Apprenticeship vs University: Year 12 Student Guide

Trying to decide between an apprenticeship and university once Year 12 finishes? You’re not the only one weighing an apprenticeship vs university decision with no clear answer in front of you.

We’ve compiled what changes between the two paths: entry requirements, what apprentices get paid each year, what a bachelor’s degree costs, and how long each path takes before you’re qualified and working full-time.

We’ve also included the career path questions Year 12 students ask most, how the Australian government supports apprentices financially, and how to change career options later if the chosen sector isn’t the right fit.

If a trade path looks like the better fit once you’ve read this, Major Training’s course advisors can talk you through trade courses near you.

What’s the Difference Between an Apprenticeship and a University Degree?

An apprenticeship is on-the-job training in a real workplace, under a qualified tradesperson, while you study toward a nationally recognised qualification through a registered training organisation. Vocational education runs on formal training standards set nationally, not one institution’s syllabus. A uni degree runs the other way round, with theory delivered mostly in lecture halls before you set foot near a workplace in your chosen career.

Both can lead to a successful, fulfilling career, just built differently. An apprenticeship builds valuable skills and industry contacts from day one through on-the-job learning, while a bachelor’s degree opens doors into corporate, research, and management roles that usually require a qualification to reach. It comes down to how you learn best (hands-on training vs structured learning) and what your career goals are.

What Practical Skills and Real-World Experience Do You Gain?

An apprenticeship hands you practical skills on a real construction site, workshop, or job, not a simulation. Trade courses in electrical engineering, construction management, and similar fields let you gain hands-on experience early, so the practical experience gained actually sticks, and short courses layer more real-world experience on as you go.

University builds real-world skills too, just later. Placements and thesis projects put theory into real-world situations, but that exposure is usually compressed into the final year or two, rather than spread across the whole degree the way an apprenticeship spreads it from day one.

What Do You Need to Get Into University or an Apprenticeship After Year 12?

Entry requirements are where the two paths split hardest, and it’s worth knowing this before finishing school, not after.

Universities generally ask for an ATAR (Australian Tertiary Admission Rank), a percentile ranking of your Year 12 results against the rest of your cohort, or completion of Year 12, and some degrees, engineering and law among them, set a specific ATAR floor you need to clear, though some let you study online if relocating isn’t an option. Apprenticeships don’t work that way. There’s no ATAR requirement to start one, and a school-based apprenticeship even lets young people begin training and earning a wage before finishing school.

That makes the apprenticeship route more forgiving for a school leaver who hasn’t locked in a strong ATAR, and it’s part of why many apprentices start their training straight out of school, or even before they’ve technically left it.

How Much Do Apprentices Get Paid Compared to University Students?

University students generally start paying course costs long before they’re earning a graduate salary, and most don’t earn a wage while studying full-time. Apprentices earn a wage from day one of their training, and that pay rises every year as their skills and qualification level increase.

Fair Work’s award rates for apprentices, effective from 1 July 2026, show how much the wage grows across a full apprenticeship:

• Electrical apprentices start around $16.39 an hour in year one and reach about $26.50 an hour by year four.
• Carpentry apprentices start around $17.22 an hour in year one and reach about $29.00 an hour by year four, close to $1,100 a week before allowances at a standard 38-hour week.
• Automotive mechanic apprentices start around $14.73 an hour in year one and reach about $25.92 an hour by year four.

Finishing Year 12 usually earns you a higher starting wage than leaving school earlier, but that gap narrows steadily as you move through the four years. By year three or four, full-time employment in the job market rewards your qualification and experience more than a Year 12 certificate ever did.

What Does a Bachelor’s Degree Cost, and When Do You Start Repaying HECS?

A bachelor’s degree isn’t debt-free education, even with a Commonwealth-supported place, and most students walk away with a HECS debt sitting alongside their new degree.

Compulsory HECS repayments start once your income passes the threshold set for that financial year, which is $69,528 for the 2026 to 2027 income year according to the ATO. Above that threshold, 15 cents in every dollar you earn goes toward the debt, on top of the income tax you already pay.

An apprenticeship avoids that debt altogether, since you’re earning a wage rather than paying fees, and the Australian government backs the apprenticeship path further. The Australian Apprentice Training Support Payment currently provides $2,500 to eligible full-time apprentices in priority occupations, and Queensland’s Free Apprenticeships for Under 25s program removes the training fee entirely for eligible apprentices and trainees under 25 who start before 30 June 2027, across more than 130 priority courses.

How Long Does It Take to Get Qualified on Each Path?

Both paths run for years rather than months, so it helps to see the full timeline from Year 12 through to a completed vet qualification or degree.

A full apprenticeship generally takes three to four years of paid work placement and study together, ending in a nationally recognised trade qualification such as a Certificate III. An undergraduate degree generally takes three to five years, depending on the course and the university pathways available, with degrees tied to professional licensing, such as engineering, running longer.

Skills shortages in several trades mean strong demand for newly qualified apprentices in the meantime, across many careers well beyond the traditional building trades.

Can You Change Career Path After Choosing an Apprenticeship or Traineeship?

Neither path locks you in for good, and plenty of people change career paths partway through.

Many trade qualifications count toward further study later, so an apprenticeship or traineeship doesn’t rule out university if your goals shift. Just as often, it works the other way, with people using a trade qualification as the base for their own business. Australian apprenticeships and traineeships were never meant to be a fallback option, and a career change later on is common in both directions.

Start Your Apprenticeship With Major Training Today

Whichever path suits your goals, the decision comes down to how you want to spend the next three to five years, earning a wage while you train or studying full-time toward a degree.

Major Training is a registered training organisation, RTO 6139, delivering apprenticeships and traineeships across a huge range of trades in Queensland and New South Wales, with training providers and campuses set up to get school leavers straight into real, on-the-job work.

If you’d like to talk through which apprenticeship or traineeship fits your chosen sector, get in touch with our team.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you need an ATAR to start an apprenticeship?

No. Australian apprenticeships have no minimum entry score, which is one reason they suit school leavers whose Year 12 results didn’t land where they’d hoped.

How much more do fourth-year apprentices earn than first-years?

It varies by trade, but the jump is real. Carpentry, for one, roughly climbs from the high teens per hour as a first-year to close to $29 by the fourth, once you’re carrying the full skill set of the trade.

How long does it take to become qualified for an apprenticeship versus university?

An apprenticeship generally runs three to four years to a nationally recognised trade qualification. An undergraduate degree generally runs three to five years to a bachelor’s degree, depending on the course.

Can you switch from an apprenticeship to university later?

Yes. A completed trade qualification is a genuine stepping stone into further study, and plenty of tradespeople return to study later once they’ve settled on a specific career direction.

Is a pre-apprenticeship a stepping stone before you finish school?

A pre-apprenticeship or a Certificate II works as a genuine stepping stone for a student who wants a head start, a shorter, lower-commitment course that shortens the on-the-job component once the full apprenticeship begins. A school-based apprenticeship does the same job differently, letting you begin earning against a real job and a real training contract while school is still your main commitment, building toward a chosen sector before most classmates have picked one.