How you can achieve success without a degree

Didn’t get the results you wanted? It’s not necessarily a deal breaker. Read how in our first guest article by LDN.

Trust me, I was crying on the inside. And it wasn’t only because of my wonky eye.

Introduction by Kelly Raines

I cried on my results day.

I’m not even sure that I’m ready to admit why yet, but let’s just say I wasn’t happy with my results. Anybody that knows me knows that' I’m a perfectionist, that I work relentlessly, and am very committed to my success, so you can imagine how this went: I rang my dad in tears, apologising for being a failure and making up for it by spending the next ten years being even more of a perfectionist, type A workaholic.

So I can certainly empathise with thousands of students that have been left feeling deflated, disappointed and even devastated at their results after months of studying and exam stress followed by months of waiting.

As you’ve probably noticed, the media narrative surrounding this year’s A level results has been less than enthusiastic: “There is very little to celebrate about these A-level results” reads the headline of The Guardian, reporting that “top grades tumble by 8.4% compared with last year”. A video circulating on Instagram showed a reporter revealing a student's unexpected results live on Good Morning Britain, telling a clearly disappointed Dylan he can ‘go back to bed’ after receiving two D’s instead of the B’s he’d hoped for. 

However, as Jeremy Clarkson reminds us every August with his bragging tweet, A level grades aren’t everything and going to university is not the only option after sixth form or college.

As the tech skills gap widens and the demand for tech talent intensifies, businesses are beginning to realise that a 2:1 from a red brick university is not the only source of quality candidates. For example, last week, major consulting firm PwC announced that they were loosening their requirements for their graduate scheme, no longer requiring a 2:1.

There are many routes into a career in tech that don’t rely on degrees or straight A’s - and an apprenticeship is a great one of them. The difference with apprenticeships is that you break out of the “must have a job to get experience - must have experience to get a job” paradox. 

Apprenticeships combine on-the-job learning and practical experience at an employer you apply to - combined with a qualification based on theoretical knowledge, technical skills and mentoring from the apprenticeship coach. I’ve worked with many apprentices in my career, and the level of skills, experience, and exposure they had access to in a relatively short period of time is what I find incredibly impressive and put them years ahead in their career compared to my own path via a Russell Group university.

In our first (of many!) guest blog posts since we launched earlier this year, Rob Davis and Jasmine May of leading apprenticeship organisation LDN Apprenticeships talk about how you can launch your career in tech without the need for a degree, top grades or work experience, and regardless of your background. They’ll also highlight how to position what experiences you do have to come across well to employers, and how apprentices have contributed to gender diversity in the workplace. Enjoy!

Apprenticeship = Learning + Job

An apprenticeship is a fantastic opportunity to start a career within an area or industry you love, providing people with a truly unique learning experience and access to businesses and job roles outside of the traditional route of university.

Apprenticeship programmes within the technology sector especially are incredibly popular, not only with candidates, but with employers as well who are looking to nurture and grow tech talent within their teams.

Apprenticeships include usually one day a week of dedicated training and learning

A* Required…for Attitude

While a degree or A levels aren’t a prerequisite for our apprentice programme, having the right attitude is. It’s absolutely critical if you’re looking to start a career in technology with an apprenticeship, and one of the key things that employers will look for.

A lot of employers will be fully aware that you won’t have the work experience or technical skills already in place. After all, that’s why you’re applying for an apprenticeship - to learn skills and gain experience. BUT what you can always have, regardless of education or experience level -  is the right attitude. 

Being able to highlight your enthusiasm and passion for both the role you’re applying for and the industry you’re looking to get into will go a long way early on in your apprenticeship journey. Employers are looking for someone who is eager to learn and get up to scratch quickly, so the right attitude will emphasise your willingness to do just that.

Fixing your grandad’s computer may just lead to your new career…

Saying that, whilst you may not have any direct work experience in the tech sector, there are already some skills you might already possess that you may have not necessarily considered as being relevant in your application.

For example, many ICT Apprentices starting out may realise that they've had passion for IT all along when they’ve been fixing PC issues for family members and friends on their own computers for many years now.

Or for Software Developers, learning and understanding different coding languages is something they may already know how to do from YouTube videos online (I learnt how to understand simple code using MySpace when I was younger!).

These are skills so many young people already have that businesses are always looking for. The skills gap within the tech industry is continuously widening and these skills you may already possess without necessarily realising, when put into a working environment, help plug that gap.

Accessibility → Diversity

But it’s not just a skills gap the tech industry suffers from - diversity within tech is still a huge issue.

According to the latest Tech Nation report, just 19% of tech workers are women, with 22% of women holding director roles within tech. Even more eye-opening - the proportion of men and women being appointed directors of tech companies in the UK has remained almost completely flat since 2000. That’s over 20 years of almost no progress at Director level for women in tech roles.

Clearly, the tech industry is crying out for more female representation across all levels. That gap, as highlighted in a previous Verve article, begins at school when girls tend not to select STEM subjects, but intensifies throughout career levels, as there is a smaller and smaller pool of women to promote.

Conclusion

Apprenticeships provide an obvious and sustainable way for companies to diversify their tech teams beyond the typical pool of graduate candidates. And the stats prove it: for example, the recent launch of our Salesforce Apprenticeship sees an almost exact 50/50 split of male and female apprentices on programme, with five of the first seven graduates being women. 

Popularity in tech apprenticeships amongst applicants and employers increases every year and provides the perfect place to start a career you love within the tech industry.

For more information about apprenticeships and the programmes we deliver – head over to the LDN Apprenticeships website here.

Interested in also writing a guest blog for Verve? Contact us, we’d love to collaborate!