Software Developer - Apprenticeships

[UK-AL05]

I'm not after a apprenticeship, i'm university educated. However i'm interested in the skills they teach. Can someone tell me their experiences with them?

Do they teach general advanced computer skills? or just java / .net courses?

I'm wondering if they teach stuff like formal grammars(Useful for DSLs), compilers(Useful for DSLs), formal logic, AI & ML, programming languages beyond just OO/Imperative languages?

I've looked at the curriculum for apprenticeships and they seem to be just java schools as they appear to work mainly towards to certs like this:

http://education.oracle.com/pls/web...ge?page_id=458&get_params=p_track_id:JSE7Prog

However I want to know if I’m just generalising?

 

[UK-AL05]

No one is familiar with them?

 

[UK-AL05]

Can't say I've heard of software development apprenticeships. If you're uni educated just get a junior role with a company who will invest a bit of time in you?

It's not for me(I have a MSc in CS). However someone wants to become a software developer, but they want to formally learn about stuff like compilers, and machine learning etc after seeing my work rather than just pure programming. I've worked with software apprenticeships before, and they were mainly working towards java certs. However I wanted to know if this is just an exception.

I suspected most apprenticeships did not teach these skills, and it looks as i'm right; it's annoying because these skills indirectly make you a better developer. I think they're far too specialised and risks being shoved into a niche of which they can't escape. I think apprenticeships should be far more general to be a serious alternative for university. Only then will I be happy to recommend them.

Sounds as if they've ripped out the stuff that companies can't get return on straight away? Which is disappointing because long term success of the developer can increase via those skills.