Create a shortlist of ten apprenticeships that you would consider applying for and include a short profile on each. You may find it very difficult to find an apprenticeship in a field directly linked to your interest in the creative media sector. However, you may find an interesting alternative.
Animal Care
This Apprenticeship is perfect for anyone wishing to work with animals. Many consider work in the animal care industry as one of the most fulfilling roles within the land-based sector, offering opportunities from working in large kennels and catteries to training guide dogs for the blind and dog handling within the armed forces.
Generally, work in this industry deals with the health, welfare, handling and supervision of small animals – whether that’s working in a zoo or wildlife park, or for the RSPCA. It’s a dedicated profession, as animals need to be looked after 365 days a year.
As an apprentice, you could find yourself working in many settings and with a range of different animals. You could be grooming dogs; looking after animals in a pet shop, kennel or cattery; assisting the breeding of pedigree animals; training guide dogs; or even taking care of exotic animals in a zoo or wildlife park.
Your Apprenticeship will vary depending on your employer, but you could learn about health checking; basic animal training; transporting animals; feeding, watering and exercising animals; advising customers and owners; or maintaining a clean and safe working environment.
On the Advanced Level Apprenticeship it is likely that you will take on more of a specialised or supervisory role and be involved in planning various activities. Particular health and safety training may be required for different areas of work.
No matter what type of animal you encounter on this Apprenticeship, they will all need the skilled attention of devoted and well-trained staff.
Job Roles
Intermediate Level Apprenticeship
•Animal/Dog groomer
•Pet shop assistant/Retail assistant
•Animal care assistant
•Dog handler (Uniformed Forces)
•Animal boarding assistant
Advanced Level Apprenticeship
•Zoo/animal keeper
•Dog groomer
•Animal/dog trainer
•Dog warden
•Animal management technician
The Salary
Starting salary (once qualified): £10,000 - £14,000
The Level
Intermediate Level Apprenticeship
Advanced Level Apprenticeship
Animal Technology
Animal Technology originally referred to Animal Husbandry, the process of encouraging and breeding in the best characteristics and behaviours into animals, however nowadays animal technology takes a much more scientific role.
Animal Technologists care for the animals to be used in medical, veterinary and dental research, ensuring they are well kept, in an environment that adheres to the standard demanded of the testing, as well as being as humane as possible. Research using animals provides us with information about drugs and treatments that we simply could not obtain by other means.
The actual job-role of apprentices will vary depending on the lab that they are working for. There are many different breeds of animal that are used in testing and they all require different care. Apprentices will not only be trained in husbandry, but will also be given basic scientific training to make sure they are effective in their position.
In your job role, you will likely be expected to care for animals (feeding and watering them etc); deliver basic treatments; collect samples; and maintain their accommodation, making sure cages are clean etc.
Job Roles:
Intermediate Level Apprenticeships:
•Animal Technician
Intermediate Level Apprenticeship
Environmental Conservation
This Apprenticeship covers roles that deal with the protection of rural and urban landscapes, plants and animals, and countryside. Environmental conservation covers a range of activities from recycling household waste to habitat management. While ‘green’ issues play an important role in conservation, it’s really about using scientific knowledge to achieve solutions that will provide a sustainable environment. The scope of environmental conservation stretches from local issues (e.g. community recycling) to national ones (e.g. global warming).
As an apprentice, you’ll choose between four routes: environmental conservation; access and recreation; rivers, coasts and waterways/flood risk management; or dry stone walling. The nature of the work depends on your employer, but you could be surveying and reporting on the condition of an outdoor area; encouraging people to enjoy the environments around them; carrying out habitat management work; or monitoring a section of river prone to floods.
On the Advanced Apprenticeship, you’ll learn how to use environmental good practice at work, develop good working relations with community groups and others, and organise environmental projects. You might learn other advanced skills, like how to manage a team of volunteers, report on environmental change or produce site management plans.
Upon completion of your training, you could work for a range of organisations from government departments to the voluntary sector.
Job Roles
Intermediate Level Apprenticeship
•Estate worker
•Ranger
•Recycling officer
•Conservation officer
Advanced Level Apprenticeship
•Access/recreation officer
•Ecologist
•Senior ranger
•Education/interpretation officer
•Senior estate worker
•Environmental management officer
The Salary
Starting salary (once qualified): £16,000
The Level
Intermediate Level Apprenticeship
Advanced Level Apprenticeship
Food and Drink
This Apprenticeship covers a wide range of job roles within Food and Drink, from quality checkers and bakers to logistics officers and butchers. Getting food and drink on the shelves depends on a range of different people doing various jobs within the sector.
For example, in order for a loaf of bread to reach your trolley, it has to go through a sequence of sourcing, processing, baking, packaging and distribution.
As an apprentice, you could specialise in the main operations involved in manufacturing and processing a wide range of food and drink products. This may include some exciting production areas, such as dairy processing; bakery production; butchery; brewing; fishmongery; or chocolate and sweets.
Your work-based learning programme will involve both on-the-job and off-the-job training. Through this combination you will develop both technical and practical skills.
This Apprenticeship offers many options, whether you’re someone who likes to be physically on the go, or are interested in how food and drink is made and machinery works. You’ll get to work as part of a busy team, which will involve solving problems, meeting specific targets and ensuring food safety requirements are met.
The prospects are good and the job is an important one – the demand for food will always be with us.
Job Roles
Intermediate Level Apprenticeship
•Sales/Service Support Assistant
•Slaughter Operative
•Butcher
•Meat and Poultry Operative
•Baker
•Operative
•Confectioner
•Cake Decorator
•Miller
•Operative
•Facilities Support
•Production Control Operative
•Quality Assurance Operative
•Processing Control Operative
•Logistics Controller
•Productivity Technician
•Business Operative
•Team Supervisor
•Technical Assistant
•Organisational and Development Assistant
•Fishmonger
•Processing Operative
•Brewer
•Brewing Operative
•Dairy Production Operative
•Equipment Technician
Advanced Level Apprenticeship
•Specialist Butcher
•Specialist Operations Manager
•Sales/Service Manager
•Sales and Service
•Specialist Baker
•Master Baker
•Specialist Confectioner
•Specialist Cake Decorator
•Chocolatier
•Sales/Service Manager
•Specialist Operative (Logistics)
•Specialist Operative Food
•Manager, Facilities
•Manager, Supply Chain
•Manager, Logistics
•Quality Audit Manager
•Maintenance Manager
•Diagnostics Technician
•Organisation and Development Manager
•Technical Manager
•Team Leader
•Productivity Manager
Higher Apprenticeship
•Productivity Manager
•General Food Manager (Production)
•Technical Manager
•Lean Manufacturing Manager
•General Management (Food Operations)
•Organisational and Development Manager
•Continuous Improvement Manager
•Manager, Processes
The Salary
Starting salary (once qualified): £14,000 - £16,000
The Level
Intermediate Level Apprenticeship
Advanced Level Apprenticeship
Metal Processing
This Apprenticeship covers a range of job roles within the metal industry. Metal starts as a mineral inside rock, which has to be extracted, purified and mixed in order to become a certain type of metal like aluminium or steel. Depending on its use – whether for a spaceship, car or soup tin – the metal is then treated, coated and shaped to fit its purpose. Metal processing deals with all of these things, as well as with recycling and the development of new materials.
As an apprentice you’ll gain a broad understanding of the metals industry by working both in the office and on the shop floor. You might schedule materials, monitor production processes, work on the floor as a member of a production team, test the quality of products, and learn health and safety practices.
On the Advanced Apprenticeship, you’ll take a leading part in developing and making a broad range of hi-tech products such as advanced engine components, surgical implants, oil rigs and structural steelwork, including the chance to develop technical and team leader skills.
The UK metals sector supplies raw materials for every engineering and manufacturing process, as well as other key industries like automotive, aerospace, defence, household goods and packaging. Metal will always be in demand, which makes for excellent job prospects.
Job Roles
Level 2 (Apprenticeship)
•Production processing
•Service centre operations
•Testing technicians
•Metals handling
Level 3 (Advanced Apprenticeship)
•Materials scheduling & Production planning
•Production processing & Team leaders
•Laboratory and testing technicians
•Structural steelwork fabricators
The Salary
Starting salary (once qualified): £12,000 - £15,000
The Level
Intermediate Level Apprenticeship
Advanced Level Apprenticeship
Sea Fishing
This Apprenticeship is an excellent way into the industry for anybody who wants to work on fishing vessels. You will be working as a key member of the crew responsible for health and safety; preparing the deck and equipment for the catch; operating fishing gear and other equipment used for shooting and hauling fishing gear; repairing fishing gear; gutting and storing fish.
You might also cook for crew members and will certainly help to ensure the vessel is kept clean, tidy and 'shipshape'. On some vessels you may be encouraged to develop your interest in engineering through active assistance in undertaking routine maintenance tasks.
Career opportunities - you can continue your career along the deck route by progressing to Mate and then onto Skipper once you have achieved the relevant statutory qualifications. You might wish to operate your own small boat and become qualified as an Inshore Skipper, or else pursue the engineering option.
If you wish you can move into related maritime industries such as the Merchant Navy, offshore support and harbour tug boat work. These industries recognise the expertise you have gained whilst working in the fishing sector and may provide you with further opportunities to develop your career.
Job Roles
•Deck Hand
•1st Mate
•<16.5m Skipper (Inshore)
•Class 2 Skipper
•Class 1 Skipper
Related Occupations
•Coastguard Watch Assistant/Officer
•Merchant Navy Deck Officer
•Merchant Navy Engineering Officer
•Merchant Navy Rating
•Inshore Tug Deckhand
•Royal Navy Rating
•Fish Farmer
The Salary
Salary: Fishermen are paid under the self employed share fishermens’ scheme, and receive a share of the catch which will vary from each trip to the next, depending on the time of year, how much fish has been landed and its value at market.
The Level
Intermediate Level Apprenticeship
Advanced Level Apprenticeship
Location
Once trained it is up to the individual which port they would like to work from depending on method of fishing they would like to pursue and the size of vessel or company. It is usual that when you are nearing completion of the qualification your training provider will assist you in obtaining a crew position on a vessel.
Nuclear Decommissioning
This Advanced Apprenticeship covers a range of roles involved with the decommissioning – or safe shut down – of nuclear facilities. Nuclear power stations have limited operating lives, ranging from 30 to 60 years. When their time is up, the plants must be decommissioned. In the UK, there are around 22 ageing nuclear sites that need to be dealt with by 2050 – which means an industry with growing prospects.
The safe and cost-effective decommissioning and clean-up of the industry’s power stations and fuel processing facilities are providing future technical and engineering challenges for the industry. Apprenticeships are playing an important role in maintaining a skilled workforce.
The nature of the decommissioning process means these facilities can’t simply be switched off and knocked down. There are many technical, environmental and managerial challenges involved.
As an apprentice, you’ll gain a Level 3 decommissioning qualification and complete a supporting Technical Certificate. You’ll learn many aspects of Decommissioning and the structure of the nuclear industry.
There are a range of job roles involved within decommissioning operations. You could be a process operator or technician, working on the equipment, a laboratory assistant, or a decommissioning operator.
Job Roles
•Process operator
•Laboratory technician
•Decommissioning technician
The Salary
Starting salary (once qualified): £18,500 to £25,000
The Level
Advanced Level Apprenticeship
Nuclear Working
This Intermediate Level Apprenticeship has been designed to meet the requirements for the type of work undertaken in the nuclear industry. The UK’s nuclear industry employs over 50,000 people and provides about 18% of the country’s electricity.
Nuclear power is an efficient source of energy that helps to cut down on carbon emissions, and the Government has outlined plans to build more nuclear power stations. Once a nuclear power station reaches the end of its working life it must be safely shut down and decommissioned. With the advent of ‘new build’ for a fleet of modern nuclear power stations, as well as existing operations and decommissioning, there are a number of opportunities across the sector.
The industry is supported by a wide variety of supply chain companies, such as engineering and construction contractors, fabricators of specialist equipment, manufacturers and specialist service providers, which may provide further opportunities for employment.
After undergoing this Intermediate Level Apprenticeship, skilled operatives and technicians could find themselves working in a variety of roles within the nuclear industry. A Decommissioning Operative would be involved in the safe decommissioning of plant and equipment on a licensed nuclear site. A Radiation Monitor would play a key role in the safe monitoring of personnel and work environments.
Within the industry there are many opportunities to progress to technician, supervisory or management roles. British nuclear industry skills are also highly valued abroad.
There will be an ongoing need to attract new young people and adults to meet emerging technological challenges, such as the expected expansion due to new build, as well as to replace the ageing workforce within the sector. The Apprenticeship will help to ensure that the skills pipeline is robust both in terms of quantity and capability
Job Roles
•Decommissioning Operatives
•Radiation monitors
The Salary
Starting salary (once qualified): £19,00 to £25,000
The Level
Intermediate Level Apprenticeship
Catering and Professional Chefs
Working as a chef is a highly skilled, practical career-path that is in demand the world over. The catering industry as a whole contributes billions to the UK economy, and is one of the biggest employers of young people in the UK.
Chefs are needed in every food establishment, from local pubs to silver service Michelin Star restaurants! In recent years, there has been a real focus on meals being made from scratch, not least because of the negative health implications that comes along with reheated foods, so the demand for highly trained chefs is rising quickly.
Even though the catering industry is well-known for taking on new starters and providing excellent training, there are very few actual qualifications gained through on-the-job training.
With an Apprenticeship in Catering and Professional Chefs, you will gain the practical experience needed to progress, as well as the theory behind the dishes you create. Many of the new starters in this industry see it as a part-time role, so in completing an Apprenticeship, you will have a real advantage when it comes to progression.
Job Roles:
Intermediate Level Apprenticeships:
•School Cook/Chef
•Kitchen Assistant
•Craft Chef – Fine Dining
•Craft Chef – Casual Dining or Restaurants, Hotels and Gastro Pubs
•Commis Chef – Bangladeshi Cuisine
•Wok Chef, Deep Fry Chef – Chinese Cuising
•Cook/Chef – Indian Cuisine
•Stir Fry Specialist, Assistant Chef/Cook – Thai Cuisine
•Commis Chef or Demi Chef or Chef de Partie
Advanced Level Apprenticeships:
•Sous Chef or Senior Chef
•Sous Chef or Senior Chef/Cook – Fine Dining
•Sous Chef or Senior Chef/Cook – Restaurants, Hotels and Gastro Pubs
•Pastry Chef
Hospitality
Work in hospitality is incredibly broad, and can cover hotels, restaurants, bars, pubs, hotels, clubs and more! Essentially the business is all about customer service, whether this is making sure food is served on time or that a hotel room is ready to use.
The hospitality trade is one of the biggest employment sectors, and needs 855,000 new staff by 2017 to replace those leaving the industry.
The advantage of an Apprenticeship in this sector is the formal qualifications you will receive. While the hospitality trade is well known for training up employees, often from scratch, only 3% of that training leads to nationally recognised qualifications. This even extends to managers, who can often be undertrained for their position. This gives apprentices a real kick-start in this sector, with scope for quick progression.
Job Roles:
Intermediate Level Apprenticeships:
•Hospitality Services Assistant
•Waiter/Silver Service Waiter
•Bar/Cellar Person
•Housekeeper/Room Attendant
•Receptionist
Advanced Level Apprenticeships:
•Head Housekeeper
•Head of Reception
•Front of House Manager
•Duty or Hotel Supervisor/Manager
•Regional Supervisor/Manager in a Restaurant or Pub Chain
•Team Leader in Hospitality Retail Outlets
•Supervisor of Hospitality Retail Outlets
The Level
Intermediate Level Apprenticeship
Advanced Level Apprenticeship
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