Working and Learning

Are you currently working towards or have completed an Advanced Apprenticeship?  Then why not think about the next step forward?

Next Steps for Advanced Apprentices

If you have finished or are about to finish your Advanced Apprenticeship now is a great time to think about higher education.

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With an Advanced Apprenticeship you are very well placed to be considered for higher education.   In fact recent research following a group of students from Edge Hill College found that people taking degrees who have already obtained vocational qualifications do better overall and achieve higher grades than those who have gone through the more traditional ‘A’ level route. (Education Guardian 11 July 2006)

There are a whole range of opportunities for further study which you can do full-time or part-time to fit in with your work commitments which can help you develop your career in many ways.

Working and Learning

What are the Benefits of Studying at a Higher Level?

There are many benefits to be gained by studying at higher education level both personally and financially.  Here are a few:

• To gain the qualifications you need for better paid jobs in the future – research in 2003 found that there was an average difference of £3 per hour between that earned by those with a Level 3 qualification – an Advanced Apprenticeship of NVQ Level 3 for example compared to that earned by a graduate.  This could mean that as a graduate you could be earning £6,000 per year more and that may increase as your career progresses
• to prove to yourself that you can achieve a higher level qualification
• to find out more about a subject you enjoy
• to prove that you can!

• you may wish to consider moving up within your organisation to a higher level which requires you to have a degree or similar qualification
•   you might decide to look at other career paths or want to think about moving into a different area of work
• you may simply have really enjoyed learning new things and want to continue developing your skills and knowledge

This website will help take you through the vast amount of information that is available about higher education and will direct you specifically to information about courses available in the South West, what grants and other support is available to help you with the costs of study and give you an idea of the types of qualifications and progression routes that are available in a vast range of careers.