To ask this at a job interview?

[veravermacelli]

DS has an interview for a role he is very interested in - but it's been advertised as a level 2 apprenticeship, and he's already got a GCSE in this particular subject at A grade, and in a months' time he will have the equivalent of 1 1/2 A levels.

There is a level 3 apprenticeship course available and I think he should politely express an interest in doing this if possible instead of the level 2. But DH says that rude and will put the employer off, that if they wanted a level 3 apprentice they would have advertised for one.

DS is reluctant to ask, as he thinks it's a bit cheeky, but would prefer to do the Level 3.

AHBU to ask?

Thanks

What about asking if and when he gets offered the post? They may consider it then?

He could contact them in advance if the interview to ask about a level 3 position. They could then interview him against that criteria and if it isn’t possible, he’d know and be able to sell himself as a very able level 2 candidate.

I wouldn't mind if an interviewee asked me this
It is possible that the level 3 course will be offered after the completion of the level 2, as it's the experience gained during the course that is important

I would not ask. They will gather his qualifications when they speak to him and conversation may be driven from there.

I’m with your husband. I used to interview people a lot and it was really frustrating when they hadn’t understood what the role was (albeit sometimes this was the fault of the recruitment agency).

The other thing to remember is that getting a new role signed off is hard. If the hiring manager has a Level 2 role signed off, he or she would probably have to start the whole process again to convert it to a Level 3.

I wouldnt.

Apprenticeships are usually tied into some kind of funding or scheme by the government. If they aren't then the company will have budgeted for the position based on the qualification they advertised.

He couldn't mention it in a 'I'm more than happy to do it however, if it would save you money so wouldn't happy to skip straight to level 3 as I ready have the l2 equivalent l'

...could mention it

May not be possible if the role does not have the right responsibility for a level 3 but asking politely wouldn't do any harm and would also show that he is keen to progress

I wouldn't mention unless offered the job, but if they ask how he sees his career progression then that would be a time to mention in interview that he'd like to do level 3 either now or in future.

Depends what the job is.
Most practical apprenticeships require everyone to do level 2 first no matter prior learning. Eg hairdressers. He'll whizz through the level 2 being so capable. He should ask about how quickly he could progress.

Apprenticeships are usually tied into some kind of funding or scheme by the government. If they aren't then the company will have budgeted for the position based on the qualification they advertised.

First sentence true - but costs same to employer. As long as the training provider is the same it should be fairly straightforward for him to do the Level 3 provides he meets the requirements. Again I'd assume the budget for Level 2 and 3 apprenticeship would be the same.

Is the employer a reasonable size and are they public sector? Public sector generally have more hurdles to jump through so might be more difficult.

At my workplace we have an apprentice doing level 2. However, they have the option of doing some level 3 modules. Depending on the course, there could be flexibility.

If your DS does not want to ask the employer at interview, he could call the teaining provider and ask them some questions beforehand.

Thank you for you replies.

The difficulty might be then that the training provider doesn't do a Level 3, but he's managed to find a course run by the local university. So I suppose it's not as simple as I thought, if the trading provider would have to be changed as well.

Good idea to ask about next year though.

Thanks

I wouldn't ask, as an interviewer I'd see it as the candidate thinking they knew my organisation's needs better than I did a or hadn't thought about the role properly and I wouldn't hire them.

If it's a good employer and the type of job he wants I'd say see if he can get the Level 2 and take it from there, the employer probably has a structure with their current training provider, you can't rock up to an interview and ask them to set up another one for your benefit.

If he already has a level 2 qualification in the same subject as the apprenticeship, then it's likely he won't be eligible to do it. An apprenticeship is only funded if you don't already have the equivalent level qualification in the same subject.

I think it's worthwhile early on having a conversation with the employer to discuss the apprenticeship. It could be the training provider they use, but with the new levy system it's not difficult to find an alternative training provider and there isn't much difference in funding between level 2 and 3, if he's under 19 then there is more funding available.