Adult apprenticeship help

[colin86]

Looking at career change and see you can do adult apprenticeship in shorter period of time . Wondering has anyone done one ? How hard did you find it for employer to take you on rather than a 16 year old ? Any info appreciated on this .

Thanks

[CubanPete]

I think it depends on the company.

My employer doesn't advertise them as a specific recruitment exercise, but does invite / listen to requests from existing employees.

What do you do now / what are you looking to do.

[colin86]

Currently in manufacturing thinking about electrican or b possibly even plumbing .

[Darkslider]

In my experience the funding changes once you're over 25 so you'll find very few employers willing to take you on unless you subsidise yourself (difficult on an already reduced salary)

[CubanPete]

How big is your employer? And how supportive are they of training? Are you in a production or engineering role?

Could you request a shift to a maintenance role, and do studies through there?

Otherwise I would look at night school for qualifications and go from there. You will be doing a long day and external study as part of an apprenticeship, so if the thought of this puts you off... The colleges should have contacts with the local big employers.

[rog007]

Organisations that pay in to the national apprenticeship levy scheme actively recruit apprentices (of any age) as this supports a return on that levy.

More here, including pay rates: https://www.gov.uk/employing-an-apprentice/pay-and...

Typical vacancies: https://www.indeed.co.uk/m/jobs?q=Apprentice+Elect...

Good luck!

[lyonspride]

My experience is that many employers don't like taking on older staff, because they know their rights, won't taken any sh*t and have already passed that point in life where you realise that "hard work pays", is utter BS.

[MrBrightSi]

lyonspride said:

My experience is that many employers don't like taking on older staff, because they know their rights, won't taken any sh*t and have already passed that point in life where you realise that "hard work pays", is utter BS.

I'd say thats a pretty good idea of it. I'd say it's more to do with the investment and return you present at a later age, closer to retirement and probably set with family and external stuff that would always trump work. The young guys, as naïve as we all were and sometimes completely oblivious to our faults can be rounded down and made into the finished product by the age you've just applied.

Of course there are chances for adults to get onto apprenticeships, have seen it in my previous employments and have plenty of other anecdotal stuff when I was at college with people from other workplaces.

[colin86]

I am in production so chances of getting into maintenance is near impossible to be honest .

[Chicken_Satay]

colin86 said:

Looking at career change and see you can do adult apprenticeship in shorter period of time . Wondering has anyone done one ? How hard did you find it for employer to take you on rather than a 16 year old ? Any info appreciated on this .

Thanks

I know a girl who flew out to L.A. to do her adult apprenticeship because that's where most of that business is. She was 23 at the time, however, if you're good looking or well endowed you shouldn't find any issues with employers taking you on, especially if you are willing to relocate.

Yes, there are popular channels that are filmed in the U.K. such as Fake Taxi (and you could even start your own) but they are few and far between.

[M22s]

Darkslider said:

In my experience the funding changes once you're over 25 so you'll find very few employers willing to take you on unless you subsidise yourself (difficult on an already reduced salary)

This changed a few years so funding bands are no longer varied by age groups.

Re. The duration of the apprenticeship, this is set by the employer and provider (can also be an employer provider) based on guided learning hours required to become ‘competent’. As part of the on boarding, an assessment of prior learning is carried out which may identify you satisfy certain criteria from past experience so are exempt from the relevant parts and funding adjusted accordingly.

Apprenticeship levels range from GCSE standard through to Masters though the later are usually used to develop existing staff rather than recruit new staff. They also don’t have to be the traditional hands on, trade or manual tasks so don’t think you are limited to these if it’s an apprenticeship you want to do.

One of the biggest challenges for prospective adult apprentices is the salary, as it often isn’t enough in the early stages to cover cost of living. Of course this varies on personal situations and the employer so don’t let this put you off. Some company’s offer a higher starting salary for >25’s with smaller increments to support adult learners.