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Want to become a nuclear scientist? Try an apprenticeship

Want to become a nuclear scientist? Try an apprenticeship

Many young people wrongly believe that a university degree is the only route into some careers, survey shows

25th March 2019, 4:24pm

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More than three in four young people believe you need a university degree to work in a management role at businesses like Google, Microsoft and IBM, a survey has found.

According to a survey of 2,000 16- to 24 year-olds carried out by the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT), more than half wrongly think you need a degree to become a nuclear scientist (52 per cent), while a similar proportion believe incorrectly that it is the only way to become a solicitor (48 pr cent), an aerospace engineer (47 per cent) or an accountant (43 per cent). This is despite the fact there are now apprenticeship routes into all of those job roles.

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More than 70 per cent of survey respondents incorrectly identified a number of industry leaders as having a university degree, and the organisation has today also released a top 10 list of these powerful industry leaders - including editor-in-chief of Vogue, Anna Wintour - as well as a top five list of the skills people think they need to land the high paying jobs of the future.

The value of apprenticeships

The survey also reveals that respondents placed more value on on-the-job-training (76 per cent) and work experience or internships (56 per cent) than a university degree (42 per cent) when it comes to succeeding in their careers.

Rob Alder, head of business development at AAT, said: “Increasingly, top employers are looking beyond an applicant’s education to find out whether they have the skills to succeed in a role.

“This is why many organisations are championing new apprenticeship opportunities to help young people chart their own successful path beyond the traditional university degree. For instance, accountancy apprenticeships are up 12 per cent year-on-year with some large employers increasing their apprenticeship intake.

“Apprenticeships can offer the best route into some of the most highly skilled jobs. Yet, the survey shows that awareness of these opportunities is still too low. We hope that by highlighting people’s misconceptions, we can encourage young people to consider more alternative education options to enable them to thrive in the future.”