Students lack apprenticeship knowledge

Senior high-school students lack a proper understanding of apprenticeships, according to a report.

A new survey found that 46 per cent of respondents thought their school put ‘too much’ pressure on them to enter university.

Senior high school students are likely to make poor decisions about their post-school education because they lack understanding of apprenticeships, according to a report.

While Year 10 students have a similar level of understanding of university education options compared with apprenticeships, by Year 12 three times more students understand the university pathway compared with the apprenticeship route. By Year 12, 37 per cent of students said they had a good or strong understanding of university, compared with 12 per cent for ­apprenticeships.

The report, titled After the ATAR: Understanding How Gen Z Make Decisions about Their Future, and prepared by career and life advice platform Year 13, says many students who responded to the survey were not sure what an apprenticeship involved.

Year 13 co-founder Will Stubley said the group’s research showed there was a “significant shortfall” in the advice given to students in high school.

Of survey respondents who did not consider the apprenticeship option while in high school, 49 per cent said that, had they known more about this option, they would have considered an apprenticeship more seriously.

Mr Stubley said the imbalance of understanding of post-school options caused students to give “a lack of consideration of pathways that might be highly aligned to their interests and personality profile”.

The group’s survey also found that 46 per cent of respondents thought their school put “too much” pressure on them to enter university and that school career advice was unduly weighted towards university options.

The report says there is a lack of funding and resources for ­career initiatives in high school.

It says that, according to the Career Industry Council of Australia, one in three career practitioners have less than $1000 annually to run career development activities across their entire school.

The report says post-study data does not support the conclusion that vocational education and training is a “second-tier” option for students.

VET graduates are earning an average of $56,000 a year once they finish their qualifications, while university graduates are earning $54,000 on average, the report says.

The report also found that young people generally supported the idea of a gap year after finishing school, with 55 per cent believing it had a positive effect on future education and training and only 11 per cent actively dis­agreeing.