Apprenticeship demand increases as uni places become harder to find
BT is considering expanding its Apprenticeship scheme after receiving more than 100 applications for each available place, highlighting FE's role to play as university places become ever harder to find.
BT reports receiving almost 24,000 applications for just 221 places on its Apprenticeship scheme this year. The figure dwarfs the number of applications for the prestigious Oxford University, its figure of 17,000 applications for 3,000 undergraduate places appearing paltry by comparison.
Alex Wilson, BT's human resources director said: "We'll need engineers to help us deliver and hope to tap into the interest that is being shown by young people across the UK."
The news is just the latest in a line of similar developments reflecting the high rate of unemployment among 18 to 24-year-olds in the UK, which currently stands at 17.5 per cent, owing to not just the global financial climate but also a spike in the birth rate in the early 1990s.
Increasing numbers of young people are exploring other routes into employment. The Open University reports applications are up 25 per cent on 2009, with some 29,000 OU undergratuates under the age of 25, 55 per cent of whom are in full-time employment.