A couple of weeks ago I was privileged to spend a couple of hours in the presence of some very inspiring young individuals at the Rotherham Advertiser Apprentice of the Year Awards. The event celebrated those who have excelled in the Apprenticeship route and those who are at the start of very successful careers.
I nominated my Apprentice, Rachel, for the award due to her commitment to the role of Digital Marketing Apprentice, her professionalism, her self-motivation and many other assets. Out of 160+ nominations, she was in the finalists that included those studying intermediate and advanced levels of apprenticeships in a variety of subjects such as engineering, care and media.
The evening was a lovely event. Being in a room full of people who were all there to be advocates for the apprenticeship route and to see the younger generations taking the initiative to get into work whilst learning, was very touching.
Obviously the fact that i work in education exposes me to the vocational route as opposed to the academic route for those completing their GCSEs and older. I’ve always been an advocate for Further and Higher Education.
My route
School
I followed the traditional academic route: went to sixth form college after school and then on to university. I had not clue what I wanted to do with my life. I’d flitted with different possibilities such as veterinary, medical, music, media and many more… I’m not an unusual case. I think at 14/15 it’s very hard to decide what career you are going to be doing for the next 50+ years. Seems pretty unfair and such a big decision to make at such a young age. Deciding what bag and hair accessory to team up was the extent of my decision making at that age. Picking your options and choosing between geography and history was a no brainer. Explains why until I was 18 I thought Penzance was in France! (yes I know. Ridiculous right?)
I picked Expressive Arts and Music out of the mix of Business, Sport and other various ones of no interest to me. I’d always been musical due to my extensive instrument playing from a very young age. I’ve always loved music and performing arts, so this was the obvious route.
I did reasonably well in my GCSEs: five Bs, five Cs and two Ds. Not bad. I’ve never been and A* student. I’m happy with that. Average Joe over here!
Sixth Form or College
My school didn’t have a sixth form so I had limited options. I had to choose between the rival secondary school and move into their sixth form with a lot of others from mine, go to the sixth form college in the centre of town or possibly one of the two local vocational colleges. I didn’t really have a push to go to a vocational college despite desperately to study Popular Music I was prompted to do A-Levels. The school sixth form didn’t seem to me as an option. All the high achievers were going there. I wouldn’t fit in. Non of my close friends were going there and most of all I didn’t want to wear a uniform for another two years. (Priorities, I know!)
So the choice was made for me. Local sixth form college it was. I chose English Language, Spanish, Music and Media Studies. I had to general studies as a given but the others I chose not because I thought I was going to be working in the media in Spain but because I still had no clue what I wanted to do and fancied another two years kind of working things out studying subjects I enjoyed rather than ones I felt I had to do. College was a good experience. It was more grown up and I made some good friends. Whilst at college I did have a part time job. this actually turned in to an eight year on and off relationship with my local Tesco.
University
After College I went on to university. I again picked a course I would enjoy rather than picking something I was certain would give me a career; BA(Hons) in Media and Popular Culture.
I spent three years partly living in a city that I loved and learning about popular culture and the effects that the media play on the way we behave. Yeah it was really interesting but all I can say that I remember is little things. I enjoyed watching films, learning about the effects of music on behaviour and many other theories. My final year dissertation was titled “The Representations of Lesbians on Contemporary British TV”.
In the end though, I was left in debt with an over draft and student loan and with no better prospects of a job or starting my career. Please don’t for one second think I’m preaching that the university route is bad. Nope! I would recommend it to anyone. Going to university is far more than just learning a course. You get life experience. You become self-motivated. If you don’t you can’t do well. If you move away from home you learn to live on your own. You learn many life hacks like how to never need to iron your clothes by hanging them straight as soon as they come out of the washer, that 5p (as they were back then) noodles are a meal and that there is never enough time to sleep. It’s a lot of people’s first experience of being out in the world on their own.
I came back home at the weekend to work. I had a boyfriend in my home town at the time so it made sense. I juggled that with staying up at uni 4/5 days a week.
Anyway…..
What I’m trying to say is that I spent five years of my life contemplating what I wanted to do. Going to college and university was right for me as I didn’t know what I wanted to do. Doing A-Levels let me keep my options open for a further two years while I decided what I wanted to do. I, naively (as probably so many others do) went to university kind of expecting that once I’d got my degree that I’d have jobs waiting for me. The media industry is so competitive and unless you are willing to spend a further two years working for free as some runner or have a huge drive to get into the industry.
In summary
Choose whichever route suits you. Do you research. If you know exactly what you want to do, consider an apprenticeship. This way you get the theory and the practical experience all in one go rather than waiting until after your qualification. If you’re not sure, stick with A-Levels and that way you’ve got another two years to consider your options.
xxxx