Teens will choose apprenticeships over university in the future due to debt and career fears

A fifth of teens plan to choose an apprenticeship over university in the future – with many worrying about student debt, no guarantee of a job and delaying the start of their career.
A study of 800 11–18-year-olds and their parents found getting paid while learning and experiencing working life appeals to some youngsters rather than university.
While 27 per cent feel unless the job they want specifically requires a degree, university is not a sensible route to go down.
And 31 per cent believe the rising cost of living means university is no longer such a good idea.
The pros of an apprenticeship, according to teens, are learning new skills (25 per cent), getting practical experience (21 per cent) and adding work experience to their CV (20 per cent).
Despite this, the research commissioned by Virgin Media O2, found almost double the number of parents hope their child will go to university (41 per cent), compared to those who want to see them do an apprenticeship (21 per cent).
Similarly, 32 per cent of parents think a degree will lead to more career success than an apprenticeship scheme (20 per cent).
And 13 per cent go as far as saying they wouldn’t approve if their child chose an apprenticeship over university.
Low pay (28 per cent) and having to balance working and learning (22 per cent) are among the aspects of an apprenticeship which put parents off encouraging their child down that route.
However, 22 per cent agreed not getting into debt is a positive of an apprenticeship, as well as their child feeling independent (20 per cent) and improving employability (22 per cent).
Busting apprenticeship myths
It also emerged only 13 per cent of parents are aware that schemes can lead to a career in cyber security, while just 14 per cent of 11-18-year-olds believe there are apprenticeships in