Level 2 apprenticeships are available in England. They’re also known as intermediate apprenticeships and are equivalent to GCSE standard, although an apprenticeship is a different type of learning.
They can help you take the first step towards your future career and offer an alternative to staying at school and learning in a traditional classroom environment.
If you want to work your way up, you can go on to complete advanced, higher, and degree apprenticeships.
To be eligible for an intermediate apprenticeship, you need to be:
An apprenticeship is a real job, so you’ll also need to meet any other criteria set out by the employer. Entry requirements are different depending on the employer and the role, but generally, Level 2 apprenticeships don’t require any formal qualifications.
If you don’t already have GCSEs in English and maths, you will need to take functional skills as part of the apprenticeship, which is an alternative to GCSEs.
Remember, it’s not all about qualifications. Employers will be looking for willingness to learn, passion, and transferrable skills you could bring to the role.
While there are entry requirements… a lot of what we look for is people's behaviours. We pay attention to how applicants express themselves and want to see things they’ve taken part in. Examples could be leadership programmes at school.
Just be yourself because personality is so crucial when employers are selecting apprentices. You’ll learn the skills you need to along the way so it’s much more about whether you can demonstrate why you’re passionate and interested.
To find out what level might suit you, look at current apprenticeship vacancies and see their entry requirements. You’ll then be able to decide whether you might be more suitable for a different level instead.
An apprenticeship consists of mostly on-the-job training and some study away from work, which means you put what you learn into practice. You’ll spend most of your time at work and the rest in off-the-job learning with your college or a training provider.
This often works out about four days a week at work, and one day learning, but this can vary depending on the apprenticeship. At the end of the apprenticeship, you’ll be assessed and then awarded your apprenticeship if you pass. This is nothing to worry about, you’ll have been building up your skills for the assessment throughout the apprenticeship.
You apply for an apprenticeship directly through your chosen employer. You usually need to submit a CV and answer some questions about yourself. If you get through the first stage, you’ll be invited to an interview. Check out our handy guides for more information:
You can search for intermediate apprenticeships through our apprenticeship and graduate job search.
Intermediate apprenticeships are offered in a wide range of industries, from IT to finance, and animal care, to name a few.
Just create a UCAS account and fill in a quick form to tell us what you are interested in, where you live, and how far you want to travel.