Considering An Apprenticeship With Toyota

[KPARRIS-JONES]

Hello everyone,

I'm 15 and have been looking around on the internet to see what exactly I want to do when I leave school.

I have looked on the Toyota website and have been led to their apprenticeship website for U.K. apprenticeships and they are very appealing to me as they offer various qualifications and benefits per 3 years of doing each course.

Here's the page for the Manufacturing and UK Maintenance;

Manufacturing and maintenance

For those of you who can't be bothered to read all of that (understandably) I want to know if I would be better off with the level 3 NVQ's or with a degree in engineering.

I would love to work in a factory or as a top maintenance manager etc, so what qualifications would get me there?

Thank you for your time and attention,

Kynan Parris-Jones

[Demonic Angel]

Qualifications wise you'd be better off with a degree, however if you can get in on a Toyota apprenticeship, you get your foot in a huge worldwide corporation, which you wouldn't get with a degree.... currently the university-leavers job market is poor..... but give it a few years and it'll pick up.

I suppose it depends how important working for Toyota would be to you?

I've got NVQ's and I'd trade them all in for a degree in a nanosecond.... but my apprenticeship was for a role I wasn't too bothered about. Had I gone and done an IT apprenticeship, it'd be a different story!

[KPARRIS-JONES]

Qualifications wise you'd be better off with a degree, however if you can get in on a Toyota apprenticeship, you get your foot in a huge worldwide corporation, which you wouldn't get with a degree.... currently the university-leavers job market is poor..... but give it a few years and it'll pick up.

I suppose it depends how important working for Toyota would be to you?

I've got NVQ's and I'd trade them all in for a degree in a nanosecond.... but my apprenticeship was for a role I wasn't too bothered about. Had I gone and done an IT apprenticeship, it'd be a different story!

O.k. thanks,

Working with Toyota and only Toyota isn't massively , but they seemed to offer a great deal to me.

I'll see what courses I can do with univerities. The Open University looked quite good to me, they apprenetly got voted 2nd best in their engineering course in 2007!

Anyone else have anything to add to this? I need as much help as possible.

[Phoenix999]

I am with Emma on this one.... a degree is by far the best qualification to have in order to stand you in good stead for future life. However, NVQs are good and an apprenticeship with Toyota is a great way to go. If you show commitment and flair you are likely to find that Toyota would support you and help you to gain a degree in engineering, yes some employers still do this and worth exploring. If you get an offer of an apprenticeship then ask Toyota if they would help you along this route.... if there is something you want then ask as a good employer would welcome an employee who wants to better their prospects even if it does cost them financially.

Whatever you do I wish you all the best of luck But, regardless of whatever anyone says.... you will only get what you want if you really WORK for it

[Red Yaris 54]

Another line...........(although not Toyota) may be to enquire about a technician apprenticeship with NISSAN (who have a research and development centre at Cranfield ........Not too far from you)

Good luck with whatever you decide to do

[Karma Supra]

Degrees aren't the be all and end all. I was studying industrial product design, I hated the course and the uni and it did very well in killing any passion I had for the subject instead of nurturing it... I quit and got a job... by the time my mates had graduated I was earning over 30k a year, which wasn't bad I thought for a 21 year old at the time!

My theory was any idiot can get a degree these days, I know a girl that can hardly spell her name, but has a degree in photography lol, does that mean as a "graduate" she is more qualified in some job interviews? I think not!

Still good on you for planning what you want to do... I'm 27 and still don't know :(

[Red diesel]

K Parris Jones

Would this degree be a degree in automotive engineering?

I am not really an expert but a degree in engineering should open up doors if you subsequently wanted to get out of the motor industry. A good apprenticeship is a very worthwhile option though - the one problem with doing a degree over in the UK is that youve to pay fees and then pay back the loans afterwards which is a pain in the :censor: rear end - although if you were doing it through Toyota i assume they will be covering some or all of the costs.

Best of luck anyway - if the career guidence people at your school are any good then it might be worth having a chat regarding the pros and cons of the various options.

Red diesel

[Bizarra]

I never made a right decision in my life :( Always right in hindsight.

I'd say go for the Toyota Apprenticeship. You are a Toyota addict & love messing with cars. As you say, they may have a facility for helping you go for your Degree. If you are a good apprentice & show promise, it is in their interest.

My Daughter works for Aviva, here in Ireland, has her Degree, & is given time & encouragement to take exams to further her Qualifications.

I worked in a bank here, years ago, & was encouraged to take exams & study. I got a Bonus for every exam I passed

Just my tuppence worth, & the best of luck, whatever you decide, Kyron

[adam_d]

I'm in the same boat as you at the minute, albeit a couple of years further in education, and I'd say if this is what you really want to do and you're more of a hands on person, take the apprenticeship with Toyota. :)

[KPARRIS-JONES]

Thank you for all the replies.

My main concern about the apprenticeship is that it will look as if I am a drop-out from school, which is NOT the impression that I want to give off. But then again, who can argue with with me working with the largest manufacturer!?

The way I see it, if I go with Toyota, I'll have to stay with Toyota because other companies may see me as a drop-out. :( This is however, great if I really enjoy working at Toyota that much.

I have been advised to go and get a degree instead, as they reckon that it will keep more doors open to me as some have previously stated. But others within this thread have said that if I show that I'm worth it, Toyota can help me towards a degree. To do this I need to go to Toyota and have a look around and get an idea of exactly how much effort this entails. If I cannot put in the required effort, then their is no point of going with Toyota.

I'm very much in conflict around this and will be doing many more hours research until I make a proper decision, althouth the general consensus seems to be that I should go with the degree, and I am in agreement for now. Mainly because I know that I am smart enough to get the degree and A-levels etc. (I'm not trying to blow my own trumpet but I'm close to the top in many classes)

Thank you for the help. advice and opinions. Keep them coming because I need as wide a range of results as possible!

KP

[PaulT]

I wouldn't just go for any degree. If you can get one from a reputable university which has good graduate recruitment results in a subject which doesn't take the mickey, then it's well worth it.

A poor degree from a lesser university which doesn't do very well for graduate recruitment is probably not going to be worth spending three or four years on. Choose carefully!

Paul.