Apprenticeship after a degree

I was just wondering if anyone out there has managed to successfully get onto an apprenticeship after university. I know some people may see it as a step backwards but I have come across some interesting sounding apprenticeships and I think they would really useful to gain some more experience and get some more practical qualifications of a year or so. I was just wondering if anyone had any experience of doing an apprenticeship either after university or as an older person i.e. outside the usual age range of 16-24?

Apprenticeships are a complete scam for so many reasons; johnboy1987 pointed out the obvious ageism (there is a reason they are targeted at young people and it is not to help them I assure you), but for one position at my local county council there was an explicit notice which said '[o]ur apprenticeships are open to all ages 16+, except those people who have already graduated with a degree or higher from University'.

Yeh I have seen a few advertised that say no degrees. How do you mean they are a scam?

Apprenticeships are a scam for three reasons: they are low paid; they do not necessarily lead to employment; and they do not necessarily provide worthwhile skills. For example, I just spotted an apprenticeship which lasts 12-15 months* on a wage of £95 per week, which works out at £2.53 an hour. The qualification ('skill') the apprentice finishes with is a NVQ Level 2 Administration, Key Skills - Application of Number and Communication, Technical Certificate, but in order to apply they would need 'five GCSE's at Grades A - C or equivalent, including Mathematics and English'; that is, the apprentice finishes their low-paid apprenticeship with a qualification that is equivalent to one that they needed to even get onto the apprenticeship in the first place. In summary, it is a complete scam to get young people working in jobs (I repeat, jobs, there is in some cases absolutely no skill developed whatsoever; in the case I quoted it is essentially an admin/office job at the local council under the guise of 'business and administration') on less than minimum wage, and the fact that they do not even guarantee a job at the end of the training is an embarrassment.

I do not doubt that there are some genuine apprenticeships, learning skills that are necessary independent of ideological tampering (unsurprisingly, they are also the ones that pay normal wages...), but the scheme has been swamped with ridiculous placements to hide the true figure of youth unemployment.

* - The fact some apprenticeships do not have a defined duration is problematic in itself as it suggests there are no defined objectives to be met; that is, that there is either no skill for an apprentice to learn or such a basic skill which requires a variable programme length because the apprentice is normally unqualified to take the position.

I was just wondering if anyone out there has managed to successfully get onto an apprenticeship after university. I know some people may see it as a step backwards but I have come across some interesting sounding apprenticeships and I think they would really useful to gain some more experience and get some more practical qualifications of a year or so. I was just wondering if anyone had any experience of doing an apprenticeship either after university or as an older person i.e. outside the usual age range of 16-24?

I'm a science graduate and I managed to get an apprenticeship.