When people on here say apprenticeships, what do you mean exactly?

[MrsDThaskala]

hi. I have read lots of posts in HE and E forums about DC getting onto apprenticeships. Well done to those children and sounds great. I understand it to be studying and working at the same time, getting paid and a route into a company. Can you explain a bit more to me as where and how these are applied for? Do schools help with this? My DC is year 9 so a while ahead. Just wondering what they are and which companies/industries?

There are apprenticeships in lots of different types of work, office based as well as more traditional manual trades.

It is an employed position, they apply for the apprenticeship the same way they would for a job and go through an interview process. In some sectors this is very competitive, the standards are high.

I don’t know if the school would help, as ever it probably varies.

The best place to start would be for you and them to look at apprenticeships.gov.uk to read more about how it works. They need to think carefully about what they’re interested in. No point looking at engineering opportunities if you want to be a carpenter or an accountant.

There are apprenticeships across a huge range of industries now, from childcare, trades, local government, engineering, white collar professions.

You can search currently available jobs with apprenticeships here: https://www.findapprenticeship.service.gov.uk/apprenticeshipsearch

My dc got one in the summer after his gcses. They'll be a qualified trade in 4 years, and have a day at week at college . They needed 4 gcses including maths and English, but had the grades to do A levels if they had chosen to.
It was quite competitive, but they made sure they hit all the essential criteria and were polite , engaging and attentive during the interview, and the feedback was they were the strongest candidate.

Instead of going to college every day you essentially have a job with a day to study and get the qualification required.
You get paid an apprenticeship rate but you do not have to pay for the qualification.

There are various levels and subjects.

Useful replies above.

Your DC needs to think about what they want to do, and then investigate the paths into those careers.
Do schools still have a careers department, or have cuts done away with them?

My 19yo started an apprenticeship with an Insolvency Practitioners firm in Oct 2024.
He is doing AAT (accounting technician) exams level 3 and then 4 via day relaease at a local training inkmg provider.
Assuming he continues he will then do professional level exams.

He'd applied for degree apprenticeships in in Business Recovery in Jan/Feb/Mar 2024 and got nowhere - they are like gold dust, and in this field were only in a handful of specific locations so he'd have had to relocate.
He then concentrated on his exams, and after they were over he sent his CV to all the Insolvency Practitioners in the area on spec last summer (there were only a handful). He got an interview with one, then 2nd interview, and they decided to take a punt - said they hadn't really been looking but it was a good time etc.
TBH, I think his surname helped with getting an interview (dad is in the industry, although not an IP, and they asked if DS was related at the interview), although wouldn't have got him the job.
I think he just got very lucky, if he hadn't got anywhere he was going to widen his area which would have meant leaving home - which would obviously have significant cost implications.
His firm haven't taken on AAT apprentices in their department before, but have in the accounts, audit and tax departments.

I've got a client who took on a 16yo post GCSE's as a plumbing apprentice a couple of years ago. He goes to college one day a week and works with them on the job the other 4 days.
In that case my client knew the family and that the lad was looking for an opening.

I'm an accountant and we take on accounts, audit and tax apprentices. I'm not sure where we advertise, other than a standing ad on the careers section of our website. I know others in the area also attend careers days at the local sixth forms.

The local college has more trade-based courses, and similar careers days.

But be aware that such sites won't list ALL available positions, many employers will use other advertising methods, or find people by word of mouth etc.

Often, contacting relevant employers directly, having done your research on what you want to do, is the best way to find an opening.

My eldest is doing an IT apprenticeship straight after Alevels. She went to a grammer (her choice not mine) but had grade Bs and didn't want to go to Uni. Her school were only focusing on degrees, she's driven and did her research and applications by herself (bit of help from my partner and me).
Instead of 3 Yr Uni with £40-£50k dept she'll have over £60k in earnings after 3 years. Better still her apprenticeship is only 2 years, they have said they keeping her on after (after training her it's in their interests). She has online college once a week and attended training away for a fortnight once (shes in year 1). Her wage is around £23k, but Yr3 it will go up when she has a contract and she can look at other IT roles.
It works for her as we live near a city with opportunities, she drives, has friends and a boyfriend and so she doesn't need Uni for the social aspect. Her Uni friends are enjoying Uni, but they seem to back a lot.

You can do an apprenticeship post GCSEs.

Or post 6th form / college which could be a 'normal' apprenticeship or a degree apprenticeship.

Post GCSEs they suit someone who is relatively mature and is willing to work hard, and is able to get to/from the workplace when they are too young to drive.

All apprenticeships should lead to qualifications. Some may be required qualifications to progress in the job (e.g.child care), some may not (e.g. hospitality).

My DS 29 is doing an apprenticeship degree and just been promoted and is n a higher tax earner . He has just finished his 4th year, but has never been on " apprenticeship" wages as he was working for the company before he was taken onto the apprenticeship scheme. The school leavers on the scheme started on a lot less than he is on but i dont think they are paid badly.
A lot of my DD's friends went down the apprenticeship route and are all doing really well. One is an accountant ,another works in travel, another we knew made high end rugs.

There is a website and Facebook page called ‘not going to Uni’ which lists various apprenticeship opportunities, and my son found his maintenance engineering apprenticeship via that route.
Local businesses also advertise apprenticeship vacancies on the usual job search sites.

Information about apprenticeships is not all in one place. There is lots of information out there on the web; you just have to be curious and proactive and encourage your DC to do the exploring rather than do it for them. In addition to the sources cited above, the UCAS and Ratemyapprenticeship websites are useful.

It is important for DC to reflect on whether apprenticeships suits them and they suit apprenticeships. In my view, you need to be:

relatively mature (the world of work is not student-centric, unlike college or uni),

clear about the career path (as embarking on an apprenticeship narrows your options down),

the sort of person who likes to learn and grow by doing a job with formal learning around the edges, rather than academics being front and centre.

Thank you for explaining it all. This would be after a-levels. I’ve only heard of them for big accountancy firms. And maybe an IT one. DD is good at English and Sciences (at the moment) so could turn either way. I think I’m asking as she’s not sure what a-levels she’d like to do. Just started GCSE options. I thought looking at apprenticeships might help guide her with ideas of a career. Absolutely she has lots of time ahead. Just wondered myself. Thank you for your clear information.

@MrsDThaskala
Forgot to say DS apprenticeship is in Pharmaceuticals. He is doing a pharmaceutical science degree.

Your DD might want to take a look at the Prospects.ac.uk website, which has useful information about different career paths and the annual 'What graduates do' research report which gives the stats on, say, what English Lit or Chemistry grads go on to do.

When my DC each reached Y9-10, I encouraged them to attend a whatcareerlive event (see link below) as a way of browsing different employers' and uni stalls. These are held in London and Birmingham. There are other variants in other locations.
www.whatcareerlive.co.uk/book-tickets/

Look on local council websites too.
Some Employers like BAE take on huge amounts of apprentices, worth a look to see types on offer.
My colleague’s daughter is doing a solicitor apprenticeship. Another dc I know is pwc flying start.
The degree apprenticeships are very competitive, often wanting to see top academics have been achieved alongside a pt job at sixth form.

You can also look at the institute for apprenticeships, who hold all the “standards” for every apprenticeship that exists. (Bit like the exam board, if you want to think of it that way). You can see how many different standards have been approved or are already in existence, and at what level (eg GCSEs = level 2, a levels = level 3 etc, to help compare the level).

yiu used to be able to see which companies / organisations were involved in producing the standard. Which then gives you an idea of which employers might be recruiting.

issue is that apprenticeships are jobs with training. So they only exist if an employer wants to recruit someone at that time. Unlike ft education options.

https://www.instituteforapprenticeships.org

DD is just finishing her first year of college, but some of her peers went straight into Apprenticeships, mechanic, builder, hairdresser etc. Some are doing 2 years at college and will then look for an Apprenticeship.

I wish DD had wanted to learn a trade and if she had, I would have encouraged her down the Apprenticeship route.

@MrsDThaskalaYou need to be a bit careful with some of the anecdotes here. For example: a 2 year apprenticeship will not be a degree apprenticeship. So comparing that with 3 years at university and coming out with a degree is not a fair comparison. Typically degree apprenticeships take a lot longer, often 4 years. If looking at Engineering, for example, this would be a BEng. Not a MEng and that can make a difference in terms of career progression later.

Also where is the degree from? Would it be your first choice university or a pretty average one down the road? Some non degree apprenticeships are on line learning. Is that ok? Depends on company and number of apprenticeships in terms of how they offer training.

Also, I believe Labour are trying to change this, but as you can see, not all apprentices are 18. Some are much older. Companies use apprenticeships to retrain or upskill existing staff. This means fewer available for 18 year olds and, as a result, competition is immense for many. University is much easier to get into, even Oxbridge!

Apprenticeships mean you must know what career you want before 18. No sampling a wide range of engineering options or deciding you want to study History. It’s a job from the start and it might be very narrow and niche. Degrees give choice of university and longer to consider which career. So always look at both options because both have plus and minus points.

Or at any age. Up to 65.

@StMarie4me That’s been an issue. Too many mature people taking the degrees. Often a second or even third degree. 18 year olds have found it more challenging than they should have done.

I was going to make the same point. DD was on £50K before she’d finished her apprenticeship. DS has just started a degree apprenticeship with a company that he already worked for, and is on £30K. Not all employers pay just the apprenticeship rate.

My son completed his apprenticeship and is now a qualified electrician.
He needed five GCSES above a level four and he applied for it the same way you would a job.
The first two years were working four days a week and at college one day a week.
In my area (Sussex) it’s extremely competitive and I think he had around 4 interviews/trials over a period of around 6 months before he was accepted by the company who he is now employed by, there are also exams at the end of the apprenticeship.
I don’t know if this is common but I should imagine so with trade jobs, My son was expected to learn to drive within the first two years because after he’d finished the college part of the apprenticeship he was treated like more of an employee so needed to be able to drive the company van he was given.
His exams were paid for for him by his employer but he has a friend who failed his exams first time round and had to pay himself to resit them, this was £900.
I think out of the 30 that started the college year with him only 9 finished the 5 years, it didn’t help that covid happened throughout all of this though.