Apprenticeships

About apprenticeships

An apprenticeship is a paid job where you also study.

You will:

• earn money
• work about 4 days a week
• study 1 day a week at work, college, with a training provider or online

Levels of apprenticeship

Apprenticeships are available between level 2 and level 7. 

You need certain qualifications to start some apprenticeships, but there are level 2 apprenticeships that don't need qualifications to start. 

Find out about apprenticeship levels on the government apprenticeship website.

Who can do an apprenticeship

You can start an apprenticeship if you are 16 or over. There is no upper age limit.

You can apply while you are at school but you must be 16 by the time the apprenticeship starts.

Support you can get

You can get extra support during your apprenticeship if you have a: 

• learning difficulty
• disability
• physical or mental health condition

Your employer and training provider must make reasonable adjustments to help you. 

Find out more about support for apprentices on the government apprenticeships website.

If you have an EHCP

Your education, health and care plan (EHCP) will continue if you are under 25 and your apprenticeship is at level 2 or 3.

The support written in your EHCP should help everyone understand what reasonable adjustments you need.

Bursaries for care leavers 

If you are aged 16 to 24 and have been in care, you might be able to get a bursary for an apprenticeship.

Find out about the care leavers' bursary on GOV.UK

Apply for an apprenticeship

You can search and apply for all available apprenticeships on GOV.UK. 

Put in your post code to find apprenticeships in the local area. 

Find an apprenticeship on GOV.UK.

Apprenticeships can be advertised at any time of the year. It’s good to start looking around a year before you want the apprenticeship to start. 

Applying if you have an EHCP

If you are thinking about doing an apprenticeship, you can talk about this at your annual review.

To apply, you need to:

1. Apply for the apprenticeship directly
2. Contact the SEND Team to let them know you have applied 

The SEND Team and apprenticeship provider should then be in contact so that everyone can understand how best to support you.

Apprentice's stories

This 6 minute video from the Amazing Apprenticeships website shares the stories of apprentices with learning differences, disabilities and health conditions.

Read the video transcript.