Helping young people consider all their future career options
IN SCHOOLS Are you a school leaver? (or soon to be one?) Confused about which route to take? Need some help and advice?
Who are we? RateMyApprenticeship.co.uk is a free website providing young people with peer-to-peer information about Apprenticeships, School Leaver Programmes and lots of other school leaver opportunities. Are you thinking of the best way to get a degree, but avoid the fees? Wondering how to make the most of your gap year? Perhaps you’re an eager beaver and want to jump straight into the working world? If you’re thinking about leaving school and are not quite sure what route to take, don’t worry! RateMyApprenticeship wants to make sure you have all the information avaliable and are able to make an informed decision about your future career path.
What are your options?
How can we help you? If you want to know what a programme is really like, why not ask those who are already taking part in it. You can find out what to expect from those who have been there and done it through RateMyApprenticeship. The website is choca-block with information on what people who are on these programmes really think. You can browse through hundreds of reviews written by young people just like you who have chosen one of these options. Below are a few snippets to get you started...
“I feel very valued by PwC, there are so many people that I can turn for help, and everyone’s willing to help me and wants me to succeed.” Tax Technician, Higher Apprentice, PwC
“I am no different to other members of staff in the eyes of the team and the view of the company.” Higher Apprentice, GSK
“The managers I have worked for have been great; they are approachable, friendly & always willing to help/explain things if and when needed.” Trainee Auditor, School Leaver Programme, BDO
“Just do it. Uni will be come a background learning provider and those will only go who need to. Teachers, Doctors and other specialist skills that are required will go to uni. Most will do an apprenticeship in there area.” Pricing Assistant, School Leaver Programme, TUI Travel “I believe my experiences here so far have been invaluable. I am treated equally by everyone I work with and I am a valued team member. You couldn’t ask for any better support here because you get it 100% from day one.” Developing and Resourcing Administrator, Higher Apprentice, Peugeot Citroën
“My employer is always asking if everything’s okay and asking me things about my current work and is very supportive.” Intermediate
Apprentice, Fujitsu
“I think that the salary that Capgemini offer is very competitive and is one of the best apprenticeships on offer. It covers my costs easily, and i also get opportunity to progress within the business and earn a higher salary.” Software Engineer, Advanced Apprentice, Capgemini
What are my options? Leaving school doesn’t have to be a move into the unknown; we’re here to ensure you are aware of all your options before taking the next big step.
Apprenticeships Let’s get things straight...an Apprenticeship is a paid period of training which is balanced with a REAL job and paid REAL money. As an apprentice, you are taught a particular set of skills through a nationally recognised qualification that will help you in your role and career development.
“In my apprenticeship there is the constant reassurance of a team who both want you to succeed and excel at the career you wish to map out for yourself. I applied with very little technical insight however I found that the tutors catered to my style of learning and now I am able to understand as well as apply my skills to the projects I work on.” - Melisa Samuels, Capgemini, Higher Apprentice (Software Engineer)
School Leaver Programmes These programmes are positioned by organisations as a form of ‘high school graduate scheme’. A School Leaver Programme is traditionally offered by large companies in industries such as Finance, Engineering, IT and Retail. School leavers salaries can range from £15,000 to £25,000. They are an option for students who might want to avoid university fees and hope to get a head start in employment.
“After now working at Willis as a school leaver for eight months, I cannot believe the number of opportunities I have had and the amount I have learned. Insurance wasn’t an industry that I knew much about but now I am now learning all the elements.” - Kourtnie Haden, Willis, School Leaver
Sponsored Degree Programmes There is more than one way to get a degree...a Sponsored Degree Programme offers a university degree as a part of an employer’s training scheme. Although these schemes vary, often the tuition costs are funded or part-funded by the employer. These schemes are often based around a specific course at a particular university. Imagine telling your friends you’re being paid to go to university!
“The EY degree course was such a great way for me to achieve both a credible degree from a respected and accredited business school and open the door to a great career. It’s great to be able to get the best of both worlds, studying at university and experiencing ‘uni life’ but also being able to put my studies into practice at EY.” - Leanne, EY, Sponsored Degree
Gap Year Programmes Are you considering taking a year out after you finish school? Make the most of it with a Gap Year Programme! These provide well-paid work experience opportunities over a period of five-twelve months and build up your CV. IBM’s Horizon’s programme is a great example of this... IBM’s gap year placements offer 12 months’ worth of experience that could transform your year out and your future prospects. They offer you an invaluable opportunity to work with a world-leading company, broadening your horizons and giving you a head start in your career and, if you decide to go to university, on your course. There’s plenty of training and support to help you become what you want to be. Which is just as well if you’re still deciding!
“At just 19 I believe I have a better experie nce of the world of work than most university students. I never imag ined I would be on-site running an IBM Busin ess Partner event! Th e variety of opportuniti es available for Gap Ye ar Students is really impr essive” - Susanna Ga IBM, Ga rside, p Year
Traineeship Traineeships are for young people who want to go straight into work but need to build up experience or skills. They take place the stage before Apprenticeships, helping to improve skills in Maths and English and develop personal and vocational skills.
Work Experience Work experience is any vocational experience that a person takes part in within a specific occupation. It can last any period from a day to a few weeks. These opportunities can be paid or unpaid and are looked upon favourably when applying for a job.
“My two weeks on the BDO Summer School Programme were full-on however a really fun, learning experience that helped to confirm my choice of career path. I now have an offer for the school leaver programme and cannot wait to return to BDO” - Victoria Marshall, BDO Summer School
University University is a popular option amongst school leavers. The qualification is usually a degree that can be continued to masters or PHDs. Students can also obtain work experience through placement years and internships –visit our friends at RateMyPlacement.co.uk to find out more.
“Starting university I knew I loved business but I didn’t know which sector I wanted to work in. University was great at teaching me various aspects of the business world whilst giving me the opportunity to meet new people. However, my work-placement has given me experience in a work place context, something uni can’t do.” -
James Deag, Plymouth University
What to consider? Choosing to go straight into a career is a very clever way of working your way up the career ladder earlier and in a lot of cases quicker. Here’s a summary of what to consider; for more details visit our advice section at RateMyApprenticeship.co.uk.
MONEY University is expensive, very expensive although the government will loan you the money – you will end up having to pay it back. The averag e wage is £170 a week although some companies pay their app rentices up to £25,000 a year. It’s your choice whether you tak e the debt or you try and avoid it.
QUALIFICATIONS Apprenticeships and School Leaver Programmes both offer professional qualifications which are funded by the company you are employed by and directly related to the career path you are interested in. At university you will work towards a respected academic qualification like a bachelor’s degree, a master’s degree or perhaps even a PHD.
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CAREER ASPIRATIONS There are many jobs you need a degree for, but there are also lots that you don’t. For instance, you can only become a qualified doctor by going to university; however chartered accountants can train straight from school and often faster than a graduate would. Therefore have a good think about what you want to do because it could save you £50,000.
Naomi - Jaguar Land Rover, Advanced Apprentice Naomi Jennens-Bull joined Jaguar Land Rover as an Advanced Apprentice having just completed her GCSEs. Whilst Naomi knew she wanted to pursue a career in engineering, she wasn’t sure which specialism she’d like to follow. This made it difficult to choose a university course and the appropriate A Levels. When she discovered she could combine academic and vocational studies with an apprenticeship at Jaguar Land Rover, the decision became easy. She now would have the perfect balance between the two, whilst gaining a unique insight into the automotive industry.
“The last three years at Jaguar Land Rover have been amazing. They’ve really opened my eyes to the endless possibilities and opportunities that are available within the automotive industry, and Jaguar Land Rover is at the very heart of it.”
“To be able to earn while learning from some of the most skilled and experienced engineers in the country has been incredible, and even though it was initially hard to adjust from a school environment to a working environment, I would recommend an apprenticeship to anyone – in fact I have friends applying this year.”
Success Story – Liz Bingham, EY , Senior Partner Liz Bingham was on the EY School Leaver Programme 25 years ago. She’s now a Managing Partner at EY.
“EY offers the opportunity for school leavers to join one of the biggest financial services organisations in the world, the fastest growing of those in the UK, to experience firsthand what serving clients is all about and have that diversity of opportunity to train for a qualification that arguably is more valuable than many degrees. And then, when the rest of your peer-group are leaving university, you have three years work experience under your belt and a professional qualification as a chartered or certified accountant. That feels like quite a good alternative.”
“I’m from a working class background; one of my grandfathers was a greengrocer, the other an illiterate plum ber. I went through the UK state school system, I’m not a gradua te and yet here I am, a senior partner on the firm’s leadership team”
The sooner you start thinking about your future career options, the better prepared you’ll be when people start asking you: “So, what do you want to do when you leave school?” In Year 9 you can start looking into work experience options and insight days.
So you’re doing your GCSE’s or Standard Grades and are starting to wonder whether or not to stay in full-time education or consider whether a more vocational path may suit you better?
Traineeships. Intermediate Apprenticeships look for two or more GCSEs or equivalent. Advanced Apprenticeships look for around five GCSE’s or equivalent.
Whether you decide to stay on for A-Levels or apply for an Apprenticeship or Traineeship you need to start thinking about work experience...think you don’t need to worry about that yet? I’m afraid ing you do! The earlier you start building up your CV the more appeal you become both to employers and to universities.
Have you started thinking about the next phase of your life yet? You might not know that there are plenty of options as well as university available including: Apprenticeships – Learn while you earn under a government training framework! Receive a vocational qualification and experience within a great organisation. School Leaver Programmes – Work for a huge organisation, get paid a salary AND earn a professional qualification. Sponsored Degrees – More and more firms are creating schemes that pay for you to go to university, get a degree and give you paid work placements too. You even apply through UCAS.
For some more information on any of these programmes check them out on RateMyApprenticeship.co.uk.
So now is the time to really think about your options and whether or not to apply to universi ty through UCAS. The questions you need to ask yoursel f are:
? If Are you interested in taking the first step onto the career ladder mmes. Progra Leaver l so, start applying for Apprenticeships and Schoo Don’t forget to read our top tips for the application process on RateMyApprenticeship.co.uk. Have you looked into cost effective ways to gain a degree? a Sponsored Degree Programmes are a great way to avoid the £9,000 . degree a year fees and gain work experience alongside after Do you need another year to decide your next steps? If you’re ures advent ial potent some fantastic work experience and money for you should consider a Gap Year Programme.
Has this made you think? Visit for more information on your school leaver opportunities