Stand out from the crowd and find the perfect apprenticeship

Apprenticeships remain a fantastic method of education and career progression, combining a real job that you get paid for with an accredited qualification at the end of it. Many people are still unaware of the opportunities that apprenticeships present, which is why initiatives such as National Apprenticeship Week (5th to 9th March 2018) have been set up. In this article, we’re going to briefly look at how you can find a great apprenticeship and what you can do to ensure your CV stands out to a prospective employer or trainer.

Finding the apprenticeship

The first thing you need to do, of course, is find the right apprenticeship for you. Just like with any career decision, you’re naturally going to perform better if you’re doing something that you enjoy. An apprenticeship is your chance to ensure you start out on your career path positively – both in terms of gaining a good qualification and starting down the track that leads to a career you really want.

There are a few different ways of finding an apprenticeship and, if you’re committed to finding the perfect one, it’s a good idea to explore all of the avenues open to you.

Many people will choose to use one of the services that connects employers with potential apprentice prospects. These are a great option if you know generally what type of apprenticeship that you want to do and you’re just in need of an employer. Similarly, popular job listing sites will have filters for apprenticeships too.

The other option is to directly ask a business if they’d be interested in taking on an apprentice – you may already have a business or two in mind that you’d like to work for. This isn’t always the easiest of routes, but given how attractive apprenticeships can be to employers it’s certainly worth trying. Approach things as professionally as you can and ensure that you apply ready to explain how the apprenticeship would work.

Boosting your CV with qualifications

Apprenticeships contain a qualification within themselves, but that certainly doesn’t mean that qualifications aren’t important when trying to be accepted for one. Employers are always going to be more likely to take someone on for an apprenticeship when they can see that they’ve demonstrated some academic aptitude in their previous education and this is probably the very best way of getting your CV noticed. There are two important parts to impressing with the qualifications section on your CV.

The first is that, before you start applying for potential apprenticeships, you should concentrate hard on your studies. GCSE results, and sometimes A Level results, are usually looked at when you make an application. They are core elements of state education, and tell an employer whether you have the basic skills and knowledge needed to undertake more training and study. In many cases, English and maths GCSEs of at least a C grade are required – so work hard to ensure you achieve this. If you’ve already left school and don’t have these qualifications, then it’s certainly worth looking into your options for re-studying to gain them.

The other element to qualifications on your CV is something that not everyone will do, but which can really boost yours in comparison with other potential candidates – and that’s additional training. There are a great many courses out there that just about anyone can undertake and which cover a huge range of careers. From basic IT knowledge, to food safety and more, there’s sure to be something that is relevant to the industry you’re looking for a career in.

You might think that looking at even more education prior to an apprenticeship is just going to delay things, but there are many courses that can be done online and don’t take a long time either. They’re a fantastic way of boosting your CV because they show two things: the first is your aptitude in that particular skill and the second is that you’ve taken the initiative to undertake further study. This looks great to future employers.

Virtual College is pleased to be able to offer a very wide range of online courses, many of which have no entry requirements. Click here to see our bundle courses, which are great for boosting your CV with several certificates.