Good quality apprenticeships are now few and far between in the UK and Ireland.
Foe example look at how the scheme run by FLS in Dublin worked. Apprentices would work their way round the various workshops, composite, engine, undercarriage, structures e.t.c then they would go to the heavy maintenance hangar. The line operation was for the future.
Most of the heavy maintenance has now gone, line maintenance does not have the time to give apprentices the training they need.
If anyone wants a guaranteed training background with the required time and money spent go military. Civil apprentices are not immune to redundancy. As they are non productive they are a tempting target for the short term bean counters who have run out of orders for paperclips to cancel.
While BA might still run a quality scheme I have doubts about some of the others.
The quality of military training is fairly consistent and provided you stay the course the end result is more or less guaranteed.
If you end up on a poor quality civilian course you will have no redress and the time you have invested will be wasted.
IfI was young again today I would go back in to the military training system. I never regretted joining and also never regretted leaving. I will always be grateful to the military who provided me with the training to have a 30 year career in civil aviation as a licensed engineer.