Are part-time apprenticeships available?

[Havingabreakfromhousework]

My son is in the process of applying for apprenticeships and courses for next year and they all say 30hours/4 days work minimum + 1day college...which is what we expected, except that my son volunteers one day a week and is really reluctant to give it up. It's not remotely related to the apprenticeship he's applying for, but he really loves it and has become relied upon (in a good way) on the day he is in. He isn't able to go in at weekends at the moment.
Is it likely he'll be allowed to do 3 days work/ 1 day volunteering/ 1 day college?
If so, does he have to tell the college? He's worried It'll lengthen the apprenticeship or invalidate his learning.
Fully prepared to be told he'll have to give it up :(

Does he have any experience in the field he wants an apprenticeship in?

The main problem is that apprentices get paid for college, but the workplace gets fours days work at a cheap apprenticeship rate. So the hours at work vs the hours at college ratio will be off.

It might work with a smaller business that's only taking on 1 apprentice, but they're usually the ones that pay absolute minimum.

Ask the employers and see what they say? Somewhere bigger may work as they are more likely to support flexible working.

Why can’t he go in at the weekend?

You have to treat an apprenticeship like a job, so it may not be possible.

Thank you for all the replies!😊
They have tonnes of volunteers at the weekend, and he does extra (athletics) training for a local team. If he does have to give up during the week, he'll join the waiting list for weekend volunteers, but it's really long unfortunately.

Yes, he has experience in the area he wants to study in, through a family member's hobby/business.

I think my biggest question is - is it legal/ allowed to work part time hours? Will the college say "if you can't work 4 days, you can't do the course" at some point?

I haven't heard of any part time apprenticeships.
The problem is that it's a requirement to have 20% time in training, which fits easily into the work 4 days and study 1 day model. So if he worked 3 days a week, he'd need trading for 20% of that, so around 5 hours, and the training provider would have to set up an individual programme for him.
Apprenticeships also have a set maximum time limit, so it may not be possible to do at a slower pace.

He also can't do one day training but only work 3 days as then he wouldn't meet the work time required to pass the apprenticeship.

He'll have to decide which is more important to him and his future.

Apprenticeships usually require you to work a minimum of 30 hours if you want to complete the course in the “full time” timeframe. You can work part time but usually it would take 2 years for example instead of 1. You must work at least 16 hours.

I doubt it. He needs to get his priorities right. He has to realise that once he enters the world of work the volunteering (admirable though it is) needs to fit round his job. Not the other way round.

Ah, yes...completely understand now. That makes a lot of sense. We'll have a chat tomorrow 😬

Thank you for clarifying it 🤗

Most enlightened employers would see the value in voluntary work!

Plenty of employers would be OK with am apprentice 4 days a week. College will likely extwnr his studies my a term. At my workplace our apprentice dropped down to 3 days a week and college extended her course by a possible year but said that so long as she got her skills done it would likely be shorter. They are far more flexible than you think.

It’s not outside the realms of possibility I know someone doing a degree apprenticeship on part time hours but she was already an existing employee. He will unlikely find one advertised as part time so would need discussing with individual employer and training provider. Worth contacting a few training providers and discussing though.

What field is the apprenticeship in, and is there any possibility for weekend/evening working hours for that? I know someone doing one in a restaurant business, and she doesn't work the 9-5 model for her work days. Could he do some of the volunteering on a day where he has reduced hours because he makes them up on the weekend, or has an evening shift or anything?

Also some of the college courses aren't necessarily a 9-5 day either - maybe worth asking which courses he will be doing, and how they are delivered. Are some of them flexible times, are they online, can he do any of it at other times etc, and then he could potentially do some of his volunteering on that day alongside college?

Or a combination of the two, leaving him a weekday free?

Hi, we offer students support with applying for apprenticeships and work with employers! Usually, apprentices get set amount of hours/days they can use for volunteering. If your son speaks to the employer, it could be that he could carry on with the volunteering depending on how many hours his apprenticeship allows him to spend on volunteering.

Hope this helps!

Thank you everyone 🤗
He's chatted with his employer to be this morning, and they are flexible for 1/2 a day volunteering, which is going to work well, especially as when he's 18 he can volunteer for longer into the evening. His employer is really keen for him to continue doing it 😃
Thank you again x