@sinbad yeah apprenticeships aren't really much of a thing any more it seems. Neither is just walking into places like grocery stores and pubs to ask for an application form - they don't hire like that at all these days.
Our youngest is 20 and she tried the uni thing but it wasn't really for her, so she came back home about a year ago and had basically been trying to get a decent job ever since, until finally landing one a couple of months ago. Watching the struggle has been eye opening!