What is an apprenticeship?

An apprenticeship is a real job with a training component. You will be working, earning a wage, gaining a recognised qualification and also gaining essential knowledge, skills and behaviours.

How does an apprenticeship work with Riverside Training?

If you have decided to pursue an apprenticeship, then the first thing you can do is arrange a meeting with a member of the Riverside team. We will take some details from you and advise you what apprenticeship vacancies we have available. We will give you some CV and interview advice too if necessary.

If you see an apprenticeship advertised by Riverside Training that interests you, then we will put your CV forward for that role. Depending on the employer, we will arrange an interview for you (they may contact you directly to arrange one), and can offer interview practice if you feel like it would help. If you are successful at interview and offered the role, then we will get a start date for you, and the employer will confirm what information they need from you. If you are unsuccessful at the interview, then we will make sure we obtain constructive feedback from the employer to help you going forward with other interviews.

You will have a sign up meeting with your Work Based Tutor (WBT) within 2 weeks of you starting. This sign up meeting will officially enrol you onto the apprenticeship. Your WBT will then arrange to contact you every 4 weeks to set you work, conduct observations and help you with anything regarding your qualification. We have an online system called BUD which is where all your work will be set, submitted and marked.

How much will I get paid?

The national minimum wage for an apprentice is currently £3.90 per hour.

Will I have a day off to go to college?

Not with Riverside Training, you will be at your new workplace full time. You will be given set time during your working week to complete any apprenticeship work (20% of the time you will need to be doing this), this is called your ‘off the job’ training.

What is ‘off the job’ training?

Off the job training is learning which is undertaken outside of the normal day-to-day working environment and leads towards the achievement of an apprenticeship. For 20% of the time you are working, you will need to be completing your off the job training. For example, if you were working 37.5 hours per week, then you would need to be allocating 7.5 hours per week to your OTJ training. This time is for you to complete your apprenticeship work, online courses, shadowing colleagues, receiving internal training, conducting research and generally increasing your knowledge and skills – or anything else that is not considered to be part of your usual workload. This all needs to be evidenced in order for it to lead towards achieving your qualification.

Do I have a Work Based Tutor?

Yes, you will be assigned a WBT who will contact and meet with you regularly, and help you throughout your qualification. Once every 12 weeks they will also complete a review with you and your line manager, or another representative of your employer.

Will I need to complete my apprenticeship work at home?

No, due to the OTJ training, you shouldn’t need to complete your apprenticeship work at home during the evenings or weekends, as you get given set time to do this during your working week.

Can I do an Apprenticeship part time?

You can, as long as you are in the correct role and the employer is happy for this to happen. It will just mean that the apprenticeship will take longer to complete.

What are Functional Skills?

Functional Skills are the fundamental skills in English, Maths and ICT that people need for their working and personal lives. Apprentices who have not already achieved a GCSE grade 4-9/C-A* or equivalent in their English and Maths (or ICT for some qualifications) will need to complete their Functional Skills in these areas alongside the apprenticeship.

Will I be safe at the place of work?

Yes, we only work with employers who will look after and support their apprentices. We conduct a health and safety assessment with all new employers, and these get reviewed regularly depending on the risk level identified at the specific place of employment – typically this is every 1-3 years. We have multiple policies and procedures in place, and all of our staff are trained to recognise and support our learners in the workplace and to follow the internal safeguarding policy which is reviewed on an annual basis. We have two designated Safeguarding Officers who you can contact if you ever have any concerns.

Does it cost me anything to do an apprenticeship?

It won’t cost you anything to complete an apprenticeship, you will not have to pay to complete the qualification.

What happens afterwards?

You will achieve your qualification! A lot of employers we work with take their apprentice on full time after they have completed the qualification, although this can never be guaranteed. If you’re not able to stay on, then you will have gained a year’s experience and a qualification which will definitely put you in good stead for applying for other jobs. You may be able to progress onto the next level of your qualification, for example if you started on a Business Administration Level 2 qualification, you could progress onto the Business Administration Level 3. Some of our qualifications give you the option to become an affiliate member of the awarding organisation as well.