17 Aug 2023
Apprenticeships have been gaining in popularity over the last few years. Employers increasingly see them as a way to plug the UK skills shortage that has been made worse by both the effects of Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic. There are many reasons to start an apprenticeship, and they are an excellent way to get on the career ladder in the profession that you want to pursue.
Obtain the Skills You Need for Success
The fact that apprenticeships allow you to experience a job role as you are learning what it entails means that you will quickly pick up the practical skills that you need to succeed in your chosen field. This can even put you ahead of University graduates who may have only ever learned the theoretical side of what they need to know but never actually had the chance to develop their real-world skills.
Networking and Contacts
It’s not just the skills that you will pick up during your apprenticeship that stand you in such good stead, it is also the contacts that you will make. You will be working closely with others at the company, and one of them will most likely be your assigned mentor. If you develop a good relationship with them, they can help you in your career and make it easier for you to succeed. Being able to obtain a good reference from someone well-regarded in your field can be a great door-opener for you and can help you to achieve success in the future.
Flexibility and Support
Apprenticeships can be reasonably flexible and can run from a year to several years in duration. This is why they can be popular with people who have other commitments, for example, caring for elderly family members or young children. Many apprenticeship providers will take your needs into account and tailor the apprenticeship around your needs so that you are able to take part fully in it and complete it in such a way that it isn’t detrimental to your other commitments.
It is important to remember that nobody wants to see you fail, so if there is an accommodation that can reasonably be made to assist you, don’t be afraid to ask.
Earn While You Learn
One of the most attractive aspects of an apprenticeship for many people is the ability to earn while you learn. You will be getting paid for the entire time you are at your apprenticeship, whether that is the 80% of the time you are working in the job role in “on-the-job” training or the 20% of the time you spend learning in “off-the-job” training. All of your work toward the apprenticeship is paid, and this will be at the apprenticeship minimum wage rate that befits your age group unless the employer has decided to pay a higher rate proactively.
The apprenticeship minimum wage is set and regulated by the UK Government, and this is the minimum that any employer with an apprenticeship scheme can offer you.
