The following information has been taken from the Prospects website and gives you a good overview of what an apprenticeship is. If you click on this link https://www.prospects.ac.uk/jobs-and-work-experience/apprenticeships/what-is-an-apprenticeship you will find even more detail about apprenticeships, such as how much you might get paid and how long the apprenticeship will last.
How apprenticeships work
Apprenticeships allow you to combine work and study by mixing on-the-job training with classroom learning. You’ll be employed to do a real job while studying for a formal qualification, usually for one day a week either at a college or a training centre. By the end of your apprenticeship, you’ll hopefully have gained the skills and knowledge needed to either succeed in your chosen career or progress onto the next apprenticeship level.
What you’ll learn depends on the role that you’re training for. However, apprentices in every role follow an approved study programme, which means you’ll gain a nationally-recognised qualification at the end of your apprenticeship.
When applying for an apprenticeship, it is the same as finding a job.
- You search for a job vacancy and apply using an application form and a CV
- Then you go through the interview process
- If you are successful, you will sign an employment contract
- The employer arranges the training provider for the classroom learning side of the programme.
Each apprenticeship is slightly different. Some include 1 day a week at college, and in others you go for a block of several weeks at a time.
There are two key times you would start applying for apprenticeships. Post-16 (which is the equivalent of year) then post-18 (which is the equivalent of after year 13) when you look for degree apprenticeships.
These are useful websites: