An Apprenticeship is a real job with relevant qualifications attached to it. In some ways, it’s a ‘best of both’ between working (so earning money and getting experience) and attending college or university to get qualified. Basically, you are being paid to learn. Apprenticeships have been round for hundreds (if not thousands) of years but are today more structured and more widely recognised than they have ever been. Arguably, the UK leads the world in the range and levels of qualifications now on offer through an Apprenticeship route.

Looking for an Apprenticeship?

If you are looking for an apprenticeship the first place to check is the Find An Apprenticeship (FAA) website, www.gov.uk/apply-apprenticeship It is a free to use tool and around 90% of all apprenticeship vacancies are posted on there so it’s a great place to start your search. We take a look at how it works.

The fifteenth annual National Apprenticeship Week will take place from 7th to 13th February 2022. It’s a week to celebrate apprentices and apprenticeships, and to shine a light on the positive differences they can make for individuals, for employers and for our economy. We look ahead to what we can expect to see taking place.

What is a training provider?

You would think that the obvious answer to that question is a person or organisation who provides training. Whilst that is certainly true, in the world of apprenticeships, the term training provider has a very specific meaning too.

Industries that are very project-based tend to employ a lot of freelancers or contractors, who move from job to job. While this business model is very flexible, it can often be at odds with the continuity of employment required to train apprentices. So how do you solve that? The construction industry has long managed Shared Apprenticeship Schemes to counter this and ensure that the flow of new skills continues to come into the industry. We look at one Shared Apprenticeship Scheme to see how they work.

Apprenticeships - A manager's view

An Apprenticeship is a real job with relevant qualifications attached to it. In some ways, it’s a ‘best of both’ between working (so earning money and getting experience) and attending college or university to get qualified. Basically, you are being paid to learn. Apprenticeships have been round for hundreds (if not thousands) of years but are today more structured and more widely recognised than they have ever been. Arguably, the UK leads the world in the range and levels of qualifications now on offer through an Apprenticeship route.

We recently talked to Alyce, a Landscaping Apprentice with Grosvenor Estates in London. To get a slightly different view, we’ve also spoken to Ann, an apprentice working in horticulture for the City of London City Gardens. Here’s what she had to say.

Engineering

Luke: “Yes! What have you got to lose by applying for an Apprenticeship? I remember working out the pros and cons between apprenticeships and college, and the apprenticeship won hands down.”

The Open University has been offering flexible study options for more than 50 years and has helped over 2 million people achieve qualifications. At a time when more and more of life has flipped online or at a distance, we look at how The OU stacks up against a traditional university course.

What is a Quantity Surveyor?

It’s probably not quite enough to say that a Quantity Surveyor ‘surveys quantities’. Quantities of what? And how would they even do that? There were about 60,000 Quantity Surveyors working in the UK in 2020, a number which is growing steadily as the construction industry grows. We take a look at what it actually means to be a Quantity Surveyor (QS) and how you might become one.

At just 18 years old and in his first year of full-time employment, Euan can’t believe the responsibility he is trusted with already. He tells how his IBM Apprenticeship is going so far.

A career in Landscaping?

The UK landscape industry employs over 278,000 people and contributes £11.6 billion to our economy. Yet, for many school leavers, ‘gardening’ is what their grandparents do and they wouldn’t dream of considering it as a career. We chat with one apprentice who tells us why she has decided to branch out.

From ‘playing host’ to family and friends as a child, Jeremy is now doing the job for real as the General Manager of a prestigious hotel. He shares the amazing opportunities his career choice has given him.

Lucy Beck is a qualified Chartered Legal Executive and Licensed Conveyancer who specialises in property law. We talked to her about how she trained and how she is now supporting a legal trainee.

How the AA jump-started my career

The AA offers a wide range of apprenticeships across their business from Customer Service to Roadside Patrol. We hear from one of their Apprentices who shares their experience.

Berthon Boat Co Ltd has traded continuously since 1877 and is a family run international business based on the banks of Lymington River in Hampshire. Berthon cater for all aspects of boat maintenance for leisure and commercial vessels, as well owning a marina. Training new members of staff has always formed a key part of their business model. Now regularly recruiting apprentices, we chat to their marketing manager, Helen, about the opportunities they can offer.

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