Practical pathways into work: The case for apprenticeships, not degrees

Across Africa and around the world, employers and learners alike are realising that practical experience, work-based training, and apprenticeship models may offer a more direct and effective gateway into meaningful careers than many conventional degrees.

This questions whether the traditional route such as  high school, university, job, still serve the breadth of talent or meet the speed of change in today’s economy.

Leading firms treat apprenticeship not as a stopgap, but as a core strategy for talent development (Christensen, 2023; McKinsey, 2023).

In many sectors, degrees remain the assumed prerequisite, but data shows that a growing number of roles place higher value on applied  capability, especially where digital, green-economy, and hybrid skills dominate. Researchers analyzing eleven million job vacancies found that from 2018-2023, the wage premium for AI-related skills was 23 percent while the premium for university degrees fell by 15 percent  according to statistics by Bone, Ehlinger & Stephany in 2023.

Read also: How Nigeria can learn from Germany’s apprenticeship success and struggles

This implies that alternative pathways, work-based learning, on-the-job training, and apprenticeships are capturing increasing value in the marketplace.

The case for apprenticeship is particularly strong in Africa. Traditional degree pipelines often misaligns with employer needs, leave large talent pools underutilised, and cost learners time and debt. Organisations such as McKinsey have argued that organisations can efficiently unlock the rapid capability building that today’s knowledge-based workforce requires by embracing apprenticeship as a way of life (McKinsey, 2023). That means shifting mindset: From seeing apprenticeships as an ‘alternative’ to seeing them as the route.

Yet obstacles remain.

Some countries still favour university branding; many businesses default to degree filters in hiring; and inadequate apprenticeship frameworks or limited employer involvement hamper scale. The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) notes that “for many graduates, the costs of university education outweigh its personal economic benefits” and that a much stronger focus is needed on high-quality alternative pathways.

Good apprenticeship models share several attributes. McKinsey identifies four key techniques: modelling (experts demonstrate work), scaffolding (supports for learners), coaching (live feedback), and fading (gradual learner independence) (McKinsey, 2022).

These techniques help convert training from static to dynamic and from the classroom to the workplace. In turn, business schools and employers are designing degree-level apprenticeships which combine study and work. For instance, nearly 47 percent of degree apprenticeship starts in business and management fields in the UK were from apprentices without prior degrees, and 86 percent progressed from lower-level qualifications (Chartered ABS, 2025).

Read also: Reimagining informal apprenticeship for national productivity From an employer’s perspective, apprenticeships deliver value. Siemens’s UK program, for example, employs over 500 apprentices in energy, renewables, and electrical engineering, viewing the scheme not as cheap labour, but as a talent pipeline; more than 50 percent of their general managers hiring apprentices were themselves former apprentices.

This kind of long-term thinking aligns with the strategic priorities of African firms that need to build stable, capable teams rather than one-off recruits.

For this shift to scale in Africa, four focus areas stand out, firstly we must re-design hiring and credential systems to recognise skills over degrees, secondly, there is a need to create employer-led apprenticeship frameworks that align with industry needs, thirdly building learning cultures where on-the-job training is valued and supported is highly beneficial and lastly, measuring outcomes, not by credential, but by capability, productivity and mobility.

Ultimately, the message is clear: degrees alone will not, and indeed cannot, power the talent pipelines of the future. Apprenticeships, integrated into workplaces and aligned with real work, offer a practical, equitable, and growth-oriented pathway.

For African economies seeking both scale and agility, the fastest route into work may not run through a lecture hall, but right into the workshop, the site visit, the business project, and the apprenticeship partnership.

Ngozi Ekugo is a Snr.Correspondent at Business day. She has an MSc in Management from the University of Hertfordshire, and is an associate member of CIPM. Her career spans multiple industries, including a brief stint at Goldman Sachs in London,

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