Apprenticeships and Job Hunting
What is an apprenticeship?
With an apprenticeship you learn and gain qualifications while you are working and earning money. You will spend most of your time with your employer and about a fifth of your time at your 'training' provider learning the 'theory bit'! In most cases you go to college one day a week, but you may go on block release several times a year. There are even some apprenticeships where you spend the whole of the first year away from home learning the theory before going back to your employer.
Who are they for?
Apprenticeships are for students who want to work hard and are ready for work. They may provide an alternative route to your dream job.
What levels are they?
Intermediate - you will usually need Ds in your GCSEs for these.
Advanced - you will need at least Cs in your GCSEs. They are equal to two A levels.
Higher - you will need high grades in your A levels as they are very competative. They often pay salaries in the range of £13,00o to £18,000. National Grid start their Higher Level Engineering Apprentices at £23,000.
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Start out simple - just watch this 20 minute video of a webinar about the various apprenticeship options. | |
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National Aprrenticeship Service Find out about apprenticeships and find vacancies at apprenticeships.org.uk |
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Search for apprenticehsip and traineeship vacancies | |
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Jobs and apprenticeships now get put on the UCAS site as well. This link sets up email alerts for jobs matching the criteria you specified. | |
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As the name suggests, Rate My Apprenticehsip, has reviews of apprenticeships by apprentices, but it is so much more. Like other sites, you can set up job alerts if you are searching for an apprenticeship. It also has explanations of the different types of apprenticeships, information about top employers, an Advice Hub and Industry Guides. | |
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This link will take you to a document with some further links to parts of the Rate My Apprenticeship website. They have some really useful blogs covering the common apprenticeship interview questions, the STAR interview technique, CV tips, a guide to writing a cover letter and a couple of COVID related ones on the impact on apprenticeships and on looking after your mental health. | |
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This guide covers lots of information about apprenticeships as well as your other options alongside application and interview hints and tips. | |
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The Apprenticehsip Guide contains concise summaries of every apprenticeship framework (outline of what is covered on that apprenticeship),plus general careers advice, detailed information about apprenticeships, real life stories, employer advertising and a regional directoroy of training providers. You can also search for current vacancies. |
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This site has been set up by the government and is mainly aimed at schools and parents to help them understand apprenticeships. You can sign up for a monthly e-newsletter. |
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The Instittute for Apprenticeships has a searchable list of all the Apprenticeship Standards - these give an overview of what you will learn, the skills and knowledge you will develop and the qualities you need. It will also give you the apprenticeship levels and typical duration. This is a good place to go to get detailed information about specific apprenticeship roles. | |
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This 2021 guide from Pearson Business College has lots of tips on how to improve your employability. Ok, so they're partly trying to sell their college, but it still contains lots of useful insights to help you, whether it's looking for an apprenticeship, trying to get a part-time job whilst you continue with the next stage of your education or just helping to prepare you for applying for jobs in the future.
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The focus of this site is on helping young people to get their first job or apprenticeship. It is packed with advice and support from applications, through to interviews and what to expect in your first weeks at work. It also acts as something of a recruitment agency and claims to get you people in to jobs faster than any other site. When you create your profile this can then be matched with employers who may then contact you. |
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This website is for you if you are looking to work in the charity sector. You will find lots of jobs with charities advertised here and you can apply filters to your search which will help you to narrow it down. | |
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All About School Leavers aims to help young people get their first jobs. There is information about apprenticeships and school leaver programmes, links to vacancies and tips on CVs, applications and preparing for interviews. It also has guidance on how to access a range of different industries. | |
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Government job searching website. You can search without setting up an account. You can post your CV and create cover letters, be matched to jobs, receive updates on jobs that interest you and get hints, tips and ideas to help you with your job search from The Daily Jobseeker. | |
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This site aims to support students from state schools in getting in to the top universities and the top employers. In addition to advice and support with university personal statements, interviews, student finance, international study and getting in to Oxbridge or medicine, it also encourages you to look at all your options with pros and cons of different options, webinars andadvice for finding and applying for jobs. There are also industry intro for law, finance, medicine, consulting, charity sector, retail and engineering along with employer profiles. | |
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Use this website to find local job fairs where you can talk to recruiters.  |
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Education Business Futures offers apprenticeships in Nottinghamshire. They employ the apprentice, arrange the training and place them with an employer. These vacancies do not all appear on the national site. | |
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Apprenticeship vacancy finder from New College Nottingham Apprenticeship vacancy finder from New College Nottingham | |
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From apprenticeships to debt-free education, there are literally thousands of other opportunities out there. The Not Going to Uni team are here to help you find apprenticeships, college courses or work experience to start building your future. Not Going to Uni – the one stop site for apprenticeships, gap years, distance learning and jobs. |
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PwC have a really useful Employability Hub on their website. It has modules on online applications and assessments, video interviews and assessment days, as well as a pocast series called the A-Z of Tech and sections on wellbeing and skills. | |
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Lancome's Words for Work site has been developed with the National Literacy Trust and is aimed at supporting young women aged 16+ to give them confidence in applying for their first job. As well as stories of inspirational women you will also sections on CVs and cover letters, job searching and elevator pitches, interview help and a checklist for your first day at work. | |
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Business | |
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Banking | |
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Creative and Media Apprenticeships Guide | |
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Digital, Tech and IT Apprenticeships Guide | |
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Engineering Apprenticeships Guide | |
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Law Apprenticeships Guide | |
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Higher and Degree Apprenticeships Guide |
Documents