Apprenticeships are competitive: Advice on landing your dream apprenticeship

I started my career following college, through a Level 6 Degree Apprenticeship; Digital and Technology Solutions, Specialising in Software Engineering. My provider was Manchester Metropolitan University. I completed and graduated from my apprenticeship in 2022, and now work as a User Experience Designer & Researcher at OneFile.

When I was in college, I was studying Computer Science, Product Design, and Mathematics A-Levels. While I was recommended to go to university, something in me felt that wasn’t right for me and I wanted to gain work experience and earn money. At the time, the ‘Earn as you Learn’ slogan was in the headlines, and so I started exploring apprenticeships.

It was at the start of the second year of sixth form when I began to search for and apply to apprenticeships. While many of my peers followed the defined education pathway, I had to navigate the more diverse world of apprenticeships. 

I started on the government ‘Find an apprenticeship’ website: https://www.gov.uk/apply-apprenticeship      

This when I first realised it wouldn’t be an easy process! In school or college, you aren’t aware of all the job roles out there, which makes searching quite difficult. You have to try lots of different words relating to the area you’re looking into, for example I was looking at software engineering apprenticeships, so I searched: software, programming, coding, IT, etc. I maybe found a couple of opportunities here, but it was fairly unsuccessful. 

Another way I searched for apprenticeships was through a UCAS event. Our college took us to an event held in Manchester. At the time, UCAS didn’t have a focus on apprenticeships, so it was predominantly stalls of different universities. However, there was a small section of the conference with booths of Apprentice Employers. Being able to speak to the Employers, and some current apprentices, helped me learn more about what they were and different way to apply – directly through the Employer! If you know of Employers who offer apprenticeships, it’s worth searching their company websites for opportunities. The difficulty of this is that different Employers open their applications at different times, so it’s a search you have to do frequently which can be annoying!

I want to mention that in recent years UCAS has entered the apprentice space. Their website now has information about apprenticeships and you can find opportunities: https://www.ucas.com/apprenticeships

The way I found my apprenticeship and Employer actually started with word of mouth. One of my friends, studying Computer Science in the year above me in college, told me he was doing a degree apprenticeship through Manchester Metropolitan University. This was the first time I ever heard about degree apprenticeships, let alone universities offering opportunities. He also told me they did apprenticeship evenings, where you could learn more and speak to Employers and current Apprentices.

So, I went to one of those MMU apprentice evenings with copies of my CV in hand. It was on this evening that I met my Apprentice Employer, Thales. I learnt about the work they did and got to speak to one of their current apprentices who was really enjoying the scheme. At the evening, I also learned that MMU offered a notification service, where they could email you when the applications for their Employers opened. As soon as I got that notification, I submitted my applications.

The application process for apprenticeships differs across schemes and Employers. For the initial application, I remember most would request a CV, and then ask 3 common questions:

• Why do you want to do an apprenticeship?
• Why do you want to work for this Employer?
• Why do you want to do this job role?

After my first few applications, I had templated responses to the questions, which I could then adapt as needed. You will also get used to any documentation requested in applications, so it’s useful to keep a folder of information.

I did around 15 applications, was quickly offered a job at my second interview/assessment centre, and then denied a couple more assessment centre offers. Apprenticeships are competitive, and it’s not always your application that’s lacking, someone may just be a better fit! Don’t be disheartened by rejections.

Assessment centres are the common interview process for apprenticeships, following the initial application, perhaps some simple tests, and perhaps an initial phone call. The assessment centre tends to be a day involving a group task, a professional interview, and other potential activities. In my first centre, I messed up on the group task. There was lots of information to read and I ultimately ended up overlooking one of the most important documents. This lead me to have to catchup during the session so I wasn’t as actively involved in the group as I would’ve liked. Each assessment centre is an opportunity to learn and get better for the next one. It’s really important to ask for and follow up on feedback! It made me take my time reading in the next one, and as mentioned I was offered the job quite quickly afterwards, so my improvements paid off!

Once I was given my job offer, there was lots of enrolment forms to complete. However for the most part, I could concentrate on my exams and then finalise my enrolment on results day. My employer gave us a taster day in the summer, where we basically toured the office and got to meet our managers, buddies, and teams. Then I started working as a software engineer in line with the academic year.

 

Emma Nolan

UX Designer and Apprentice Ambassador

You can find out more and connect with Emma on LinkedIn.