Responding to the news that apprenticeship opportunities will be
advertised to young people alongside undergraduate degrees in
plans to broaden UCAS, Kevin Gilmartin, Post 16 Specialist at the
Association of Schools and College Leaders, said: “We welcome the
steps being taken to allow young people to search and apply for
apprenticeships through UCAS. It’s crucial that school and
college leavers are well informed about the full range of options
available to them and showcasing apprenticeships alongside
degrees seems a sensible approach.
“In order to make this work, there needs to be more resources and
support for schools and colleges to be able to deliver guidance
from expert careers advisers who are familiar with the complex
apprenticeships landscape. Since the government dismantled the
Connexions service over a decade ago, schools have provided
careers advice while battling severe funding pressures as well as
many other demands on their time and resources. This has resulted
in a fragmented system where the quality of careers guidance on
offer varies widely from school to school according to the
resources that are available. A report by The Sutton Trust last
year found 88% of state school teachers felt their training
didn’t prepare them to deliver careers information and guidance
to students.
“Careers advice is a specialist service which requires extensive
knowledge. If schools and colleges are not better supported to
deliver this, then the worthy ambition of fully informing all
students of the entire range of occupations, training and
education opportunities available to them is dead in the water.”
