The 5 Facts About Apprenticeships You Should Know

As you may have noticed, February saw National Apprenticeship Week take centre stage from the 7^th-13^th. Bucks Skills Hub ran two events including a broadcast on what Apprenticeships are. Here are 5 key facts about Apprenticeships that you may have not known:

1.     Apprenticeships are a real job – You apply for apprenticeships the way you would apply for a ‘normal’ job. A company will advertise a vacancy, you can pop in an application, then you receive an interview and if successful you get paid a wage, work usual working hours for that role and get the bonus of time to study a qualification to help with your role!

2.     Apprenticeships allow you to get a degree – With a degree apprenticeship you are able to work for a company and study towards a full Bachelors degree. The combination of work and studying is unique to each apprenticeship/company that offers them.

3.     You can undertake an apprenticeship after year 11 – Your next steps beyond year 11 could be an apprenticeship role. From the age of 16, after compulsory education, you are able to start an apprenticeship. There is no upper age limit on apprenticeships so you can apply for one at any stage of your career!

4.     Apprenticeships include at least 20% training – one great thing about apprenticeships is that you learn your role in a practical, hands-on environment whilst also studying the vocation you are in, at a training provider, college or university setting for at least 20% of your working time.

5.     Apprenticeships cover many sectors – Want to be an engineer? A nurse? A data scientist? How about a football coach? Apprenticeships are available across a wealth of sectors encompassing hundreds of different roles. Whatever your career options are, there is bound to be an apprenticeship that suits. 

See the full broadcast from Bucks Skills Hub on Apprenticeships here - aimed at KS3/4 and 5 students.