Apprenticeships are 'nothing to be ashamed of'
A woman who dropped out of university to pursue an apprenticeship has said more should be done to tackle the "stigma" they face.
Faith Khan, 22, from Darlington, is now a lead analyst at training provider Baltic Apprenticeships, having being "almost embarrassed to look for apprenticeships".
The company believes this method of training for the workplace could help the skills shortages leaving a number of jobs in the north-east of England unfilled.
"They're not something to be ashamed of," Khan said. "They're absolutely for intelligent people who are academic and who want to learn more."
Khan said it was almost "drilled" into her that, being academic, she should go to university - and that, if she left, it would be "a bit of a failure".
But university, where she studied maths, "wasn't what I expected in terms of the support", she said.
"It was very self-led, very independent.
"If I was stuck on something, it required a lot of research."
Khan began a Level 3 data technician apprenticeship when she was 19, with the company she also works for, and is now on a Level 6 apprenticeship programme studying data science alongside her full-time role.
"To be 22 and a lead analyst after three years in the company is... that wouldn't happen, basically, I don't think, if I'd have gone to uni and gone straight into a company," she said.
Khan's employer is based in Darlington but provides training nationally, specialising in the digital sector and offering apprenticeships in areas such as IT, data, digital marketing and software development.
Apprentices usually split their time between studying with a training provider and getting on-the-job experience in a company in their chosen field - in Khan's case the same company.
Baltic Apprenticeship's operations director, Codie Foster, said the "growing problem" of jobs going unfilled could be addressed by the government supporting small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to take on more apprentices.
In 2024, there were 7,400 "skill-shortage vacancies" in the region, according to government data - vacancies that are hard to fill due to a lack of skills, qualifications or experience among applicants.
"I appreciate budgets are tight, but I think if we were able to have more incentives that incentivise that particular pool of employers, it would definitely help grow the outreach," Foster said.
The government-funded North East Local Skills Improvement Plan has identified five "high-impact" sectors where demand for technical skills is most critical.
These are: digital, advanced manufacturing, construction, health, and transport and logistics.
In the academic year 2024-25, 680 apprenticeships in the digital technology sector were completed in the North East.
Meanwhile, 3,330 apprenticeships were achieved in business, administration and law, 3,140 in health, 1,480 in engineering and 1,130 in construction.
