New research by training and apprenticeships provider Positive Outcomes has found that more than 1 in 5 young adults believe taking an apprenticeship means that they’ll work in that industry for life.

The study questioned 227 young adults aged between 16 and 24 as part of research related to 2016’s Apprenticeship Week.

Kelly Ball (pictured), joint managing director of Positive Outcomes, said: “The apprenticeship star is on the rise, but a big element holding apprenticeships back from becoming the go to educational career route is the misconceptions that surround them. One of the more surprising we uncovered during our research indicated a fifth of prospective apprentices believed their career path was set in stone were they to take up an apprenticeship. This certainly suggests that work needs to be done to dispel these myths.”

Other findings from the study included:

       88 per cent of respondents through apprenticeship wages were too low

       41 per cent were concerned that apprenticeships weren’t seen as a ‘proper job’

       30 per cent thought they would earn more money going through university than through an apprenticeship

“Apprenticeships are a proper job,” concluded Ball. “Those on apprenticeship schemes are treated in the same manner as any other employee and, in our experience, the vast majority end up with permanent employment at the end of their apprenticeship.”