Every year thousands of young people face difficult choices about what to do about their futures. And while university is often seen as the default choice after school, it isn’t necessarily the right path for many.
EEF has helped hundreds of people begin their manufacturing and engineering careers through apprenticeships, offering our students hands-on learning and excellent future prospects for employment.
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“I knew I wanted to do something in engineering, but I didn’t want to get into debt while not really knowing exactly what it was I wanted. During my apprenticeship I’ve been guided and helped to find what is best suited for me, all while earning.”
- Hayden Boyle, 2nd year apprentice
So what are the differences to consider?
Apprenticeship
vs
University
Get on-the-job training and mentorship at a company that wants to employ you for the long term
Little to no on-the-job experience, must go through job hunt and recruitment process
Mix of classroom and hands-on learning
Almost exclusively classroom and test-based learning
Achieve qualifications required by your industry and workplace
Often require additional tests and training to achieve job-specific qualifications
No tuition fees or students loans necessary
The typical UK university graduate accrues £20-44,000 in student loans by the time they graduate and many are still paying them off decades later
Chance to earn while you learn
Apprentices can make between £140 and £210 per week
No income
EEF trains hundreds of engineering apprentices every year at our world-class facilities in Aston. See some of our current vacancies to get a flavour of where you could be working as an apprentice.