‘Hard work leads to success’ is one of the main mantras in business. Hard work. That’s all it says. It doesn’t say you need to have a degree to be successful, it doesn’t say that you can’t be successful because you’ve struggled at school. It just says you need to work hard at what you do to be successful at it.In your last year of school, you are faced with so many decisions about what to do next. University isn’t always the answer, and the other options always seem to come second best. But that’s not the case, Apprenticeships have rewards. Think about it… They are your opportunity to get on that career ladder a step before everyone else. They can give you a head start to being promoted due to your added time with the company. As an Apprentice, you are being trained to excel in that company.Don’t just take our word for it. Some of the most successful business men and women started their career as an Apprentice. Even celebrities. Take Sir Alex Ferguson, legendary football manager, who started his career as a Shipyard Apprentice before winning Manchester United nearly 40 trophies. Despite being the daughter of Sir Paul McCartney, fashion designer Stella McCartney, started her career as a Tailor Apprentice.And there’s more. Read about how an Apprenticeship was the beginning for these successful CEO’s… 

Joshua started his career as an IT Support Apprentice at eCourier. His role began small, where he was mainly responsible for “the most basic stuff”. As an Apprentice, his manager invested time in training him, even nominating him for an award. From there, he was promoted to a Manager where he was in charge of recruiting future talent into the company, as he once was. The skills and experience Joshua gained from starting as an Apprentice has led him to become the Co-Founder and CEO of WeGym in just three years.“There’s this fear that if you do an Apprenticeship you are less than those who went to Uni. Actually, more and more companies are driven towards the direction that an Apprenticeship, frankly, is greater for a lot of people.”

Andy Palmer, CEO of premium care manufacturer Aston Martin, started his career as a Technical Apprentice for UK Automotive Products after leaving school at 16. Andy had always had an interest in the car industry and didn’t want to spend four years at university so this route seemed like the perfect alternative.At the age of 22, Andy was promoted to a Manager role due to his six years of valuable experience, all stemming from his Apprenticeship. Andy continued to gain qualifications throughout his career whilst he worked. This experience provided him with the experience and knowledge to become Director at Nissan, before progressing into his role as CEO for Aston Martin.Andy’s story is a perfect example of how starting your career early doesn’t mean you can’t continue to gain qualifications and aim for the most high-ranking jobs.