Small business agony uncle James Caan gives his opinions on apprenticeships.
Dear James:
I really love business and working in an office. What are the pros and cons for apprenticeships?
Tracey
James says:
The world of work has changed at a fast pace over the past few years and young people are faced with the challenging decision of where to go next. Once upon a time, the word “apprenticeship” conjured an image of a young person learning a manual trade. However, in the past few years there has been a huge rise in “white collar” or business apprenticeships.
This week is National Apprenticeship Week so it’s a great time to start thinking about whether this is right for you. It is an attractive route as it gives you a good career with long-term prospects. Learning on the job is the perfect option if you are not a classroom or textbook person.
Business apprenticeships are particularly good for those looking to get into service sectors such as retail, business administration or recruitment.
Eden Brown, one of my recruitment firms, runs an apprenticeship scheme and recently promoted one of its apprentices to a permanent position after nine months.
But an apprenticeship is not for everybody: you need to be the sort of person who is self-motivated enough to organise your own learning and meet deadlines.
If this is something you are seriously considering I would suggest researching this area further and checking out the apprenticeships.org website.
