All UK employers can upskill their workforce using Apprenticeship Funds
Many of our new apprenticeships include the learning to gain valuable professional qualifications, such as CIPS, CIH, AAT, BCS, APM PMQ & PFQ, PropertyMark, or TPI, making them a very attractive and cost-effective way to attract, retain and develop the workforce.
You can see the most popular Top 100 UK apprenticeships here.
By filling gaps in occupational knowledge and skill, employees will increase their confidence, competence and career capability, and organisations benefit, by increasing their productivity.
10 Common Apprenticeship Misunderstandings & Myths
Apprenticeships are only for young people
Incorrect. Apprenticeships are for employees aged 16 and above! There is no upper age limit! At The Apprentice Academy 11% of our learners are aged 16-18, 38% are aged 19-24, 27% are aged 25-34, 15% are aged 35-44 and 9% are aged 45-67. There is always something new for employees to learn, to support their personal and professional growth!
Apprenticeships are only for new employees
Incorrect. Apprenticeships are designed to increase the career capability and productivity of the whole UK workforce – for new and existing employees regardless of tenure.
If you’ve got a university degree, you can’t do an Apprenticeship
Incorrect. Employees can have university degrees and master qualifications before commencing an Apprenticeship. The only caveat is that they cannot already hold a qualification in the same subject area as the apprenticeship, at the same level or higher. For example, if someone has a degree in Computer Science and wants to do Level 3 Data Technician Apprenticeship, then they would not be eligible.
If you have A levels, then you must do a Level 4 or Higher Apprenticeship
Incorrect. Each Apprenticeship aligns to an occupational role which specifies the Knowledge, Skills and Behaviours needed to perform the occupation to full competency. A levels rarely exclude learners from starting level 2 or level 3 Apprenticeships because the knowledge they already have is different to the knowledge and skill they will learn in the Apprenticeship.
If you have done a level 3 Apprenticeship already, then you can’t do another Level 3 Apprenticeship
Incorrect. The level of the Apprenticeship correlates to the skills being done within an occupational role. If an employee moves into a new occupation that is different, then they can commence a new Apprenticeship at the same level or lower!
Apprenticeships relate to low skilled jobs
Incorrect. Apprenticeships fill gaps in occupational knowledge and skills up to level 7, which is the equivalent to a Masters’ qualification. There are now over 900 Apprenticeship Standards which cover most occupations in the UK. Each Apprenticeship outlines with the necessary knowledge skills and behaviors needed to enable employees to perform at their highest optimum level.
You must do Maths & English as part of an Apprenticeship
Incorrect. Learners who are aged 16-18 must study Maths and English Functional Skills as part of their Apprenticeship (only if they do not already have the minimum grades specified in the eligibility criteria). Learners aged 19 + are not required to study Maths and English (regardless of previous grades) ,but do have the option to study and sit these additional qualifications, if they want to.
Apprenticeships take too long
In June 2025 the government reduced the minimum learning period to 8 months for Apprenticeships (from 12 months) and provided new guidance on the total hours of learning required for each programme. The end point assessment period requires additional time. This means that learners who want to complete their Apprenticeships quicker, now have more flexibility to do this. Typical completion times at The Apprentice Academy will now range from 10 months to 18 months.
Also, in April 2026, the government introduced Apprenticeship Units, allowing employers to have greater flexibility to use their apprenticeship funds for shorter, targeted courses.
Once you start an Apprenticeship you can’t stop it
Incorrect. Learners have the option to take breaks and can even transfer their learning to new employers and new training providers if they need to.
Apprenticeship start dates are only once a year
Incorrect. This depends on the training provider and the training schedules they provide. At The Apprentice Academy we run a suite of Apprenticeships that are very popular, which means new cohorts start regularly throughout the year.
The table below reveals the age ranges of learners who have enrolled on our apprenticeships over the last 10 years.
Eligibility criteria for employees to do an Apprenticeship:
- The employee must be aged 16 or above (there is no upper age limit)
- The employee can work full or part time hours
- The employee works for a company in England
- The employee spends > 50% of their time working in England (remote and hybrid workers included)
- The employee has some gaps in their knowledge and skill that relates to their occupational role
- The employee has the right to work in England
- The employee has spent the last 3 years living in England
Apprenticeships play a crucial role in developing the UK workforce, by helping organisations to increase employee performance and business productivity. The Apprenticeship Reforms introduced in 2017 have radically changed how apprenticeships are designed, delivered, who is eligible and how they are funded.
Popular Apprenticeships:
The Apprentice Academy have a dedicated team focused on helping organisations to understand and make the best use of the apprenticeship funding available to them. For information on programmes due to start over the next couple of months please visit our timetables page.
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