The latest survey by YouGov shows that only 7% of young people are planning on doing an apprenticeship.

Commissioned by support services firm Interserve, the online survey was conducted among a representative quota sample of over 5,000 people.

The survey aimed to look into how apprenticeships are views by 13-18 year olds in secondary education, their parents and UK employers, and was carried out from April 8-18 this year.

The main finding of the study was that just 7% of the young people who took part in the poll intended to take up an apprenticeship, whereas some 72% of respondents say they are intending to go to college or university.

Of the parents surveyed, only 27% said they thought that an apprenticeship would be the best path for their children to take in pursuing their future career, while 42% thought that a university degree would be the best option.

The poll also highlighted a clear lack of awareness from small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) about the ranging types of apprenticeship schemes that are available.

Just 32% said that they have heard of a higher or degree level apprenticeship, while 46% of large firms also said they were aware of them.

The findings of the study also suggest that there is much work ahead in making young people more aware of the options available to them in finding career opportunities through apprenticeship schemes.

Furthermore, the poll also found evidence of a North-South divide in young people and employers’ attitudes towards apprenticeships, with those in the South preferring to pursue a university degree, whereas those in the North were more open to the idea of apprenticeship schemes.

This is highlighted by the fact that just 7% of businesses based in London give credit to qualifications gained from work based learning, whereas that figure stands at 19% in the North East and 14% in the West Midlands.