Apprenticeships

What is an Apprenticeship?

It’s a real job, with real training, meaning you can earn while you learn and gain a nationally recognised qualification.

To get your career started you usually need a combination of experience and qualifications. An Apprenticeship gives you both by combining on the job training with study (usually one day a week) meaning you can earn while you learn. With some Apprenticeships you can now study at Degree Level too, meaning you can get a degree, whilst earning and not racking up debt via tuition fees.

It usually takes between one and four years to complete an Apprenticeship depending on which level you take. Apprenticeships are available across a wide range of industries and many high quality, prestigious companies and organisations offer them.

What can I earn?

The current minimum wage rate for an apprentice can be found here, but many employers pay more than this. Apprentices going into their second year of study will earn more, with different rates for those aged over 21 and those aged under 18. However dependant on the sector, region and Apprenticeship level, some higher Apprenticeships pay up to £500 per week. More details on salaries and entry criteria in specific Apprenticeship occupations can be found here.

What’s in it for me?

  • Earn a real wage
  • Be trained in the skills employers want
  • You are more likely to progress quicker and higher than a typical student
  • Learn at a pace that suits you and be supported by a mentor
  • Have a holiday and be paid while your away
  • Set yourself up for the future – apprentices enjoy marked salary increases when they complete their training, and those completing a higher Apprenticeship could see increased earnings of an estimated £150,000 over their lifetime.

How do I apply?

To apply, click here. You will need to create a user account, then you can search and apply online using the relevant ‘search’ selections. At any one time there are up to 28,000 Apprenticeship vacancies available online in a variety of careers and industries across England.

Traineeships

A traineeship is an education and training programme with work experience that unlocks the great potential of young people and prepares them for their future careers by helping them to become ‘work ready’.
Designed to help young people aged 16 to 24 who don’t yet have the appropriate skills or experience, traineeships provide the essential work preparation training, English, maths and work experience needed to secure an Apprenticeship or employment.

  • Traineeships have been developed by employers making them a great stepping stone to an Apprenticeship or other job.
  • Traineeships are continuing to grow - there were 24,100 traineeship starts in 2015 to 2016.
  • 94% of employers consider traineeships an effective way of increasing young people’s chances of finding paid jobs and Apprenticeships

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More Key facts about Apprenticeships

  • Up to 28,000 Apprenticeship vacancies are available online at any one time.
  • Apprenticeships are available in 1500 job roles, covering more than 170 industries, from advertising to youth work and from environmental engineering to legal.
  • More than 2,600 employers are involved in designing the new Apprenticeships standards.
  • 270 Apprenticeship standards have been published so far, of which over 84 are higher and degree Apprenticeships.
  • Nearly all apprentices feel that they acquire or improve their skills as a direct result of their Apprenticeship.
  • Almost 9 out of every 10 Apprenticeship employers hoping to achieve business benefits tell us that Apprenticeships deliver – including 75% reporting that it has helped their business improve the quality of their product or service.
  • There are currently 100 higher and degree Apprenticeships available, with more in development, including foundation degrees, HNDs and full honours degrees. These include job roles ranging from legal services to banking and engineering.
  • After finishing, 7 in 10 apprentices (77%) stay with the same employer.
  • 46% of apprentices had received a pay rise since completing their Apprenticeship.
  • 36% of higher apprentices’ report getting a promotion after completing their Apprenticeship.

Apprenticeships are available at the following levels:

  • Intermediate: Level 2 – equivalent to five GCSE’s
  • Advanced: Level 3 – equivalent to two A Levels
  • Higher: Level 4 – equivalent to a higher education diploma
  • Higher: Level 5 – equivalent to a foundation degree
  • Level 6 - equivalent to a Bachelor Degree
  • Level 7 – equivalent to a Masters Degree
  • Level 8 – equivalent to a Doctorate

If you would like to find out more about Apprenticeships please click here.

You can find all the latest Apprenticeship vacancies here. You can search by job role or region - you do not need an account to search.

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