Apprenticeships and Local Apprenticeship providers
What are Apprenticeships?
Apprenticeships combine practical training in a job with study. As an apprentice you’ll:
- work alongside experienced staff
- gain job-specific skills
- earn a wage and get holiday pay
- get time for study related to your role (usually one day a week)
Levels of apprenticeship
Apprenticeships have equivalent educational levels.
Name Level Equivalent educational level
Intermediate 2 GCSE
Advanced 3 A level
Higher 4, 5, 6 and 7 Foundation degree and above
Degree 6 and 7 Bachelor’s or master’s degree
There are many different types of apprenticeships eg. accounting, equine, broadcast production, composite engineering, information security, design.
A good first step is to confirm that the apprenticeship opportunity you would like actually exists and has an apprenticeship standard. A full listing of apprenticeship standards, what they cover and a direct link to the government website which advertises apprenticeship vacancies can be accessed at The Institute for Apprenticeships.
Unifrog has a section dedicated to apprenticeships, with an apprenticeship finder tool as well as an array of useful guides and videos. Students are able to create their own shortlist of apprenticeships which most interest them. Unifrog also includes a useful guide in the know-how section.
You can register, set up alerts and explore vacancies through the government's site here.
There is also an 'A-Z of Apprenticeships' (industries, subjects and levels available.) Click here
The UCAS website also has a section with comprehensive information on apprenticeships in the UK. This is their Getting Started information. They also have a downloadable comprehensive guide to Apprenticeships
The useful All About School Leavers site has information as well, as does Studential
Apprenticeship Vacancies
There are a variety of ways that students can search for apprenticeship vacancies. A number of these are listed below:
- Students can access the school’s Unifrog system, select and search for current apprenticeship vacancies. Unifrog pulls in vacancies from the National Apprenticeship Service and other sites advertising.
- The Government provide a National Apprenticeship Service vacancy site . Employers offering apprenticeships should advertise vacancies here. Students can set up alerts so new vacancies are emailed to them when added and can search for current vacancies.
- Bedford College run an apprenticeship vacancy and matching service
- Other local colleges also work with local employers to advertise local apprenticeship vacancies. Please view their websites.
Other sites offer links and access to School Leaver Programmes, (Higher & Degree Apprenticeships vacancies)
Students can also contact registered apprenticeship training providers directly such as Cogent Skills (Science Industries). Another example is Skillnet which is one of the UK’s largest providers of Apprenticeships to the automotive industry. They also work with clients across Engineering, Logistics, financial services and a host of other industry sectors.
