Atomik Research were commissioned to conduct a PR survey by the UK’s leading pub company and brewer, Greene King to investigate the nation’s opinions of apprenticeship schemes in comparison to a university education. Specifically the research looked at which of the two they thing provides greater job opportunities and why. The research was run in to coincide with #NationalApprenticeshipWeek.
Key findings from the PR research included:
- 47% of Brits believe a university degree is a not worth the debt when it comes to improving career chances
- 37% of graduates are in agreement
- 63% of Brits consider an apprenticeship as the most useful start to their career
- 82% see an apprenticeship as an attractive alternative to university
- 59% of people believe there just aren’t enough apprenticeship schemes around
- 65% of people say there should be more support to help them get into work
- 42% of most recent school leavers aged 18 to 24 found careers advice either not very useful OR not at all useful
- 22% of 18 to 24-year olds said they weren’t offered careers advice at school at all
The research was part of an integrated campaign created in conjunction with our parent company, 4media group, which consisted of research, broadcast PR and news generation elements. The broadcast day was fronted by Graham Briggs, Head of Apprenticeships and Employability Programmes at Greene King. Graham was able to talk about the various ways that social mobility is encouraged by Apprenticeship schemes at Greene King. Graham was also joined by various case-studies from around the UK, including Wendy Omollo, Deputy Manager of the Lord Raglan pub in Holborn.
The campaign achieved widespread coverage across broadcast, print and online media. Highlights included Sky News Sunrise, BBC Breakfast, BBC Look East, Heart Scotland, Capital Scotland, Smooth Radio Scotland, Talk Radio, BBC Radio Tees, BBC Radio Jersey, BBC Radio Suffolk, BBC Radio Norfolk, BBC Radio Leeds, BBC Radio Bristol and many more. The campaign also landed a double page spread in The Sun, a piece on The Sun Online, The Scottish Sun, and a host of of regional and specialist online and print coverage.
