An apprenticeship is essentially a job that Offers you a salary whilst learning, gaining experience, and eventually coming out with a professional qualification that can help lead you into your chosen career. There are different levels of apprenticeships you can partake in. A Level 3 is equivalent to an A-level qualification whereas a level 6/7 apprenticeship is equivalent to an undergraduate and postgraduate degree. Thus, demonstrating that there is a wide variety of apprentices that you can accomplish while aligning them to your career and professional development.
The guidelines for applying for an apprenticeship is that you are 16 years old and older, and not in full time education and must reside in England. Most people who do take up apprentices are school leavers either don’t want to go to university but that have their career ambitions, and that wish to work up to a degree equivalent or who wish to take a career change and compliment this by elevating their level of qualifications.
Doing an apprenticeship has many benefits. One of the most attractive being that you learn while you earn; you learn key skills whilst gaining new qualifications, mentorship, and experience all of which are enablers for you to enhance and further your career.
Whilst being an apprentice you are offered all statutory rights like all employees, from day one of your contract, such as being given paid holidays, bank holidays, personal days, lunchbreaks. This supports the apprentice in feeling like they are equal to all other employees with the same type of perks, while working towards to organisations goals.
You are not alone and have hand on support 24/7 (through mentors and leaders) which can guide you through any problems or challenges you encounter. Being new to any place instantly instils fear that you might mess up or not complete something at its best but having that constant support from your manager gives a sense of relief and allows you to work without stress and pressure.
If you’re a school leaver this can help you to gain financial independence and learn how to manage your money correctly. Most apprentices have a minimum-low salary; therefore, this can teach you budget, how to save money efficiently, not having to rely on my parents for money was what I feel like was my first step into adulthood.
Not only does it build your personal skills such as your confidence levels, motivation, money budgeting and social skills. You may not be well versed talking in big groups or new people or confident in formal settings an apprenticeship helps you gain these skills that will help you when you further into different jobs and the new skills you gain, and you will be able to articulate this when updating your CV for prospects.
Apprentice Perspective
Based on my experience of being on an apprentice, I can conclude that it was one of the most rewarding and fun things I have done, and I appreciate this will be dependent on the role and organisation your apprenticeship is with. It is not all work, you can have a lot of fun completing it, I found myself making new friends, gaining more confidence in my responsibilities alongside a sense of independence and I was motivated to get out to work.
Apprenticeships are good as they teach you the set standards that people expect within the workplace. Preparing you for later in life; they teach you strict routines i.e., time management, dress codes as most places have dress codes to look formal, this also does make you feel more like your part of the team, offering an element of psychological safety in the workplace.
I learnt so much from doing an apprenticeship, things that I still use to this day. One of the most important skills I learnt where my people person skills so developing my social skills, how to talk formally and how to approach harsh situations, how to talk to large groups.
My first apprentice was in a gym so I had to lead large groups of people. Seeing my personal growth throughout the duration of my employment there was fantastic, I learnt so many new things skill wise and personal wise, it really stunted my confidence and allowed me to open myself up and put myself out there more. Doing an apprenticeship really helped me to develop on my business admin skills teaching me how to use excel correctly, answer emails and phone calls professionally etc.
Employer Perspective
Apprenticeships are a wonderful opportunity for the next generations to come through and gain and interest and insight into an industry or service sectors while they are enhancing their formal qualifications.
I have been a practice manager in West London for many years, and I have also been recruiting apprenticeships for a considerable amount of time, this is because I believe we have a duty to ensure the next generation are aware of what opportunities are within the NHS, and that they can have a career path without it being clinical, and without having a degree. Four of the apprentices I have had in the last four years, have gone on to flourish in their career in the NHS, one started as a receptionist studying customer service, then went on to study health and social care certificate and is now progressing onto Nurse associate, with a view of becoming a fully qualified nurse.
In a survey done by the government in 2017 it showed that 86% of employers said that they benefited from the development of their skills and company reputation by hiring employees.
According to the latest official figures on apprenticeships, there were 253,100 starts between August 2020 and April 2021, down by 6.9% from the third quarter (Q3) of 2019/20. Likely impacted by the Covid Pandemic.
'Flexi' apprenticeships are introduced in England
As part of the Spring Budget, the government has confirmed that they will be funding a new type of apprenticeship from July 2021.
A £7 million fund is to be introduced that will help employers in England set up and expand portable apprenticeships. This will enable people who need to work across multiple projects with different employers to benefit from the high-quality long-term training that an apprenticeship provides.
Employers themselves will also benefit from access to a diverse apprenticeship talent pipeline.
There is a wide variety of different websites that you can browse for information on which apprenticeship is available and suitable. CLICK HERE
This government website is a very helpful website if you’re trying to find an apprenticeship or information on a specific one, it shows you apprenticeships local in your area by miles as well as showing you the price range they offer. CLICK HERE
This website lets you find apprentices as well as finding apprenticeships for yourself. It is very easy to read and to use and shows you exactly where to look for the information you are need. The website displays a number you can call if you need help or support and shows the companies looking for apprentices.
Authors: Louise and Simi | Edits: Joanna
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