Training
Training is a central part of any apprenticeship. Apprentices learn by working alongside experienced colleagues as well as by attending a college course in their chosen field. During college term times, typically you will work in your department 4 days a week and attend college 1 day a week.
The learning contract
Which college and course you will attend depends on the type of apprenticeship. At the beginning of the apprenticeship, each apprentice receives a learning contract. This spells out which college and course you will be attending and what qualifications you will achieve during your apprenticeship.
What you will learn
In general, most apprenticeships contain these elements:
- A technical diploma, based on material taught at college and coursework.
- A competence certificate, based on skills learnt and demonstrated in the workplace.
- Employee rights and responsibilities.
- Key skills or functional skills (short courses in English, Mathematics and ICT).
For the competence certificate, the idea is that as you complete tasks at work, you build up a portfolio demonstrating the range of skills you have mastered. You will review your portfolio periodically with an assessor from your college, who will give you guidance on what more you should do to complete your portfolio. In many fields, the competence part is called an NVQ or National Vocational Qualification.
Further training
As you complete your second year, you can explore options for further training. By mutual agreement with your department, you could study for a Higher National Certificate (HNC), a foundation degree or a degree.