There are different rates of pay for apprentices depending on your age and what year of your apprenticeship you’re in. Your employment contract should confirm your rate of pay.

Aged 16-18

The current national minimum wage for an apprentice is £5.28 per hour.

Aged 19 or over in the first year of your apprenticeship.

For the first year of your apprenticeship, employers can pay you the apprenticeship wage, which is £5.28 per hour. However, some employers may pay more, employers will indicate the hourly rate on the job description and your employment contract.

Aged 19 and over and in your first year.

You’re entitled to the National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage rate for your age.

To start an apprenticeship, you’ll need to be:

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

Ideally you will need a grade 4 (equivalent to a C) or higher in both maths and English, however depending on the level of apprenticeship you may be able to study functional skills alongside your apprenticeship.

As part of our interview process, we will review your prior experience and qualifications, career aims, as well as your current working levels in both maths and English. This will enable us to provide individualised advice and guidance and recommend the most appropriate level and type of apprenticeship for you.

All apprenticeship vacancies across England are advertised via the government website:

Find an apprenticeship – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

You can also apply direct to Halesowen college, and we can support you in finding the right opportunity.

This will vary depending on the type and level of apprenticeship. It will also depend on your prior experience and qualifications. The minimum amount of time you will undertake an apprenticeship is one year and one day.

As a general rule:

Intermediate (Level 2) – equivalent to GCSE- will typically take 12-18 months to complete.

Advanced (Level 3) – equivalent to A-Level – typically will take between 18 months to complete.

Higher (Level 4) – typically will take 24 months to complete. 

Apprentices should work for a minimum of 30 hours a week, and a maximum of 40. Time spent off the job at a college or in training is included.

You are entitled to holiday pay just like other employees, usually at the same rate as your normal pay. This means that as an apprentice you should get a minimum of 20 days paid holiday a year, plus Bank Holidays, although some employers may want to offer a larger holiday entitlement.

L2 Customer Service Practitioner

L3 Business Administration

L3 Assistant Accountant

L4 Professional Accounting Technician

L2 Healthcare Science Assistant

L4 Healthcare Science Associate

L2 Healthcare Support Worker

L2 Early Years Practitioner

L3 Early Years Educator

L3 IT Solutions Technician

This depends on the apprenticeship. Generally, we enrol all year round subject to the start date agreed with the employer. Contact our apprenticeship team for more information.

Speak to your line manager or HR department. Apprenticeships are available to new and existing staff and are a great way of upskilling existing workforce.

Apprenticeships are a combination of on-the-job and off-the-job training. Your off-the-job training will involve face to face technical training sessions at the college. Typically, this is one day per week although this can vary between apprenticeships. Please contact our apprenticeship team for further information.

In addition, we will visit you and your workplace mentor, in the workplace, to review your progress every 8 weeks.