Every year in the UK, more than 250,000 people start an apprenticeship. Thanks to their combination of paid on-the-job training and class-based study, apprenticeships have become incredibly popular.
This is especially true in ‘health, public services and care’, which welcomed 99,000 new apprentices into its ranks in 2022/23 – more than any other sector.
Thinking of joining them? You’ve come to the right article.
Decide if a health and social care apprenticeship is right for you by learning:
- What an apprenticeship actually is
- Who can do an apprenticeship
- Common reasons for becoming an apprentice
- What happens at the end of an apprenticeship
- Health and social care apprenticeships you can do
Let’s go.
What is an apprenticeship?
An apprenticeship is a qualification you achieve by combining class-based study with paid, on-the-job training – provided by your employer at your place of work – followed by a final assessment.
Apprenticeships typically last 1-6 years and you spend at least 20% of your time in a classroom. The rest is spent at work, getting on-the-job training under the guidance of experienced colleagues.
Your employer pays you at least the national minimum wage for apprentices (the rate is based on your age and year of study), and you’re entitled to the same employment rights your colleagues have.
You can be a part-time or full-time apprentice, and there are four levels available – with each one considered equivalent to a certain number of GCSEs or A-Levels, or university degree level.
That’s a recap of the basics. But who is eligible for an apprenticeship?
Who can do an apprenticeship?
To be eligible for an apprenticeship, you must:
- be aged 16 or above
- not be in full-time education
- meet any specific entry criteria (eg. have a certain number of GCSEs)
There is no upper age limit for apprenticeships. So, you can become an apprentice if you’re:
- a school leaver taking your first steps into your career
- already working in the field and wanting to upskill
- working in an unrelated field and looking to switch careers
- unemployed and looking for a way back into work (except in Northern Ireland, where you must already have a job).
Now you know whether you could do an apprenticeship.
Let’s look at some reasons why you should.
5 Top reasons for doing an apprenticeship
1. You think university life just isn’t right for you
One of the top myths about apprenticeships is that they’re only for ‘young people’. In fact, almost half (48%) of all new apprentices in 2022/23 were aged 25 or over.
But it is true that apprenticeships are often seen by school leavers as an alternative to university. There are lots of reasons for this, but avoiding the debt that comes with attending uni is important to many.
2. You don’t need a degree for the career you have in mind
For some careers, a university degree is a must-have. If you want to become a heart surgeon, for example, an apprenticeship isn’t right for you – you just can’t get the qualifications you need that way.
But in lots of other professions, a degree really isn’t a dealbreaker. Many care professionals owe their suitability to their role as much to their soft skills and values as to their formal qualifications.
3. You want to earn money and start your chosen career now
Lots of students get a part-time job to earn money at university. And lots of degrees include a work placement, so students can gain some industry experience before they enter the workforce.
However the part-time work is often unrelated to their desired career, and the short placements are often unpaid. An apprenticeship lets you work and earn within your chosen field immediately.
4. You want to become useful and desirable to employers today
With most university degrees, you spend the bulk of your time in class-based learning. That means you don’t get to experience or prepare for the practical demands of the job until you finish studying.
An apprenticeship lets you spend most of your time in on-the-job training and work, so you can put the theory into practice as you learn it – and become a skilled employee while you study.
5. You still want to earn a nationally-recognised qualification
Knowing you’re becoming more employable while actually working is a great feeling as an apprentice. But so is knowing you’re getting a real qualification you can take forward into your career.
When your apprenticeship ends, you get a certificate to prove you can do the job you trained for. You might then stay with your training employer, or enter the job market as a skilled professional.
Speaking of the end of an apprenticeship…
What happens at the end of an apprenticeship?
Near the end of your apprenticeship, you, your training provider and your employer will meet to see if you’re ready to take your final assessment – the End-Point Assessment, or EPA.
The EPA takes place face-to-face or over video call with an EPA Organisation, or EPAO (FuturU is an approved EPAO). The EPA is designed to assess your readiness for the role, and typically involves:
- a multiple choice theory test
- professional discussion of the role, and
- a practical task observed by the EPAO and two of your colleagues.
Should you do a health and social care apprenticeship?
Hopefully this article has helped you answer this question. The nature of care work, where soft skills and behaviours are so important to your suitability, lends itself perfectly to learning on the job.
Thanks to the wide range of available health and social care apprenticeships, you could train to become a registered nurse, physiotherapist, social worker, adult care worker – or other vital practitioner.
Find out more about apprenticeships at apprenticeships.gov.uk
