An apprenticeship is a job, not a course
This is the single thing people get wrong. You are not applying to a college for a place — you are applying to an employer for a job. The employer pays you, gives you the work, and releases you to a college or training provider for the classroom part, usually one day a week or in blocks.
That changes how you should approach it. Colleges are a route, not the destination. Some colleges will help match you with an employer, but in most cases you need the job first.
What you get
- A wage from day one, with at least the apprentice minimum rate and often much more.
- Training paid for by your employer and the government. You pay nothing.
- A nationally recognised qualification at the end.
- At least 20% of your paid time set aside for off-the-job training.
- The same rights as any other employee: holiday, sick pay, a contract, breaks.
Where the vacancies are
Start with the official service for where you live:
- England — Find an apprenticeship lists every funded vacancy in the country.
- Scotland — apprenticeships.scot covers Modern, Foundation and Graduate Apprenticeships.
- Wales — Careers Wales lists Welsh apprenticeship vacancies.
- Northern Ireland — nidirect covers ApprenticeshipsNI.
Then go wider. A large share of apprenticeships never reach those sites:
- Local college websites — many run their own vacancy boards for employers they work with.
- Big employers' own careers pages — Rolls-Royce, BAE, Network Rail, the NHS, your local council and the major housebuilders all recruit directly.
- Independent training providers like JTL, who match apprentices to employers.
- Walking in. In the trades this still works. A tidy CV handed to a local firm in person, on a quiet afternoon, gets results that an online form never will.
The six weeks before you apply
1. Get some evidence. A week of work experience, a Saturday job, a weekend helping a relative on site — anything that proves you have seen the work and still want it.
2. Sort your English and maths. If you do not have GCSE grade 4 (C) in both, find out what Functional Skills support your provider offers. It is rarely a blocker, but you will have to do it eventually.
3. Write one good CV. One page. What you have done, what you can do, why this trade. No fluff.
4. Get a provisional or full driving licence going if the trade needs one. Many do, and it quietly decides applications.
5. Learn the vocabulary. Know the name of the apprenticeship standard you are applying for and what level it is. It makes you sound like someone who has done their homework, because you have.
When you apply
Apply to a lot of them. Employers recruit in cycles — heaviest between February and September for September starts — and good schemes attract hundreds of applications. Ten applications is a campaign; two is a hope.
Tailor the first paragraph of each one. Everything else can be the same.
If you do not get one this year
You have options that keep you moving: a full-time level 1 or 2 college course in the trade, a T Level with an industry placement, a traineeship, or an entry-level job with the same employer that you convert into an apprenticeship from the inside. The last one works more often than people expect.
Last reviewed 25 September 2026.