Apprenticeship Support Guide

Apprenticeship Support Guide

Apprenticeships give you the opportunity to work for a real employer, earn a real salary and gain a real qualification whilst gaining valuable workplace skills and experience. What are Apprenticeships? An Apprenticeship is a real job with training so you can earn while you learn and pick up some nationally recognised qualifications as you go. They take between one and four years to complete and cover over 1,500 job roles in a wide range of industries, from things like engineering to financial advice, veterinary nursing to accountancy. What types of Apprenticeship are there? There are three types of Apprenticeship you can apply for depending on your current skills and qualifications: Intermediate Level Apprenticeship (level 2) Advanced Level Apprenticeship (level 3) Higher Apprenticeship (level 4 or above) How old do you have to be? Anyone living in England, over 16 years old and not in full-time education can apply to be an apprentice. How much do you get paid? The minimum wage for apprentices is 2.73 per hour, but many employers pay more than this. The average gross weekly wage for an apprentice is 200*. This is dependent on the sector, region and Apprenticeship level. What hours will I work? Your employment will normally be a minimum of 30 hours per week but may be more. In a small number of circumstances you may complete an Apprenticeship in less hours but there must be a valid reason and in these cases employment will be for a minimum of 16 hours per week. Training Apprenticeships are designed with the help of employers, so they oer a structured programme that takes you through the skills you need to do a job well. There are targets and checks to make sure that your employer is supporting you and you are making progress. As an employee you will be in the workplace for most of your time, as most training takes place on-the-job. The rest usually takes place at a training organisation (sometimes referred to as a training provider). Increasingly you will find that your training organisation will be utilising e-learning, e-portfolios and a variety of new technologies to help you to learn in the most fun and efficient way. Raising the participating age (RPA) The Government is increasing the age to which all young people in England must continue in education or training. It means them continuing until the end of the academic year in which they turn 17 from 2013 and until their 18 th birthday from 2015. You can take up an Apprenticeship

Are you ready to become an apprentice?

Registering on and searching for Apprenticeship vacancies 1 Register your details To search for Apprenticeship vacancies go to apprenticeships.org.uk and click Search for vacancies then register your details under New user? It s free to register and once you have set up your account you can receive alerts to tell you about new vacancies that may interest you. Make sure your email address is a professional one as it will be seen by potential employers. 2 Log in reminder Username: Password: Your password must be between 8 and 20 characters long and include a combination of letters, numbers and special characters such as % or {. Make sure your username is relevantand that your password is something that youcan remember. 3 Account Activation Before you can get started using Apprenticeship vacancies, you must activate your account. When you register for the first time, you ll receive a confirmation email through your registered email address. You must activate your account by clicking on the link in the confirmation email. Log in to your account by using the username and password you used to set up your account. The activation email will usually appear in your inbox but it may be diverted to your spam folder so you shouldcheck this too. 4 Search for vacancies You can search for your ideal job in a number of different ways including using keywords, occupation type, job role or postcode to suit your criteria. Your search can also be refined by selecting the date the vacancy was posted, indicating the weekly wage or the level of Apprenticeship you are looking for such as a Higher Apprenticeship. Make sure your email address and mobile number are correct and up to date in My Profile. 5 Found a vacancy? Once you ve found the job you want, applying is easy. The application form is simple, secure and reusable, so you can respond to vacancies and save your application forms. You can view the status of your applications and manage them online. You can apply for up to ten live vacancies at any one time. First impressions count use the spell checker and get someone to check your application. Apprenticeship vacancies mobile search app A new mobile application (app) has been launched to make it possible for you to search for Apprenticeship vacancies in England, whilst on the move.

Levels of Apprenticeship Employers should be clear about what level of Apprenticeship is being offered and the prospects of progression that may be available. There are three levels of Apprenticeship available for those aged 16 and over: Intermediate Apprenticeships An Intermediate Apprenticeship is equivalent to five good GCSE passes. The apprentice works towards work-based learning qualifications such as an NVQ Level 2, Key Skills and, in most cases, a relevant knowledge-based qualification such as a BTEC. These provide the skills required for the apprentice s chosen career and allow entry to an Advanced Apprenticeship. Advanced Apprenticeships An Advanced Apprenticeship is equivalent to two A-level passes. Advanced apprentices work towards work-based learning qualifications such as an NVQ Level 3, Key Skills and, in most cases, a relevant knowledge-based certificate such as a BTEC. To start this programme, the applicant should ideally have five GCSEs at grade C or above or have completed an Intermediate Apprenticeship. Higher Apprenticeships Higher apprentices work towards work-based learning qualifications such as an NVQ Level 4 and, in some cases, a knowledge-based qualification such as a Foundation degree. New Higher Apprenticeship frameworks were developed as part of the Higher Apprenticeship Development Fund. Apprentices can also progress to higher education, including university degrees.

Responses to Apprenticeship application questions The table below shows examples of good and not so good responses. Use these examples to help you when filling out the application form.

Writing Applications Help Making your Personal Statements Qualities Communication Attitude Hardworking Attendance and punctuality Problem solving Working independently Determination Commitment Evidence Teams, work experience School any improvements, good comments, school reports, comments from work experience. School reports, beating megs, qualifications gained early School report, any work experience, paper round etc. Type of subjects maths, physics computing. Coursework results improvement of any grades, anything outside school eg. Achieving something in sport etc Sticking with something, teams, work How to write it Strengths I have shown high levels of commitment through my sporting activities. I have captained my team, Cloggers united, for 4 years and have played for the same team since I was 8 years old. My manger can confirm that I always attend training no matter what the weather or how busy I am. I feel this shows I am a committed person with a high level of loyalty. Weaknesses I feel my attitude has been a weakness of mine, having said that I am working very hard to improve this. I may not have been focused as much as I should have in school. Recently I have made big improvements and I feel this shows I am maturing and can realise my own weakness. My reports at school contain many comments that will show this.

Useful Information Useful websites www.northernskills.co.uk/apprentices/apprenticeship-job-vacancies www.indeed.co.uk/apprenticeship-jobs-in-north-east www.connexions-tw.co.uk/help-finding-an-apprenticeship www.reed.co.uk/jobs/apprenticeships/north-east-england Providers AIS Training North Shields 0844 800 1810 Open until 18:00 Milltech Training 0191 510 0414 Open until 15:45 TEAM Wearside 0191 514 2799 O pen until 16:45 Springboard Trust 0191 515 5300 Open until 16:00 Carillion Training Services 0191 565 4940 Open until 04:00 The Employment & Skills Group Employment Centre 0191 510 0002 JB Skills Training Training Centre 0191 510 5519 Penshaw View Training 0191 543 7177 MTC Training 0191 515 3355 BL Hairdressing Training Ltd 0191 565 5172 Fit Training 0191 516 6088 ITec ETEC Development Trust 0191 565 6414 Training in Care 0191 536 7241 PeoplePlus 0191 514 6910 Seta Ltd Washington 0191 416 2860 Keith Stevenson & Associates Ltd 0191 549 8770 Brewlab Brewery 0191 640 2768 NA College Washington 0191 466 1188 Springboard South Tyneside Jarrow 0191 483 4555 College College 0191 511 6000