I think if you are chopped before getting your first validation you get back the contributions you made to the pension scheme and over a 2yr period that could be a decent wedge.
The main reasons for failure are lack of skills, attitude failure and in a few cases general immaturity - usually its a combination of these three.
The sector where I work has very committed training staff who will bend over backwards to get you to the final goal as long as the traine shows a willingness to learn and a good attitude. An attitude failure in more cases than not will lead to a career failure.