Ms Laura Regan:

The only negative I had before I made the decision to take the apprenticeship was that my family were asking if I was going to leave a college degree to do the apprenticeship and whether I was sure this is what I wanted to do. Many parents have those worries and want to know what benefit an apprenticeship will be. All the people I started college with graduated this year. Many of them did not have jobs to go to, or were going back to start on a really low wage because they had no experience or had to work for free to get the experience, whereas I have learned while I was working and I continue to work the same as I did in my apprenticeship, although I am qualified. I got paid throughout the whole process and I am starting on a very good salary now that I am qualified. Maybe people do not know enough about apprenticeships and their benefits.