If you’re considering applying for an apprenticeship, congratulations, this is an amazing step towards your dream job! Before you apply, there are a number of things that you might want to consider to help you make the most of your apprenticeship search.  

Job role

You should carefully think about which kind of role you would like to go into. Where possible, try to align your choice of career with your interests and passions. You will get much more out of your job if you enjoy it!  

For example, if you are interested in computers and technology, you might be suited to a career as an IT Support Technician. Or, if you’re an avid social media user, you could have the makings of a fantastic Digital Marketer. To help you decide, you can read more about all of the apprenticeship programmes that we offer here.

Travel

An important factor in finding the right vacancy for you is the commute time. We recommend that anything over 45 minutes on public transport is too long to do every day, especially if you will need to rely on making a connection between buses or trains.

If you are learning to drive, or already have your own transport, look for vacancies that are within a distance that you would feel comfortable driving to and from on a daily basis.

Apprenticeship minimum wage

Currently, the minimum wage for an apprentice is £4.30 per hour. We actively encourage all of the employers we work with to pay more than this, but it is worth bearing in mind that this wage is not ideal for everyone.

All of our vacancies have the wage listed as part of the job description. To work out whether this is a viable option, you may want to consider whether this could cover any financial responsibilities that you have before applying. 

CV

As part of your application, you will need to submit your CV. This is a way for you to showcase your skills, experiences and qualities to potential employers. Don’t worry if you don’t have one already, you can check out our top tips for writing a CV for apprenticeships here.

Commitment

An apprenticeship is a commitment for a minimum of one year, but many apprenticeships can last longer than this - up to 15 months for a level 3 programme, and 18 months for a level 4 programme. This means that you will need to be able to firmly commit to spending this amount of time in the role. Apprenticeships are full time, so cannot run alongside any other form of education; if you have plans to head off to uni within the next year, this may not be a suitable option for you.

If you’re ready to start applying for apprenticeships, you can search our current vacancies here.

Note: This blog was originally published in November 2018. It has been expanded and updated to reflect changes to the Apprenticeship National Minimum Wage.