National Apprenticeships Week 2025 - Get Started on Apprenticeships

As it’s National Apprenticeship Week, we thought we’d give you a step-by-step guide on how to find and apply for an apprenticeship. We want this article to cover everything for everyone, but we understand that everybody is at a different stage of their journey. To help you navigate to what you need we have broken it down into sections.

What are apprenticeships?

Apprenticeships are real jobs with real employers, allowing you to work, earn a salary and gain valuable qualifications and experience.

With over 700 different apprenticeship standards covering everything from accountancy to zoo keeping, there is an apprenticeship out there for everyone. You would study around 1 day a week with 4 days in the workplace, unlike the ‘traditional’ route, the employer decides the college or university you would attend.

You can apply for apprenticeships from the age of 16 and they scale from level 2 to level 7.

Where am I now?

There is a good chance that if you’re reading this then you are already interested in an apprenticeship and either already have GCSEs (a level 2 qualification) or are working towards them right now.

It’s important to remember that the higher level of apprenticeship that you are applying for, the higher qualification you will be expected to hold. As a basic rule of thumb, you will need GCSEs for Level 2 and 3 apprenticeships and a Level 3 qualification for Level 4, 5 and 6 apprenticeships.

Don’t forget that all relevant experience will be important and count towards your readiness for the role, so take that into account when thinking about what to apply for.

What is my first step to get an apprenticeship?

When thinking about what apprenticeship to apply for its important to figure out what you want to do as a career! Build a ladder with your dream job on the top, then slowly “climb down” the ladder with each step below being what you need to get onto the current step.

If you are less sure what you want to do, then start at the bottom of the ladder instead and look up thinking about what you enjoy and what the next step might look like. This can lead you to see what reasonable options will be open to you after each step and suggest jobs you could do in the future.

How do I find these opportunities?

To find these opportunities, you need to do lots of research.

Starting with the government website for apprenticeships, you can search for all opportunities around where you live and/or want to work. You can filter the opportunities by distance from your location, field you want to work in, level of apprenticeship qualification or wage that’s being offered during the training. This should be your main tool for finding apprenticeships, it has all the information you need and will detail everything you are required to provide when you apply.

The second place that you should look is on company websites. If you have found the industry or job you want to work in, looking at different company websites is a great way to get more specific information. Some companies will run webinars and information events, which are brilliant sources of information to find out more about opportunities, how to apply and offer hints and tips about what the employer wants to see in your application and what they are looking for in candidates.

If you don’t know what you’re looking for explore different industries to help you identify areas and jobs that might interest you:

Get careers support, advice, and guidance from careers advisors at schools/colleges.

Work experience can be a great opportunity to help you find out more about different jobs and careers. Many also offer virtual work experience.

How to apply?

Each employer will have a different application process, so read the vacancy carefully and ensure you understand any deadlines and next steps.

You will submit a CV or complete an application form and answer some questions about yourself. If you get through the first stage, you’ll be invited to an interview. The interview process could be in several parts, for example you may have to answer some online questions about how you deal with certain situations, some psychometric tests, assessment centres etc. You may have to do a presentation as part of the interview.

It’s a good idea to keep track of any applications you have made and their deadlines.

Good luck with your apprenticeship journey! You can find more links below to help you along the way.