Apprenticeships

An apprenticeship is a real job where you learn, gain experience and get paid. You’re an employee with a contract of employment and holiday leave. By the end of it, you’ll have the right skills and knowledge needed for your chosen career.

To embark on your apprenticeship journey, ensure you:

• Be 16 or over and reside in England.
• Not be in full-time education.

*You can apply for an apprenticeship while still in school.

Why Apprenticeships?

Real Job, Real Pay: Earn a wage and enjoy holiday pay while working in your chosen field.
On-the-Job Learning: Work alongside seasoned professionals, gaining practical, job-specific skills.
Structured Training: Allocate time for training and study related to your role, whether at your workplace, a college, with a training provider, or online.

With over 600 different apprenticeships available, there’s a perfect match for every career aspiration. You can view all types of apprenticeships on GOV.UK.

What is the Apprenticeship Levy?

The apprenticeship levy is paid by large employers with a pay bill of over £3 million. Currently, only 2% of employers pay the levy, which is set at a rate of 0.5% of their total annual pay bill.

Levy funds are used to pay for apprentices to achieve qualifications that are set out in their approved apprenticeship training programme and are deemed necessary to being effective in the job, such as a degree or a diploma.

Find out more about the Apprenticeship Levy here

Apprenticeship framework and standards

Frameworks, developed by sector bodies, are used to assess apprenticeships. Frameworks are primarily qualification-focused. The main aim at the end of a framework is to have achieved a competency-based qualification, such as an NVQ, and a technical qualification, such as a BTEC.

A standard contains a list of the skills, knowledge and behaviours an apprentice will need to have learned by the end of their apprenticeship.

Standards are occupation-focused; they are not qualification-led. The learning happens throughout the apprenticeship. And the apprentice is assessed at the end. They need to prove that they can carry out all aspects of their job.

Next Steps

You could get a job with your current employer once you have finished. They might like to hire you because they trained you and know you can do the job well.

You could also:

• find a new job with a different employer
• go to university or start another type of higher education
• do another apprenticeship at a higher level
• volunteer to get more experience which can help you get a job

You can watch videos of real apprentices talking about their experiences, including what they did afterwards.

Apprenticeship Levels

Apprenticeships come in four different levels:

Intermediate: Level 2
Advanced: Level 3
Higher: Level 4 or 5
Degree Apprenticeship: Level 6 or 7

For equivalent educational levels, refer to GOV.UK.