Employers Say University Isn't The Only Way

Apprenticeships are increasingly important for employers who are hiring and looking to grow their business, according to the latest data from trade bodies.

University degrees were traditionally seen as the best way to get a job. But, given the increasing pressure on graduates to compete for a job, and pay off ever high tuition fees, that's starting to change, with more attention being paid to apprenticeships.

The Chartered Management Institute is advocating a third way, a degree apprenticeship: a degree course and on-the-job training, with a guaranteed job after and no tuition fees.

CMI chief executive Ann Francke told Sky News they offered a "good deal" and schools needed to do more to highlight the alternatives to university, saying many parents and pupils weren't aware of what else was on offer.

According to the CMI's survey, over 60% of parents would favour a degree apprenticeship, as offered by M&A or Rolls Royce (LSE: RR.L - news) , over an Oxbridge degree, and 77% said they believed the schemes should be promoted equally with traditional degrees.

Apprenticeships are particularly important in the construction industry, according to the latest data from the Federation of Master Builders.

The vast majority of employers in the sector, 98%, say they value apprenticeship training over a degree when hiring new staff, and 58% of construction bosses started their own careers as an apprentice. Nearly 90% said they would recommend training as an apprentice.

Brewer and pub operator Greene King (Other OTC: GKNGY - news) has got into the spirit of things, announcing it would be taking on 10,000 apprentices over the next three years, all of whom are guaranteed a job at the end of the training.

The company is one of several companies, including Starbucks (Swiss: SBUX.SW - news) , Fortnum and Mason, BT and Prezzo, who have said they will commit to large apprenticeship programmes as part of National Apprenticeship Week.

Despite this, when the Chancellor George Osborne announced a £3bn apprenticeship levy in the Autumn Statement, which would be 0.5% of a company's paybill, business was up in arms.

The EEF, the manufacturers' organisation said at the time: "This cannot be a simple numbers game where businesses are clobbered to pay for apprenticeships (Other OTC: UBGXF - news) ."