What is an apprenticeship and how much are apprentices paid?

The number of people starting an apprenticeship in England has risen, with higher apprenticeships increasingly popular, according to the latest data.

There were 339,000 apprenticeship starts in the year up to July 2024, including 122,000 higher apprenticeships - up 8.2% on the previous year.

It comes after the government announced minimum wages for apprentices are going up from £6.40 to £7.55 an hour in April 2025.

But, with dropout rates at about 50% and concern about low pay, there is a lot to consider when weighing up whether or not it is for you.

Being an apprentice means you usually spend four days a week working, and one day studying for a qualification at work, college, university or online.

You get paid and the qualification you get is free - it is paid for by the government and your employer.

Since April, the government has paid small companies the full cost of apprenticeships for people aged 21 or under to help small businesses create more apprenticeships.

Any employer can hire apprentices. They are responsible for making sure you work with experienced staff and receive time off for studying.

In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the different levels of apprenticeship are:

• Intermediate (Level 2 - GCSE standard)
• Advanced (Level 3 - A-level standard)
• Higher (Levels 4, 5, 6 and 7 - foundation degree or above)
• Degree (Levels 6 and 7 - bachelor's or master's degree)

In Scotland, they are:

• Foundation (mostly SCQF Level 6 - Highers standard)
• Modern (mostly SCQF Levels 6 and 7 - Highers or Advanced Highers standard)
• Graduate (SCQF Levels 9, 10 and 11 - undergraduate or master's degree standard)

If you are under 19, or if you are 19 or older but in the first year of your apprenticeship, you will be paid the apprentice rate, £6.40 per hour.

Otherwise, you will earn at least the minimum wage:

• £8.60 for 19 and 20-year-olds
• £11.44 for those aged 21 or above. This rate is also known as the National Living Wage

The National Union of Students is campaigning for all apprentices to be paid at least the National Living Wage.

In April 2025, the apprentice rate will rise to £7.55.

That means apprentices' annual wages will go up to £14,762, from £12,513 at the moment.

Other minimum wages are rising too.

People often do apprenticeships if they know the career they want, or if they are already working in their chosen career but want more skills.

There are no UK-wide figures for the number of apprentices, but there were 752,150 in England last year - that is higher than years with a lot of Covid disruption, but lower than it was in the mid-2010s.

Advanced apprenticeships - A-level standard - are the most popular.

The new government has promised to shake up the way apprenticeships are funded amid concerns that the current system "has not delivered for young people".

From August 2023 to April 2024, 25% of new apprentices were under 19, while almost half were 25 or older.

If you know where you want to work, you can head straight to the employer's website and apply.

You can search for apprenticeship opportunities through different official websites in England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. If you are in England, you can make an account and apply to several apprenticeships in one place.

The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (Ucas) allows you to search for vacancies and plans to allow you to apply for them.

You will interview for the apprenticeship before you start, and you will need to pass an assessment showing what you have learned before you can finish.

The most popular apprenticeships for new starters in 2022-23 were in health, public services and care - followed by business, administration and law.

Some of the biggest employers of new apprentices in England in the financial year 2023-24 were the British military, the civil service, and the pub and restaurant group Mitchells & Butlers.

In England, 54.6% of apprentices completed and passed a final assessment in 2022-23 - well below the government's 67% target by the end of 2024-25.

A Department for Education report in March 2022 suggested that four in 10 people who did not complete their apprenticeship cited personal reasons, including career changes, mental health issues and caring responsibilities.

However, about four in 10 also said they were not given enough time for training, that the training did not meet their expectations, or that the apprenticeship was badly run.

Ucas has warned that young people are being put off by a range of barriers, including:

• low pay
• lack of availability
• having to apply for apprenticeships individually, rather than sending off one application to several employers.

According to Ucas, 430,000 students said they were interested in apprenticeship opportunities in 2023.

However, only 189,430 apprenticeships were published on the official site in England in the last academic year.

The last government said that was "nowhere near enough" and launched an online apprentice support centre.

Think hard about what the apprenticeship offers - will the qualification help you progress in the career you want? Can you picture yourself in a job in the industry? What opportunities are there to progress at the organisation itself?

You will want to consider where the apprenticeship is, how much you will get paid, and how long it lasts.

It is important to do your research, and ask employers for details about training in your interview. You can also read reviews of apprenticeships on sites like RateMyApprenticeship.co.uk.