Report shows most considering apprenticeships over degrees
ROYALTY FREE IMAGE - TV star and skills campaigner Steph Mc Govern has always made a ‘song and dance’ about changing the nation’s attitude towards skills – but today she took it several steps further. Steph, led the UK’s inaugural Vocational Celebration Day, with a live telecast from Teagle Machinery, a family run factory in Truro, Cornwall. The initiative, created by skills Charity Enginuity, included a theatrical, song and dance routine from internet sensation Adam Lyons and his troupe, dubbed ‘The Paint Shop Boys’ (for one day only). Adam’s routines have been viewed by more than 100 million people in the last year alone. The TV show featured inspirational stories from young apprentices, business and educators across the country, all on the frontline of the skills revolution. Vocational Celebration Day, was deliberately scheduled a week before A-Level Day, when academic results are celebrated. Steph said: “This is all about ensuring that young people have choice! Which means advice, opportunity and inspiration, to get rewarding careers – without saddling themselves with a mountain of debt in the process. “Academics have had all the limelight for far too long.” Minister for Skills Baroness Jacqui Smith, used the occasion to heap praise on the UK’s young grafters. "So today I want to celebrate. The electricians, the engineers, the chefs, the coders, the carers, and everyone who chose a vocational path. “That takes skill, graft, and pride. And it's about time the country recognised that properly. To everyone who's newly qualified, take a moment to feel proud of what you've achieved. “You've gained skills the country needs, and that achievement deserves to be celebrated.” Ann Watson, CEO of Enginuity, said: “This day is long overdue. Enginuity has been on the frontline of the skills revolution for many years and we sense that the tide is turning toward vocational qualifications being valued as much as academic.” www.enginuity.org
More than 90% of young people would consider an apprenticeship over a university degree, a new survey from the skills charity Enginuity has revealed.
In what could be seen as a further blow to UK universities, 71% of parents would encourage them to do so.
One thousand parents and their children (aged 11-18) were interviewed about their current attitudes towards vocational pathways to work.
With the cost-of-living crisis, many people are querying the viability and sense in taking on massive amounts of debt without a guarantee of a job in the process
The news comes within a few days of the inaugural Vocational Celebration Day, created by Enginuity and specialist awarding organisation EAL, which took the form of a live telecast/stream from Teagle Machinery Ltd in Truro, Cornwall.
TV star, podcaster and skills campaigner Steph McGovern, who presented the programme as part of her successful podcast Steph on Skills: Powered by Enginuity said: “I have been banging on for years about the need for parity of esteem – I think the penny is at last beginning to drop with young people and their parents.”
Clearly more needs to be done in terms of furnishing both parents and young people with relevant information, with 30% of young people and 33% of parents never having heard of T Levels (the Government’s relatively new technical qualification).
42% of young people and 45% of parents said that they had heard of them but needed further information.
CEO of Enginuity, Ann Watson MBE, said: “The survey shows that the demand is there and our message is having an impact. There is evidence, however, that there remains a lag with how schools are disseminating advice and guidance to those that need it most.”
Amazon Mechatronics Engineering Apprentice, Olivia Lane, who recently won the Best of British Engineering Award at the Enginuity Skills Awards, told those tuning in to Vocational Celebration Day that her school headmaster had told her, ‘not to waste her life’ on an apprenticeship as she was ‘better than that’.
“That made me really angry”, said Olivia.
The regional picture shows variation rather than uniform progress. Some areas show stronger momentum in parental encouragement or school guidance, while others combine high appetite for apprenticeships with weaker reported school visibility.
The South West recorded the largest uplift in parental encouragement, rising from 60% in 2025 to 77% in 2026. Greater London also increased, reaching 75%. The West Midlands saw a sharp rise in young people reporting balanced discussion of university and vocational choices, alongside higher parental encouragement.
Other regions show signs of untapped potential. In both the North East and East Midlands, strong interest in apprenticeships sits alongside weaker reported exposure to vocational pathways in schools, indicating that growing demand is not always matched by careers guidance and awareness.
This report sets out findings from the 2026 Vocational Attitudes Survey, revealing valuable insights into how families view apprenticeships, T Levels and other vocational routes across all sectors.
Comparing findings across three annual waves, the report identifies where perceptions are shifting, where information and guidance gaps remain, and why these attitudes matter for sectors such as engineering and manufacturing, where vocational and technical pathways are critical to building the future skilled workforce.
In 2026, 95% of parents said they were interested in knowing more about apprenticeships that allow young people to “earn while they learn”, and 91% of young people said the same.
Strikingly, 90% of young people said they would consider apprenticeships over a conventional university degree, while 71% of parents said they would encourage their child to consider an apprenticeship over a degree, up from 67% in 2025. The story is not that families are turning away from university.
There is a growing appreciation of apprenticeships as a credible choice that combines affordability, practical experience and progression into skilled careers. The challenge of apprenticeship legitimacy is diminishing, with both young people and parents increasingly open to and interested in these pathways. The focus must now shift to strengthening high-quality careers guidance and ensuring routes into apprenticeships are clear, accessible and easy to navigate.
Affordability and paid learning are the clearest drivers of interest: “Earn while you learn” emerged as the top reason selected by both parents and young people for supporting or considering vocational routes. Avoiding university cost and debt also rose year on year for both groups. Qualitative responses reinforce the same pattern: families value university where it is needed but increasingly question whether a degree is the only or best route into every career.
