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Advanced and Higher Apprenticeships

If you have achieved 5 good GCSES (grades A*-C) and/or good post 16 results you might be interested in looking into doing an Advanced or Higher Apprenticeships.

Progressing into an Advanced Apprenticeship

Advanced Apprenticeships offer you qualifications up to Level 3 and as a minimum you would need five GCSEs at grades A*-C to start one. However, many Advanced Apprenticeship are highly competitive and many applicants will have already completed A levels or other level 3 qualifications.

An Advanced Apprenticeship can enable you to develop work based skills in a particular job or sector. That's why people with A Levels sometimes choose this route, even though both are level 3 qualifications! People with existing level 3 qualifications can often complete an Advanced Apprenticeship in less time.

How about Higher Apprenticeships?

A Higher Apprenticeships is similar to other Apprenticeships; it gives you the chance to build up practical work experience while progressing academically up to degree level, all whilst being paid a decent salary.

They lead to qualifications such as NVQ levels 4 and 5 and in many instances higher apprentices also study for academic qualifications such as Foundation Degrees, HNCs or HNDs. To find out more about each of these qualifications, view the Progression Planner tool and click on the links to get the details.

In addition, you might be able to work towards professional qualifications specific to your industry - for example, engineers can take the first steps towards gaining chartered status.

To get onto a Higher Apprenticeships you will need to have entry qualifications at level 3 - such as A levels, Advanced level Diploma, NVQ level 3 or an Advanced Apprenticship.

What sectors offer Higher Apprenticeships?

Higher Apprenticeships are currenlty available in the following job sectors:

Accounting
Business and Administration
Contact Centre Operations
Engineering Technology
Food and Drink
IT, Software, Web & Telecoms Professionals
Providing Financial Advice
Leadership and Management

In the future they should be available in a wider range of sectors.

What's involved in a Higher Apprenticeship?

Higher Apprenticeships involve a combination of learning on-the-job, working alongside experienced colleagues, with off-the-job training at a college or training provider.

As a Higher Apprentices you might find your off-the-job training to be:

on day-release - for example, one day a week at college
on block-release, for example a ‘block’ of several weeks (or even your first year) full-time at a college or training centre. For example, higher apprentices on Rolls-Royces Higher Apprenticeship spend the first year at a specialist engineering training centre.

Earnings

The salary of a Higher Apprentice does vary, but you could expect to start on a salary of around £10,000 per year; increasing every year and even rising up to £25,000 on completion.

Progression

Higher Apprenticeship - if you are on an Advanced Apprenticeship at level 3 you may be able to move on to a Higher Apprenticeship at level 4 once you have completed level 3.
Education - if you have achieved qualifications at level 3 (Advanced level) you may be able to move on to a higher education course, for example a foundation degree or an honours degree. Some employers continue to fund studies right up to this level. If you have completed a Foundation Degree or other level 4/5 qualification as part of your Higher Apprenticeship you could 'top up' to a full degree.
Employment - The majority of apprentices continue working for the company they trained with and work towards promotion to a higher level. Higher level qualifications can also help you to move to another company if you need to.

To find out more about higher apprenticeships go to http://www.justgohigher.co.uk/

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