23 Aug 2023
Many people have heard of apprenticeships but aren’t all that sure what they actually entail in practice. Apprenticeships are real jobs that people are paid to do, and they also incorporate an academic component, so you will receive an academic qualification once it has been completed. The fact that apprenticeships cover actual job roles means that around two-thirds of apprentices are kept on in actual employment by the company they apprenticed with once the apprenticeship has been successfully completed. It is not guaranteed, but most companies have an apprenticeship scheme with an eye to being able to bring on future talent for their company and are predisposed to hiring former apprentices.
For the duration of the apprenticeship, most apprentices will be on the apprenticeship minimum wage, which is set nationally by the UK Government. Still, in some cases, employers will pay more than they are obligated to in order to create competition and find the best candidates. This is most common in the financial, business and management fields. Unfortunately, it also means it is more difficult to find an apprenticeship placement in the first place due to the competition around places with them.
What Can I Apprentice In?
Apprenticeships aren’t like school subjects, there is a much broader scope of actual job roles that can be applied for. They are very popular because they offer the chance to get a start in areas that are much more hands-on and practical than anything available at school. Young people can learn specific job roles within the construction industry or vehicle maintenance if that is their passion and interest.
There is a wide variety of different apprenticeship jobs spread throughout the country, and some of them can be surprising. Last year a Formula One team was looking for apprentices to join their team as mechanics and engineers, and that would be an incredible opportunity for someone with the right aptitude to learn at the very pinnacle of motorsport.
What Are Apprenticeship Standards?
Many apprenticeships are available in the UK, and they all conform to Apprenticeship Standards. This means that if someone undertakes a particular apprenticeship, such as a gas engineer apprenticeship in one part of the country, future employers can be sure that they have learned the same skills as those who have undertaken it in another part of the country. It is a standardisation of what is learned in particular apprenticeships, and this appears to be prompting increasing business confidence in the apprenticeship sector.
Academic Levels
All apprenticeships have an academic level attached to them, and this means they will be easier or harder to get into, depending on how high that level happens to be. They are broken down into Intermediate, advanced, higher and degree apprenticeships, and each of these corresponds to the Regulated Qualification Framework (RQF). Intermediate apprenticeships are Level 2 on the framework, advanced apprenticeships are Level 3, Higher can range from Levels 4-7 and degree apprenticeships are Level 6, which is the educational equivalent to an undergraduate degree.
