The past few years have seen a shift in how businesses see the progression and career pathways of young upcoming talent, particularly in more specialist fields and industries.

Whilst a decade ago the expectation was that young people would go to university, get a degree and enter the workforce at one singular entry point, many businesses rely not only on degrees and academic attainment but also apprenticeship providers to provide a diverse pool of talent.

Despite this, misconceptions still linger, with a BDO survey revealing the mistaken idea that apprenticeships can harm career progression when often the polar opposite is true due to the commitment it shows to a profession and organisation.

Thankfully, business leaders, industry bodies and organisations are leading by example, showcasing the success of apprenticeship schemes and how they provide an effective pathway into many industries.

The first step for many organisations has been outreach; many misconceptions are generational, with a parent’s experience being communicated to a child despite the fundamental changes to the scheme that have been made.

Businesses have increasingly promoted their apprenticeship schemes at job fairs, on their careers pages and with insight programmes, often taking the form of assemblies or school and sixth form visits to showcase the career offers a business can provide for an apprentice.

This is also used as an opportunity to showcase the work that has already been undertaken, with apprentice stories, successes and experiences being presented to people.

That aspect of showing real stories is an essential part of attracting talented people into an organisation for whom university may not necessarily be an ideal option or even an option at all.

This, alongside increasing the number of apprenticeship positions and offering longer-term higher-level qualifications can show that apprentices are an ideal way to start a career as you can earn whilst you learn and develop your skills and qualification around what you do best.