What is an apprenticeship?
Get paid to discover your passion! You can become anything you want… An Apprenticeship is a job which allows you to earn while you learn. You receive a wage and study alongside each other, which eventually leads to qualifications and progression within your chosen industry. Some famous and very successful business people have started off as apprentices – click here to read about 3 top CEOs who started their careers with an apprenticeship!
A guide to apprenticeships can be found here.
With an apprenticeship you will:
- Learn and train for a specific job
- Work alongside experienced staff
- Earn a wage and get holiday pay
- Be given time for study related to your role (the equivalent of one day a week)
- complete assessments during and at the end of your apprenticeship
- be on a career path with lots of future potential
Levels of an apprenticeship
Each apprenticeship has a level and an equivalent education level. You can start an apprenticeship at any level. Depending on the level, some apprenticeships may:
- require previous qualifications such as an English or Maths GCSE
- give extra training in the English or Maths skills needed so you’re at the right level
At the end of your apprenticeship, you’ll achieve the equivalent education level. For example, if you complete a level 3 apprenticeship, you’ll achieve the equivalent of an A level. Higher and degree apprenticeships are also available. More information about these may be found here.
Apprenticeships vs A-levels
For students undecided on whether to go to Sixth Form/ College or start in the world of work as an apprentice, they can read a blog from RateMyApprenticeship on the pros and cons of apprenticeships vs A-levels here!
To make it a little more fun, why not take their quiz to decide which path to take?
Further Information
Information for Parents & Carers
Click here to read The Parents’ Guide To National Apprenticeship Week 2024
Click here to read 2023 version or the 2022 version.
Links and further resources
Interested in an Apprenticeship? There are a variety of websites and resources you can use to look and apply for them:
- The National Apprenticeship Service – www.gov.uk/apply-apprenticeship
- Get my first job – www.getmyfirstjob.co.uk
- Rate My Apprenticeship – www.ratemyapprenticeship.co.uk
- Target Careers – targetcareers.co.uk
- Derby College Apprenticeships: www.derby-college.ac.uk/apprenticeships-earn-learn (you do need to have an employer lined up before applying to Derby College for an apprenticeship otherwise your application status will be incomplete)
- CT Skills – www.ctskills.co.uk
- Remit – www.remit.co.uk/apprenticeships
- EMA Training: Accounting, Digital, I.T & HR – www.ematraining.co.uk
- Babington Accounting, Financial Services, Property Services , Digital, Business & Customer Services – babington.co.uk
- bconstructive – www.citb.co.uk/bconstructive
- Learning Unlimited, Derby – www.learningunlimiteduk.com
- Training 2000 – www.training2000.co.uk
- Future Talent – www.future-talent.com
- Access Training – www.atem.co.uk
- Derbyshire County Council – jobs.derbyshire.gov.uk
- Civil Service – www.civilservicejobs.service.gov.uk
- Babington College – babington.co.uk/apprenticeships
- NHS Apprenticeships – www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/career-planning/study-and-training/apprenticeships-traineeships-and-cadet-schemes
- NHS Careers – https://www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/explore-roles (includes lots of useful information about Nursing associates and future NHS apprenticeships)
- The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) is the Sector Skills Council and Industry Training Board for the construction industry – www.citb.co.uk/courses-and-qualifications/citb-apprenticeships/
- Looking on any company website (look out for ‘Careers’ or ‘Early Careers’ tabs)
- Ask friends and family if they know of any companies looking for an apprentice!
A GUIDE TO CAREER OPTIONS 2022
No idea whether you want to do an apprenticeship, go to university or pursue TikTok fame when you leave school or college?
It’s a BIG decision to make at 16, 17, 18… So RateMyApprenticeship have put together this guide to help you better understand and map out your future. Inside, you’ll find everything you need to know about the career options available to you, and how to get there.
The guide also features the Top 100 Employers & Top 50 Training Providers 2022, as voted for by 1000s of apprentices across the UK.