'I got 510 points in the Leaving Cert: Apprenticeship was my first choice'

Having received 510 points in her Leaving Cert in 2020, Hazel Johnston turned a few heads when she had an apprenticeship as her first choice. Picture: Larry Cummins

Having received 510 points in her Leaving Cert in 2020, Hazel Johnston turned a few heads when she had an apprenticeship as her first choice, which for her was a “no-brainer”.

Now the Apprentice of the Year for 2023 and the first woman to receive the award, Ms Johnston says there needs to be a change in how apprenticeships are viewed by schools, teachers, guidance counsellors, and parents.

“Apprenticeships weren’t really talked about when I was in school. I feel like they were always associated with people who didn’t think they would do well in college or didn’t think they were good at school.

“I actually scored quite high in my Leaving Cert and an apprenticeship was my first choice,” she said.

Hazel Johnston, Apprentice of the Year 2023, pictured at MTU Munster Technological University, Curraheen, Cork. Picture: Larry Cummins.

Originally from Lanesboro in Longford, Hazel chose to study engineering at Munster Technological University (MTU) in Cork because of the apprenticeship programme involved.

Ms Johnston believes apprenticeships should be promoted and emphasised in schools and among parents as a viable option just as much as university courses are.

“My parents weren't too happy when I told them I was going to do an apprenticeship because, like most parents, they assumed since I did well in my Leaving Cert that I would go off studying something much more academic,” she said.

Misconceptions

The 21-year-old said there are misconceptions among parents and schools that apprenticeships are something to fall back on or result in low-paid careers.

“Apprenticeships are always just associated with people who didn't think they were good at school or good academically, but that just isn't the case at all,” she said.

Ms Johnston noted that many parents believe apprentices do not go on to earn enough money “but it’s really the opposite”.

She said her parents came around soon after she began her apprenticeship at MTU, having realised “how much of a great opportunity it was”.

Ms Johnston’s apprenticeship is structured in a way that sees her in class from September to December and working in the industry from January until September.

A 'no-brainer'

“It was a no-brainer for me because during the apprenticeship you get the industry experience on top of going to college, so I’m coming out of this apprenticeship with three years of industry experience.

“If I was to come out of college with an engineering degree, I would just be going into a graduate program, so I’m a step ahead of a lot of people,” she said.

“I think a lot of the time you're expected to go to college and maybe if you don't get your college course, you have an apprenticeship to fall back on but I think people should be applying for apprenticeships as their first option,” she said.

Although traditionally a male-dominated industry, Ms Johnston said that is no longer the case for engineering, especially in her workplace.

“There's such a welcoming environment,” she said adding that in her first year of the apprenticeship, 50% of the class was female.

I don’t feel out of place at all at the fact that I’m a girl in engineering. It’s nothing that’s out of the ordinary."

Ms Johnston hopes her winning the Apprentice of the Year award inspires and encourages other female students to consider apprenticeships.

She was nominated by her workplace, DePuy Synthes, and out of 200 finalists, she took home the main award.

“It’s been an absolute whirlwind, I haven't actually got the chance to sit down and think about it yet, but it's just really exciting and I’m absolutely over the moon.”