How to get an apprenticeship

Apprenticeships offer the opportunity to gain valuable work experience while working towards a qualification. You earn a competitive salary and there are no fees to complete your study.

Craft Apprenticeships give valuable training in the trades industry these can include Joinery, Plumbing, Mechanics and many other trades. These usually take around four years to complete and include attending college.

Modern Apprenticeships are a good way of starting a career but there are also opportunities for experienced workers looking to progress. Apprenticeships are usually completed while working so you wouldn’t go to college or undertake exams, study is completed and submitted as you work. Qualifications are at SCQF Level 6 or 7 (SVQ Level 2 or 3) and these are usually over a 1-2 year period.

"Completing an Apprenticeship in painting and decorating has meant a lot to me. It has given me a great deal of experience in not only learning new skills to become a tradesperson but also an insight from the age of seventeen when working in tenants' houses and dealing with the public, quickly increasing to handling working alone, planning work, and the responsibility of driving from job to job. To me, there is no bigger privilege to be trusted and given the opportunity to put my freshly qualified skills to the test now that my time is complete. Now no longer an Apprentice this is where I feel the learning really begins." Read Emma’s full story here

Hear about Ross’s experience as a Digital Marketing Apprentice.

Graduate Apprenticeships were newly introduced in Scotland in 2018. You study towards a degree over 4 years and can include subjects such as business management, ICT, civil engineering and construction and built environment.

Hear about some Graduate Apprentices' experiences so far.

Visit your Local Authority website to find out more about Apprentice opportunities near you.

View current vacancies: Modern Apprenticeship/Trainee

You can also find all the information you need about both public and private sector apprenticeships at apprenticeships.scot.