Assume thirty seconds
A small firm's application pile gets read at the kitchen table on a Sunday. A large scheme's gets filtered by software first and a recruiter second. Either way, you have about thirty seconds to be worth a longer look.
The CV
One page. Any longer and you are writing for yourself, not the reader.
In order:
1. Name and contact details. Phone number that you answer. Email address that is not embarrassing.
2. A two-line summary. Who you are, what you are applying for, why. "I am looking for a bricklaying apprenticeship in the Leeds area. I have spent two summers labouring for a local groundworks firm and I want to learn the trade properly."
3. Work experience, most recent first. Include everything, including Saturday jobs, cash-in-hand labouring and volunteering. What matters is evidence that someone relied on you.
4. Education, briefly. Grades if they help you. If they do not, list the subjects and move on.
5. Practical skills and interests — this is where you show you are the kind of person who does things. Fixing bikes, helping a relative rewire a garage, building PCs, working on cars, DIY, scouts, cadets, sport. It is not filler. It is evidence.
6. Licences and cards — driving licence, CSCS card, first aid, food hygiene. Anything already in hand.
The covering message
Three short paragraphs, tailored to that employer:
- Why that trade. Be specific and concrete. "I want to be an electrician" is weak. "I spent a week with my uncle's firm rewiring a pub and realised I wanted to understand what I was watching" is not.
- Why that employer. Look at their website. Name a project, a specialism, a location. It takes two minutes and almost nobody does it.
- What you offer. Reliability, willingness to learn, transport if you have it, availability to start.
If you have no experience at all
Say what you have done instead, honestly and concretely:
- Anything you have built, fixed, repaired or maintained.
- Any job where you had to be somewhere on time and deal with people.
- Any course, taster day, or college open day you attended.
- Any research you have done into the trade — the standard you are applying for, the level, what the job involves day to day.
That last one matters more than people think. An applicant who can name the apprenticeship standard and explain what the work actually involves sounds like someone who will still want the job in six months.
Practicalities that quietly decide applications
- Transport. Many trades start at 7am on a site with no bus route. If you can drive, say so in the first paragraph. If you cannot, say how you will get there.
- Availability. Give a start date.
- Spelling. Get someone to read it. One typo will not sink you; six will.
- Apply widely and early. September starts are largely filled between February and July.
Following up
If you have heard nothing after two weeks, phone. Ask politely whether the position is still open and whether they received your application. Small firms in particular respond well to this — it is evidence of exactly the initiative they are hiring for.
Last reviewed 25 September 2026.