How many people take apprenticeships and how much are they paid?
Going to school, college or university five days a week is not your only option if you want to earn a qualification. Tens of thousands of young people start apprenticeships every year - getting a wage and on-the-job experience, as well as time to train and study. But, with dropout rates at about 50% and concern about low pay, there is a lot to consider when weighing up whether or not it is for you.
What is an apprenticeship?
Being an apprentice means you usually spend four days a week working, and one day studying for a qualification at work, college, university, or online. You get paid a wage and the qualification you will get is free - it is paid for by the government and your employer. Any employer can hire apprentices, and they usually tell you what qualification they will give you when they list the vacancy. They are responsible for making sure you work with experienced staff and receive time off for studying. To help small businesses create more apprenticeships, the government is now paying small companies the full cost of apprenticeships for people aged 21 or under.
Who does apprenticeships?
People often do apprenticeships if they know the career they want, or if they are already working in their chosen career but want more skills. The most popular apprenticeships, external in England last year were in business and administration, followed by construction and then health and science. Some of the biggest employers of apprentices, external in England last year were the British military, BT and Amazon. There are no UK-wide figures for the number of apprentices, but there were 752,200 in England last year, external - that is higher than years with a lot of Covid disruption, but lower than it was in the mid-2010s. The government says it wants more young people, external to start apprenticeships. Last year, 23% of new apprentices were under 19, external, while almost half were 25 or older.
How do I find and apply for apprenticeships?
If you know where you want to work, you can head straight to the employer's website and apply. You can search for apprenticeship opportunities through different official websites in England, external, Scotland, external, Wales, external or Northern Ireland. The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) allows you to search for vacancies and plans to allow you to apply for them. You will interview for the apprenticeship before you start, and you will need to pass an assessment showing what you have learnt before you can finish.
Are there downsides to apprenticeships?
In England, 53.4% of apprentices completed and passed, external a final assessment in 2021-22 - well below the government's 67% target by the end of 2024-25. A Department for Education report in March 2022, external suggested that four in 10 people who did not complete their apprenticeship cited personal reasons, including career changes, mental health issues, and caring responsibilities. However, about four in 10 also said they were not given enough time for training, that the training did not meet their expectations, or that the apprenticeship was badly run. UCAS, has warned that young people are being put off by a range of barriers, including:
low pay
lack of availability
having to apply for apprenticeships individually, rather than sending off one application to several employers
According to Ucas, 430,000 students said they were interested in apprenticeship opportunities in 2023. However, only 189,430 apprenticeships were published on the official site in England in the last academic year. The government says this is "nowhere near enough". It has launched an online apprentice support centre, external and says it is investing more, external in people who train apprentices. More money was allocated for apprenticeships in the 2021 Spending Review, but the Institute for Fiscal Studies says this will only "partially" make up for "significant cuts to public spending on adult education" over the past decade.
How do I know if an apprenticeship is right for me?
Think hard about what the apprenticeship offers - will the qualification help you progress in the career you want? Can you picture yourself in a job in the industry? What opportunities are there to progress at the organisation itself? You will want to consider where the apprenticeship is, how much you will get paid, and how long it lasts. If you have any questions, ask the employer.