The days of apprenticeships being viewed as ‘inferior’ to university degrees in the eyes of the British public appear to be over. In fact, just 4% of Britons now think a university degree is best, as per a new poll from YouGov/The Times shows.
Nearly half (45%) of the public say apprenticeships are better than university degrees for preparing young people for the future, while 44% say both are equally good.
Those who didn’t go – or yet to go – to university are more likely to see apprenticeships as a better way of preparing young people for the future. Around half (51%) of non-graduates say apprenticeships are better than university degrees, while 38% say both equally.
Meanwhile, just 7% of graduates consider a university degree to be the better option. The vast majority (86%) believe apprenticeships are either as good or better at preparing young people for the future.
Among non-graduates, those who have attained lower education levels (GCSE or below) are more likely to see apprenticeships as superior to degrees (56%), compared to 47% of those whose highest education is A-levels or vocational training.
Parents of school-aged children are now more in favour of their child taking an apprenticeship than going to university (46% vs 33%).
Interestingly, Conservative voters show a stronger preference for their child starting an apprenticeship (52%) than a degree (27%), while Labour voters are narrowly in favour of preferring their child to go to university (44%) rather than have them start an apprenticeship (36%).
John Cope, Director of Strategy, Policy & Public Affairs, UCAS, agrees that “we’ve reached a genuine tipping point where apprenticeships are reaching parity”.
In a blog written for the Higher Education Policy Institute in February 2022, he highlighted how nearly half of UCAS applicants say they’re now interested in an apprenticeship.
“There is no room for complacency though,” he stressed. “We recently polled students at school and college and found one-third of students did not receive any careers information about apprenticeships, despite the ‘Baker Clause’ creating a legal requirement to do so in England.”