What is an apprenticeship and how much are apprentices paid?

Yahoo

27-05-2025

The government is scrapping funding for postgraduate apprenticeships for people aged 22 or over in England from next year.
It says the move will mean money can be put towards lower levels of training instead.
Minimum wages for apprentices went up in April.
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.
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 and the qualification you get is free - it is paid for by the government and your employer.
Since last April, the government has paid small companies the full cost of apprenticeships for people aged 21 or under to help small businesses create more apprenticeships.
Any employer can hire apprentices. They are responsible for making sure you work with experienced staff and receive time off for studying.
In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the different levels of apprenticeship are:
Intermediate (Level 2 - GCSE standard)
Advanced (Level 3 - A-level standard)
Higher (Levels 4, 5, 6 and 7 - foundation degree or above)
Degree (Levels 6 and 7 - bachelor's or master's degree)
In England, only 16 to 21-year-olds and existing apprentices will qualify for funding for level 7 apprenticeships from January.
In Scotland, they are:
Foundation (mostly SCQF Level 6 - Highers standard)
Modern (mostly SCQF Levels 6 and 7 - Highers or Advanced Highers standard)
Graduate (SCQF Levels 9, 10 and 11 - undergraduate or master's degree standard)
If you are under 19, or if you are 19 or older but in the first year of your apprenticeship, you will be paid the apprentice rate, £7.55 per hour.
Otherwise, you will earn at least the minimum wage:
£10 for 19 and 20-year-olds
£12.21 for those aged 21 or above. This rate is also known as the National Living Wage
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.
There are no UK-wide figures for the number of apprentices, but there were 736,500 in England last year.
Advanced apprenticeships - A-level standard - are the most popular, and the number of people doing higher apprenticeships has been rising.
In the 2023-24 academic year, 23% of new apprentices were under 19.
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, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. If you are in England, you can make an account and apply to several apprenticeships in one place.
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 learned before you can finish.
The most popular apprenticeships for new starters in 2022-23 were in health, public services and care - followed by business, administration and law.
Some of the biggest employers of new apprentices in England in the financial year 2023-24 were the British military, the civil service, and the pub and restaurant group Mitchells & Butlers.
In England, 60.5% of apprentices completed and passed a final assessment in 2023-24.
The previous Conservative government had aimed for that to reach 67% by this year.
A Department for Education report in March 2022 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.
In February, the government relaxed the rules for apprentices over the age of 19 by allowing businesses to decide whether a maths and English qualification should be part of the prescribed course.
It also confirmed plans to reduce the minimum duration of an apprenticeship, from 12 months to eight months, from August 2025.
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.
It is important to do your research, and ask employers for details about training in your interview. You can also read reviews of apprenticeships on sites like RateMyApprenticeship.co.uk.
England
Scotland
Wales
Northern Ireland
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