- To start an apprenticeship you must be over the age of 15 and no longer in full time education
- School leavers cannot start until after the last Friday in June of the academic year in which they have their 16th birthday
- There is no upper age limit however over 19’s attract less government funding
- If you already have a Level 4 or above Qualification you are not eligible for an apprenticeship
- Generally you have to have been resident in the UK for 3 years prior to your start date
- Apprenticeships last two to three years
- Apprenticeship can be a Level 2 or Level 3 (Advanced) qualification
- Applicants generally wish to pursue a career in their chosen apprenticeship sector
- Apprenticeships are a type of formal training, monitored by the government
- Apprentices gain a qualification at the end of it (NVQ, GNVQ or Foundation Degree)
- Apprenticeships are paid the National Minimum Wage for apprentices. This applies to all apprentices aged under 19 and apprentices aged 19 or over in the first year of their Apprenticeship.
- Apprenticeships give people a chance to learn and earn on the job
- Apprenticeships provide a route to a career, as lot of people stay with their employer after completion of the training
- You can register for an apprenticeship once you have done your GCSE’s and they are fully funded by the government from the ages of 16 – 19. From 19-24 they are part funded and after the age of 25 they are not funded.
- There are no set entry requirements for an apprenticeship but most colleges and training providers look for 5 x GCSE’s at grade C or above including Math’s and English.
- You can do an apprenticeship in most aspects of the industry from technical, body and paint and paint spraying to vehicle sales and customer service.
- You earn a minimum of £95 a week as an apprentice as well as studying for your NVQ levels 1-3 over a three year period. After this you can look at doing a level 4 management course or an accreditation such as the ATA.
- To register for an apprenticeship talk to your local college to see if they run the course you are interested in, if they do not then you can try the vacancy matching service on the National Apprenticeship Service website or apply direct to the private training providers such as Babcock International, Skillnet and Remit.
- The large manufacturing groups such as VW, Jaguar Landrover, Honda, BMW, Bentley etc. all run their own apprenticeship schemes and you apply to them direct via their websites. We have a link to them all on the work experience page of Autocity called ‘Employer Links’.
- Companies with large fleets of vehicles such as BT, Sky, Virgin and Royal Mail recruit and train their own apprentices – again they can apply via their websites.
- Most of the manufacturers apprentice schemes will accept applications BEFORE they have taken their GCSE’s and ask for predicted grades so they can register their interest early.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
- Motorsport
Anyone seriously interested in motorsport should know that you do have to do a motorsport degree, these are heavily over-subscribed and so they should be working or volunteering at a go-kart or stock-car track of some sort now to be in with a chance. It is a very niche industry and only the best get in. - Car design
There are two universities in the UK that run the automotive design course and only about 5 designers in the world that actually design cars. Most designers will design a small component of the car such as a handle or steering wheel. A very niche course and heavily over-subscribed. - Work Experience
We do not organise placements for work experience directly but we have links to employers that offer placements, all the information is on Autocity along with free downloadable resources on www.theimi.org.uk/autocity - Engineering
This section is coved by SEMTA