Apprenticeship information for employers, parents and career advisors

Apprenticeships are a work based training scheme where people of any age can earn a wage while they work towards a nationally recognised qualification.

There are many types of apprenticeships out there covering all working sectors including but not limited to business administration, social care and construction. with many more being available.

With it getting increasingly more difficult for young people to find work, an apprenticeship offers the chance to learn the skills that employers are looking for and to gain some experience in a chosen field.

They can last anywhere between one to four years depending on the level of the apprenticeship, skills of the candidate and the sector in which the apprenticeship is in.

For example, most level 2 apprenticeships take between 12 to 18 months to complete where as a level 3 can take up to 24 months to complete. The length can be longer if the apprenticeship is on a part-time basis.

Apply for an apprenticeship

You can use the following resources to search and apply for apprenticeships:

  • UCAS 
  • Find an apprenticeship – you can use the government website to search and apply for a variety of apprenticeships nationwide.
  • Salford City College – you can apply and search for apprenticeships through the Salford City College website.
  • All About School Leavers – you can apply for apprenticeships and school leaver jobs from this website.
  • The Growth Company - you can search and apply for apprenticeships through the Growth Company. 

Apprenticeship information (pay and hours)

Pay

National wage rates as of April 2017:

Apprentice Under 18 18 to 20 21 to 24 25 and over 
£3.50 £4.05 £5.60 £7.05 £7.50

When an apprentice is in the first year of the apprenticeship they are entitled to the National minimum apprenticeship wage of £3.50, this applies to those of any age. Once the first year is over they are then entitled to the minimum wage of their age group, so long as they are over 19.

Hours

Most apprentices are expected to work at least 30 hours a week, this includes off the job learning that is expected of an apprenticeship. The off the job learning can range from 5% to 45% of the total apprenticeship working hours. This would depend on the employer, training provider and the qualification being worked towards.

For example, if an apprentice is contracted to 40 hours a week with 25% off the job learning, then they would be expected to do ten hours a week for the learning portion of the apprenticeship.

Hours for under 18s

If a worker is under 18 then they can not legally work for more than eight hours a day and 40 hours a week with a 12 hour break in between shifts. Also they are entitled to holidays that are relevant to the hours contracted to work. They should also have a 30 minute rest break if they work a shift of more than four a half hours.

Other information

For information on holiday entitlement visit the GOV.UK website

For more information regarding apprenticeship regulations visit the Acas website

Employers information 

Within the current working climate it has been noted that more and more employers are looking for candidates with both experience and a qualification as back up for the role at hand, so what better way for people to get these than by doing an apprenticeship, if you as an employer where to take on an apprentice, you obtain someone who is willing to both learn and work and to potentially become a vital part of the company.

Community impact

Taking on an apprentice can boost the employment rate within the Salford area, by taking on an apprentice in Salford it gives our community the chance to gain more accessible and transferable skills that can be used to give back to Salford

By taking on a Salford apprentice, it allows you to increase the amount of employment that is being brought into the city, not only this it allows people to increase their skills and knowledge surrounding the given area of employment. This will intern give back the community and hopefully encourage more people to take on the role at hand.

Funding

There is funding available to support you throughout the apprenticeship, and also cash incentives for small and medium size companies.

  • 100% training cost cover (small companies)

If you are a company that takes on an apprentice aged 16-18 and have fewer than 50 employees then you can get 100%of the training costs paid for by the government. You will be responsible for paying the apprentices wage though.

This will also take affect to small companies who take on 19-24 year olds who were in care or with an Education, Health and Care plan.

For more information on available funding you can visit the following pages on the GOV.UK website:

Parents/carers and career adviser information 

An apprenticeship is aimed at anyone aged 16 or over who have completed high school, it offers the chance for people to earn whilst they learn.

What is an apprenticeship?

  • An apprenticeship is job with college work on the side that supplies an income to the apprentice and as an outcome gives an apprentice a nationally recognized accredited qualification by the end of the apprenticeship and also the skills to progress in their careers.
  • The length of an apprenticeship tends to differ but they can last between one and four years taking in perspective of the level, sector in which it is in and the candidate in question.
  • Though they will be working towards a qualification in a certain field of work, in some situations the apprentice may have to work towards their Maths, English or ICT qualifications whether this being a GCSE or equivalent. This may be because they apprentice did not obtain it in school.

Get more information on accredited qualifications.  

Why is an apprenticeship a good opportunity?

  • An apprenticeship offers the chance to earn whilst you learn, this simply means that you earn a wage and bring home an income along side any learning that you do. 
  • An apprenticeship is free at the end of the day for the apprentice, they don’t have to spend any money on the qualification that otherwise may cost quite a bit of money going down other routes such as university or night school.
  • An apprenticeship offers the chance to obtain some real world experience to develop your skills and knowledge of the chosen area. Unlike college, the job is the main focus of the apprenticeship, that’s not to say that learning aspect isn’t important though.
  • At the end of an apprenticeship you gain a nationally recognised qualification, which will show that you have both the knowledge and experience to move on to a job afterwards. Leading on from this you also gain something to put on your CV and also connections throughout the industry of work, to aid and support you into a stable job.
  • With an apprenticeship there is support given to aid and develop growth that tends to not be there with a non-apprenticeship.

More information from the All About School Leavers website

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