Apprenticeships In England

Apprenticeships in England Today

The rise in the country’s population has led to record numbers of people in various divisions of life. There are more university students than ever before, but the number of starts in apprenticeships has risen, pro rata, even more.

The number of starts has risen, between 2010 and 2015, to almost two and a half million in 2015, and the government has committed to creating an additional three million apprenticeship starts by 2020.

Going to university is not for everybody. The academic way of life does not necessarily sit well on all young people’s shoulders. Some may find that by the time GCSE’s are done, they are tired of the classroom or lecture hall, and want to get out into the wide world.

If you are a hands on type and want to get into the world of work, an apprenticeship training course could be the best way to go about it. If you have a vision, a calling, or an interest in life that you feel you want to pursue as a career, an apprenticeship can be the ideal way to open the door to that pathway.

Apprenticeships are not solely for school leavers, but can help young people who have gone straight from school into the first strata of the jobs market, and feel they need a boost to the next level of whichever career they have, or wish to embark on.

Apprenticeships have come a long way since the days of a “lad” being indented to his master as a ‘prentice, often for many years. Today’s apprenticeships are no longer simply a provision of school leaver jobs in construction or manufacturing.

The field of subjects available to follow has never been as wide as today, and the number of subjects added are growing all the time. Course times are as variable as the subjects themselves and will take anything from one year to four years to complete depending on the nature of the chosen career.

A tempting contrast between learning at university which will very likely cost a debt-saddling £20.000 or more, is that the apprentice will be paid wages whilst learning, from the very outset.

The apprenticeship courses are hands-on learning, from, as it were, the horse’s mouth. Who better to teach and guide, than those with full expertise and experience. The courses all include a measure of academic training, on a day-release format or in blocks.

They take place at local colleges or with private professional training, and help ensure that the qualification you receive on completion of the apprenticeship, will rank as the equivalent of 5 GCSE passes.