An almost live blogging experience of our new Teacher Industrial Partners' Scheme (TIPS) from Jo Cox. Some fabulous insights into apprentices experiences and views from their time at school to becoming apprentices.
Redmoor STEM
Day 2
Today was very much a fact-finding exercise and most of the days’ discussions, with marketing, business management, apprentices, was spent discussing the perception of this scheme. I spoke to apprentices in business management and engineering and their views were fairly uniform: three of the 9 students I spoke to had opted for the apprenticeship scheme rather than A levels – even though their teachers were recommending the A level and university route. At the point of making their own minds up about taking an apprenticeship they felt they were ‘side lined’ by their teachers as if they had made the wrong decision. They received no encouragement and it was seen very much as a negative step – even though all 3 are now fully engaged in their chosen professions, earning good money with an almost 100% guarantee of being offered a permanent job once they complete their studies…