catering and construction, but also apprenticeships being offered in other less thought of areas including the performing arts and advanced engineering.  Careers Wales are currently advertisising a Theatre Technician apprenticeship from Rhondda Cynon Taf County Bourough Council as well as an Aerospace Engineering Apprenticeship from GE Aviation.  If you wanted to look further afield beyond Wales you will find an even more diverse range of apprenticeship offerings.  Young people in England have on offer apprenticeships in even more diverse areas such as graphic design, social media, photography, and information technology.

Apprenticeships may be a viable alternative for young people, but this can only happen if they are made aware of these opportunities.  Young people today, and in particular those from working class backgrounds, need more help than ever in order to negotiate their way through the myriad of options open to them.  If we are to reduce the alarming number of young people not in education, employment, or skills this work needs to take high priority.

Michael Donnelly is Policy and Research Officer at the Bevan Foundation