I got a level 3 rail engineering technician apprenticeship offer with network rail focussing on the signalling pathway. Is this a good job. What will the apprenticeship be like? What will life be like after the apprenticeship.
Was made redundant around a month ago and had some time to think about my career and ive always been in physically demanding roles for the past 8 years and want to go into something office based or within IT,
Has anyone my age or similar been accepted for an apprenticeship at this age? Or is it a waste of time thinking about it?
TIA :)
I feel like I’m hitting a wall, I have applied for lots of apprenticeships in my local area such as BAE (which I know is already hard to get into) and Arnold Clark (both of these I have had an interview and been rejected). I have only had 2 interviews out of nearly 40 applications, and most of these jobs I have the right qualifications for or even have qualification levels that are much higher than what they want. Also, when I go into these interviews I dress smart and speak confidently with proper language to try and give them the best impression I can, I do have a back up which is college (I live in Scotland) which I have already experienced during school as I picked motor vehicle engineering which is the course I have planned already to take as a back up, however i feel if I take don’t get an apprenticeship anywhere I’ll be wasting my time with a year in college and I am starting to get worried as I assume most apprenticeships that start in September are starting to close, I really just don’t want to go to college and really want to work and learn on a job when I’m making money and enjoying myself. Please if anyone has tips to help my situation please comment, I really need this as I feel I won’t get more chances like this in the future.
I am sitting my level 3 IT technician EPA tomorrow. Bit nervous. Can anyone give me any tips that I can take into the exam to get the best chance of passing?
Looking for some honest advice from people in engineering / apprenticeships because we’re a bit stuck.
My son (18) is finishing a Level 3 Extended Diploma in Electrical & Electronic Engineering at Wigan & Leigh College and is predicted DDM. He’s also done a placement with local engineering Design company, so has some exposure to CAD, documentation, and engineering processes. (They told him to apply, then declined him due to gcse results).
Since the start of the year he’s applied to ~30+ engineering apprenticeships:
Big companies (Babcock, Sellafield, Royal Mail, United Utilities, Electricity North West, Tetra Tech, Atkins, MBDA, etc.)
Smaller firms
Level 3 and Level 4 & Level 6 roles
Result:
Mostly rejections
About a dozen no responses
Some filtered out purely on GCSEs (Maths 4), even though he’s clearly progressed since
What’s more frustrating is the complete lack of feedback—just generic rejections.
He’s even applied for basic jobs (supermarkets etc.) just to get something going and hasn’t had much luck there either.
He’s motivated, practical, has a car, and genuinely wants to get into engineering. Right now we’re looking at HNC as a fallback, but that comes with a student loan for the next 21 years and doesn’t guarantee a job either.
Questions:
Is GCSE Maths 4 really a hard blocker for most apprenticeships?
Are we targeting the wrong types of roles?
Would HNC → job → reapply next year be the smarter route?
What roles should he realistically be aiming for right now?
Appreciate any honest advice—feels like there’s a gap in the system for people who develop later but are clearly capable.
Unpopular opinion but, I think that the apprenticeship route is becoming oversaturated. It’s a good route regardless but due to the job market being shite you are seeing people with uni degrees down scale their degrees by doing a level 2 or 3 that has nothing to do with their degree. It’s kind of sad imo and shows how the government has failed people. As people are relying on apprenticeships not know what they are and are not doing proper research which is why you see a lot of drop outs. It’s also becoming an excuse for SOME employers to take advantage of people , wage wise.
I also think that the route is becoming too popularised. Which is why you are seeing nearly 200 ppl apply for one role (depending on where you live). Yes some of them may not fit the criteria but it still says something.
I know nothing can be done but I just wanted to know if people think the same.
Does anyone have any experience in either a HR CIPD level 3 or business administration apprenticeship?
I’ve finally landed an apprenticeship but I have the option to do either a HR or business admin course and I’m not sure which to do. The job itself is in a HR team but I’m not sure if the business admin course would be more transferable down the line.
Any help would be appreciated :)
Guys, is anyone else still waiting for a response from the BAE degree apprenticeship? Thx
So I have an unconditional of from Lloyds to start one of their tech apprenticeships after having completing the background checks successfully. The starting salary is 26.5k which is quite low for my age. I have read in some places it stays the same for the full 4 years and in some it says you get re-graded after completing the level 4 etc. Does anybody know as this could potentially be a big issue for me earning that amount for the full 4 years. What’s the pay progression during the apprenticeship?
Now that the apprentice minimum has gone up to £8/hour this April, I’m curious how everyone’s managing financially. Between commuting and just buying lunch during the week, it feels like the money disappears pretty fast. Are most employers still only paying the minimum, or are people actually seeing better pay for Level 3/4 apprenticeships now? Trying to work out if my pay is pretty normal at the moment or not.
Hi everyone
Doing my Level 3 Support Technician EPA next week and honestly stressing a bit 😅
I had a mock earlier without my portfolio in front of me and completely crumbled under the pressure, even though I actually know the work I’ve done.
I know we’re allowed our portfolio/evidence during the real discussion but how much can you actually rely on it? Were people actively searching through their portfolio/project/notes while answering questions or is that frowned upon? I feel awkward being like “hey sorry one second let me just search my Word doc regarding that KSB”
Did anyone make a crib sheet or summary notes they used during theirs? If so I’d massively appreciate any copies. I’ve been told it can’t be excessive. I’m fine when actually doing the job day to day, just not great under exam conditions ffs.
Got a few interviews lined up and I’m trying to work out how people spot companies that genuinely care about training vs ones that just want cheap labour. I’ve read quite a few stories about apprentices ending up doing basic admin constantly and struggling to actually get their study/off-the-job learning time properly. Are there any important questions you’d recommend asking during interviews to figure out whether the company will actually support you properly?
Hi, I attended a Boeing assessment centre day for their uk apprenticeship scheme, 3 weeks ago. I’ve not heard anything since. Appreciate as a large organisation the process may not be agile. Anybody else heard an outcome or have an experience of the process? On the portal it says under hiring manage consideration. Thanks
Posting for a friend not on Reddit.
They're currently attempting to get into accounting or book keeping and the rejections are really getting to him and is really affecting his mental health.
He's been applying for 2 years, and he always gets to the interview stage but the feedback he's getting is that the other candidate has some more relevant experience.
This seems ridiculous to me as I always thought an apprenticeship is meant to be a training opportunity and now they're asking for experience? I really can't help but feel that this might be due to his age as he'll have to be paid more compared to someone 18-21.
He's been applying to small local firms and sometimes councils. He emails for feedback and it's the same thing each time - too much competition and the other candidate had more relevant experience.
For me personally, this is absurd. I didn't have to have any relevant experience 7 years ago to get onto a scheme but now they're asking for minimum 3 months with a graph salary to boot.
Does anyone have any advice I can give? Are there any other fields he could go into? He initially wanted to go into IT but thought there that would be more competitive than booking keeping. Or even another Industry he should try? He literally just wants to get out of games testing that was only meant to be temporary
Thanks
Im 19 and have just been offered an apprenticeship and salary is 26.5k + 1.5x overtime, just wondering how this compares to other apprenticeship wages :)
Struggling a lot to find meaningful employment and been feeling quite depressed since leaving uni because the job market sucks. Trying to diversify my skillsets and saw a bunch of adverts on Instagram about retraining as a central heating engineer and them offering apprenticeships on a 20 week training course to help install energy efficient heaters that are more climate friendly. To me this sounded great and seemed like a socially important job opportunity, especially because apparently these areas have big labour shortages. Clicked on the website and saw that YOU have to pay for it... like £900 a month? It fucking sucks coz so many people are sitting unemployed at the moment and there's so much human capital that's just not being effectively deployed here in the UK and there seems to be a lot of these schemes and it all feels very grifty. Feels like there's so little opportunity for upward mobility when you're working class.
I’m genuinely at a loss. I’ve made it to the final stage interveiw for 7 different apprenticeships now, ranging from degree apprenticeships in QS to underwriting and wealth management.
I know most people struggle to even get one interview, but getting to the very end 7 times just to get binned off feels like a massive punch in the gut. The worst part is the feedback is always useless, they just tell me I did great, I'm a "top candidate," and that I’d be an asset to any company.
If I'm doing so well, I don't get why I can't actually land the offer. It’s starting to feel like a joke at this point. I don't know if I'm missing something specific or if it's just a dead numbers game.
Just had my EPA for Level 3 Data Technician qualification with City and Guild and I was just wondering when I would hear back. I was told 7 working days but wanted to see if anyone had heard back sooner.
I’ve been to uni and I have a degree, so this apprenticeship meant I was starting again. In a few years I’ll thank myself but I’ve really really really had to push myself to continue because I’ve thought about leaving a LOT.
We had a feedback session where we all wrote things we liked about each other. It was a work from home college day and supposed to be a fun day. The forms were anonymous and meant to be used as reflection for how others see us.
I am introverted yes, but I’m not completely quiet. I am chatty, but I don’t want to be very talkative during class because I really want to do well, so most days I put my head down and focus. I’ve spoken to everyone (20 of us) and they know how chatty and bubbly I am. We have each other on social media so we know more about each other etc.
The responses to my form has hurt me a lot however. Responses were: ‘too quiet’, ‘no confidence’, ‘be more extroverted’. Some people wrote kinder things like ‘self motivated’, ‘positive’, ‘kind and easy to talk to’, but only a few.
The funny thing is we had to deliver presentations to seniority, and mine was the best. The only point of improvement for me was ensure I am consistent in my confidence. Many of the seniors who came to watch gave me positive feedback and said I did great.
I’m not sure how I can face my cohort. Some of them actually avoid eye contact with me and don’t look at me. I think some people just feel uncomfortable around me but idk.
I didn’t think they’d dislike an introvert this much.
Edit- I actually tried talking more in class at one point but people just keep talking over me. And it’s expected that I won’t raise my voice now because I’m not the type of person to make someone feel bad. I hate myself in that classroom.
Hi I’m from Birmingham uk and I was wondering how I can start engineering, specifically mechanical. I am 20 and I can’t really go back to college due to me working and currently looking for a second job. are there any courses I could take or even apprenticeship sites I could look into instead of a second job? Any help would be appreciated thanks.