Apprenticeship salary progression

[usernamedifferent]

I don’t know if this is the right place for this but would appreciate any advice.

My DS 18 is starting an apprenticeship this summer. Originally it was advertised as a L3 with a salary of £15k. After discussion with the relevant person from the training provider, it was decided that he should do a L4 (due to him already studying for a T-level in a similar field which he is just finishing).

I have two queries:

1. I’ve looked online and it seems that most L4 apprenticeships have a higher starting salary than £15k (particularly in this field - IT) I know they only have to pay the minimum of £6.40 an hour, and the £15k is more than that, but should he ask about a higher start salary now it’s a L4? They said regardless of which apprenticeship he is doing the day to day job will not change, ie he’ll be able to see and do everything.

2. Regardless of the salary for the first year, should he be asking at this stage what the salary progression is for the next few years? I think he’d be disappointed if after a year he only went to minimum wage for his age. Now it’s a L4 apprenticeship he’s tied in for at least 2.5 years so I feel this is something he needs to know?

Any thoughts appreciated

1. He could ask but if the day to day job is the same they probably won't offer an uplift, because he's not bringing any greater value to the business.
2. We wouldn't commit to this with our apprentices. We tell them how often their salary will be reviewed, but the amounts are dependent on their performance as well as market conditions.

Thank you, yes that makes sense.

It would just be good to have an idea of where he could be heading salary wise!

I appreciate the response

Yeh, I appreciate it's tricky.

Depending on the size of the employer, it might be worth seeing if there's any info on Glassdoor or Fishbowl that might give an idea of what to expect.

What happens at the end of the apprenticeship? If it's a case of "on successful completion you will be promoted to x role/grade", you could potentially ask about the salary expectations at that point. That's more of a hypothetical so they may be more willing to answer that.

It’s a small local company with less than 10 employees. They’ve said they want someone who they train and will stay with the company long term, but of course they could just be saying that !