Young people can’t choose the pathways they can’t see

For decades, the path from classroom to university has been well-trodden. Teachers are measured against progression targets, schools celebrate UCAS offers like sporting triumphs, and parents seem to know instinctively how to guide their children through the process, because they’ve probably been through something similar themselves.

At every turn you will find structure and widespread social reinforcement. 

The route to apprenticeships, however, is somehow still shrouded in mystery. It is split across different providers, regions and funding schemes. Young people who might thrive in applied learning or technical disciplines are left navigating acronyms and eligibility criteria, often without the same encouragement or guidance that accompanies more “traditional” academic routes.

This has shaped how the country defines success, how schools allocate resources, and how society values different kinds of intelligence and learning styles.

When the system’s default is built around university entry, it’s no wonder that apprenticeships are still perceived as the “alternative” rather than an equal choice.

But in a labour market defined by technical skills shortages and economic uncertainty, is that perception holding us back?

Shifting policy to change perception

Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer recently moved away from the 50 per cent university target, replacing it with a broader ambition that includes apprenticeships and higher technical education.

The move is a statement that says success should no longer be measured by lecture halls and mortar boards, but by the diversity of skills that fuel national growth.

Part of the government’s more nuanced goal is that 10 per cent of young people undertake higher technical qualifications or apprenticeships by 2040. While that may seem modest on paper, it acknowledges that Britain’s prosperity depends on more than one learning pathway. 

Changing entrenched perceptions will take more than a shift in targets, however. For decades, university has been presented as the “safe” or “smart” choice, while apprenticeships have been cast as vocational detours or lesser alternatives.

That stigma has lingered, even as employers increasingly value hands-on experience and applied expertise over theoretical knowledge alone.

To rebuild public confidence, apprenticeships need the same narrative and institutional visibility that universities have enjoyed for generations. Policy may open the door, but public perception determines who walks through it.

Despite the Baker Clause making it a duty for schools to promote apprenticeships, experience shows the reality is inconsistent and often tokenistic. Apprenticeships providers may engage with schools across the country, but the encounters tend to be isolated talks rather than part of a joined-up careers strategy.

Without strong links between schools and employers, students rarely see how apprenticeships connect to real career opportunities.

Employers, meanwhile, operate on different timelines; they need talent immediately, not months down the line. That disconnect undermines apprenticeships’ potential to drive social mobility and respond to genuine labour market needs.

Breaking educational walls

If university is a straight tarmac road, apprenticeships are still a patchwork of cobbled side streets. Most young people could name a dozen universities by the time they sit their GCSEs, but would probably struggle to name even one apprenticeship provider in their region.

Careers advisers are overstretched, teachers are rarely trained or incentivised to champion work-based learning, and the digital infrastructure simply isn’t there to make discovery easy.

UCAS offers a single, seamless gateway to higher education. But for apprenticeships, no equivalent platform exists at scale (at least, not yet). Young people can’t choose what they can’t see.

UCAS reforms were meant to fix this by placing apprenticeships alongside university options, but the change hasn’t shifted the culture. Careers professionals still view higher education as the “safe” or more prestigious choice, and many lack the understanding or confidence to advocate for vocational routes.

Fixing this requires more than a marketing push. We need systemic change and “pathway parity”.

Schools should be supported, and held accountable, for presenting apprenticeships as a genuine first choice rather than a fallback option.

Careers advisers and teachers need the same clarity of process and data that UCAS provides for university placements.

Employers, too, have a role to play by making their opportunities easier to navigate and aligning entry requirements with modern skills rather than outdated academic benchmarks. 

Until that happens, the apprenticeship system will remain a dimly lit network of cobbled streets – rich in potential, but almost impossible to navigate.