Apprenticeships are increasingly being seen as the great employment hope for the future.

For many years they dwindled as the emphasis switched from youngsters entering traditional trades to being offered the chance to fulfil their potential at university.

The trouble is university is not for everyone, just as becoming an electrical engineer could never be the job for me.

Tony Blair’s mantra of “education, education, education” pushed too many square pegs into round holes and left too many young people wondering what career path to choose well into their 20s.

It left a legacy of youth unemployment exacerbated by the double-dip recession.

And for many, university has become too expensive an option with graduates leaving after three years with huge debts and no more guarantee of a job than when they started.

Apprenticeships offer a way out because those taking part can “earn while they learn”.

That means they stay off the dole, don’t get into debt and stand a good chance of a job at the end of it, as well as possessing useful qualifications that may ultimately have a degree attached to them.

In Oxfordshire there has been a big take-up of apprentices in a variety of jobs, many of them in areas such as the law and human resources which are not traditionally associated with apprenticeships.

And more than three candidates are chasing single openings in many of these areas.

But it appears traditional trades such as electrical engineering are not attracting applicants with the blame being put on the Government’s insistence on youngsters staying at school until they are 17. Without them, there could be a yawning skills gap as the economy recovers.

At 16, young people understandably find it difficult to make decisions that may affect the rest of their lives.

They should be receiving in-depth advice about their next step, not simply being pushed further into education without any clear direction for their future.