What is an apprenticeship?

An apprenticeship is a real job with training built in. You’re employed, you get paid, and you work towards a proper qualification at the same time. No student loan, no tuition fees.

This guide is about how apprenticeships work in England. For the full England rules, including the new foundation apprenticeships, see our guide to apprenticeships in England. The idea is the same across the UK, but the rules and names change in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Our guide to apprenticeships across the UK explains the differences.

How it works

According to GOV.UK, as an apprentice you:

• are an employee, so you earn a wage and get holiday pay
• work alongside experienced people
• learn skills for that specific job
• spend at least 20% of your normal working hours on training and study

That training might happen one day a week, a week a month or in longer blocks. It could be at work, at a college or training provider, or online.

Depending on the type and level, an apprenticeship takes anywhere from 8 months to 6 years.

Can you apply?

To start an apprenticeship in England, GOV.UK says you need to be:

• 16 or over
• living in England
• not in full-time education

You can apply while you’re still at school, as long as you’ll be 16 by the end of the summer holidays. Employers can add their own rules on top. The BBC, for example, only takes apprentices who are 18 or over.

What you get

• Pay. You’re entitled to at least the apprentice minimum wage, and lots of employers pay much more. Our guide to apprentice pay has the current rates.
• Paid training. Your training time is part of your job, so you’re paid for it.
• Holiday. At least 20 days of paid holiday a year, plus bank holidays.

Levels

Apprenticeships in England go from Level 2, which is like GCSEs, up to Level 7, which is like a master’s degree. Our guide to apprenticeship levels explains each one.

Where to start

Start by thinking about what kind of work you’d enjoy, then look at employers in that area. Employer Search lets you filter the employers we’ve researched by industry and level, and every profile links to the official details.

Apprenticeships in numbers

Apprenticeships are a much bigger deal than people often think. The Department for Education’s official figures for England in 2024/25:

England, 2024/25	Figure	Change on 2023/24
Apprenticeships started	353,500	Up 4.1%
People doing one during the year	761,480	Up 3.4%
Apprenticeships completed	198,330	Up 11.3%

Early figures for 2025/26 (August to April) show 308,770 starts, up 8.7% on the same point the year before.

Not just for school leavers

Here’s something that surprises a lot of people: most apprentices in England aren’t school leavers. In 2024/25, 21.2% of starts (74,990) were by people under 19, and 51.3% were by people aged 25 and over. Lots of employers use apprenticeships to train staff they already have.

Why does that matter for you? Some programmes are designed for school and college leavers, and others are really aimed at people already in work. Check who a programme is for before you put time into applying.