There are so many apprenticeships out there. How can you find good quality apprenticeships that will take you far?
Apprenticeships are a fantastic way for young people to learn a trade, earn some money while they study, and set themselves up for a successful career.
Perhaps you’ve just started looking into apprenticeships as the next step in your career journey, or perhaps you’ve landed an offer and want to make sure it’s the right one for you. All apprenticeships are not the same, so how do you know whether a programme is a good choice or not?
Here are five things that you should expect from a quality apprenticeship and how to identify them.
The best apprenticeships offer entry to a recognised occupation
Apprenticeships should last at least a year (many are longer) and by the end, the apprentice should be able to work in their chosen profession. This means that they should be able to go and work for any other employer in that trade, not solely the employer that delivered the apprenticeship.
Since 2017, the Institute for Apprenticeships has offered written standards for various occupations. These outline the responsibilities, tasks, and skills involved, and the knowledge and behaviours required for each occupation. You can see examples here and here.
Check the details of your apprenticeship programme against the Institute’s standards for that role to ensure that it meets all the requirements.
You’ll get opportunities for educational or career progression on completing your apprenticeship
If you’re considering an apprenticeship, ask what the past success rate for the programme has been. How many people have finished the apprenticeship successfully and how many have dropped out? What grades have past participants typically achieved in their end-point assessments? A high drop-out rate or track record of poor grades might be a sign of a low quality apprenticeship.
You should also try to find out what others who have completed that programme have gone on to do. Have they achieved secure employment in their profession of choice, gone on to further education or study, or even started their own businesses?
If you can learn what past apprentices are doing three to five years after completing their course, you will get a good idea of the quality of this apprenticeship. If many have left the profession or struggled to find work, that might be a red flag.
Pro tip: use LinkedIn, the social networking platform for the professional world, to see if you can find past apprentices from the course you’re considering. If you do, drop them a polite and friendly message and ask if they’d be willing to share their experience with you.
Good quality apprenticeships offer a robust training programme both on and off the job
A great apprenticeship is a mix of both on the job learning and classroom based study. Your apprenticeship should include a range of training methods that enable you to learn in different ways. As a general rule, your apprenticeship should include a minimum of 20% (equivalent of one day per week) training off the job. This might involve going to college, university, or another registered training provider.
As you learn on the job, your employer should continually stretch and challenge you. You should learn not only the technical skills required to do your chosen role, but also the soft and transferable skills that will allow you to excel in the workplace. You should be given the opportunity to solve problems, handle various situations, and work as a positive contributing member of your team.
The best apprenticeships make sure you have supportive mentors and colleagues
Your workplace should be a positive and supportive environment where you’re surrounded by people you can learn from. If possible, meet with your prospective boss or mentor and visit the workplace to get a sense of your prospective colleagues before you commit to a programme.
Do the people you’d be working with feel kind and approachable? Do you get the feeling that they really want to help you learn and are invested in your progress and success? Would you feel comfortable asking them questions and going to them for help with work-related problems? If so, all those things are great signs.
On the other hand, if people seem disinterested or you feel as though they are only recruiting an apprentice to get a cheaper employee, you might want to steer clear.
Does your apprenticeship training provider have a strong Ofsted score?
Did you know that Ofsted, the body that inspects schools and other educational institutions, also assesses the quality of apprenticeship training providers? As of 2021, the government says that new apprenticeship training providers should expect a visit within the first 24 months of enrolling their first apprentices.
Providers get two days’ notice before a visit, and inspectors will produce a report and give the provider a score based on their observations. Possible scores are “outstanding”, “good”, “requires improvement”, and “inadequate”.
If your prospective apprenticeship provider has been training apprentices for at least two years, look up their Ofsted score. We recommend only considering providers with “outstanding” or “good” ratings.
Check for Youth Friendly Employers
The Youth Friendly Employers in our network have all made an active commitment to offering young people career development and support when it comes to apprenticeships, traineeships and graduate schemes. They operate across the country and have got a lot to offer, so take a look.
Bonus tip: trust yourself
Data and concrete information, such as past success rates and Ofsted scores, will go a long way when you’re assessing possible apprenticeship programmes. But there’s also a lot to be said for trusting your gut and listening to yourself.
If an apprenticeship is perfect on paper but doesn’t feel quite right to you, listen to that and do some more digging. You will be working on this apprenticeship for at least a year, possibly longer, so it needs to be the right one for you.
Good luck!
