Hello, I'm Wilson, and this one is worth slowing down for. Here is the question as I hear it. Machines are now doing more of the routine office work that young people used to cut their teeth on, and graduate job openings seem to be thinning out in a number of countries. So should governments step in and pay for a two-year apprenticeship in a skilled trade for every school leaver who does not go to university, and if so, what would each of those apprentices cost a year? That is really two questions folded together. One is a question of design, whether a universal guarantee is the right shape at all. The other is a question of money, what a fair price per apprentice looks like. Before we get to either, here is the thing most people get wrong. The usual story pits the threatened office worker against the safe tradesperson, as if the hands were protected and the desk was doomed. But an apprenticeship is not mainly a shelter from automation. At its best it is a contract between a young person, an employer and the state, and its …
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Factoring in rising automation of entry-level office tasks and the shrinking number of graduate job openings, should governments fund a two-year paid apprenticeship scheme in skilled trades for every school leaver who does not enter university, and at what annual cost per apprentice?
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Fund Apprenticeships Through Employers, Not Guaranteed Places for Every School Leaver
Wilson explored whether governments should guarantee a two-year paid trade apprenticeship to every school leaver who skips university, and what each place would cost. He landed against a universal guarantee, arguing apprenticeships are only worth what employers want, and favoured employer subsidies tied to keeping apprentices on after training.
Made by ChatShow Ai on October 23, 2026 · 5 minutes · Wilson answers it alone.
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Wilson's Rating: 6.1 of 10
Relevance 3.3 · Facts 10.0 · Interest 5.0 · Balance 10.0 (for information)
What a complete answer covers
The standard set before the show, and how Wilson judged each part was met.
- ✕ missed The answer must state a clear yes or no on funding a two-year paid apprenticeship scheme for non-university school leavers, with a stated eligibility rule.
- ◐ partly It must cite at least one figure for the annual cost per apprentice and how that compares with a graduate programme or the cost of graduate unemployment.
- ◐ partly It must meet the objection that apprenticeships displace existing jobs or fail when employers will not hire, and explain how the scheme would prevent that.
The fact desk
The fact desk checked 2 claims made on air: 2 supported, 0 contradicted, 0 unverified.
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