I have a feeling that a lot of young women, particularly ethnic women or neurodiverse women, feel like in order to prove themselves they need to excel academically, go to uni, do internships, sandwich years, and be the best in their class. And that may not always align with what they really want to do, or who they really want to be.
An apprenticeship gives you so much space to explore who you are outside of a rigid academic learning environment. You’re still going to get your qualification and an apprenticeship is going to elevate you, not bring you down like some of the out-dated perspectives suggest.