1. Alternatives to University
The Apprenticeship route

2. Apprenticeships
Students with A levels should ideally seek to obtain a Higher Apprenticeship- a level 4 qualification- or higher see below.
However in many employment areas there may only be Advanced Apprenticeships at least to start with) which are Level 3 -equivalent to 2 A levels.
It is also possible now to enter a Degree Apprenticeship where you work but also get a degree. These are new and not easy to get- but great if you can- a degree with no debt!
There are helpful documents about apprenticeships on Moodle and the Website to help you with this.

3. Finding out more about Apprenticeships
On Moodle and the website there are 2 useful documents if you want to find out more about what an apprenticeship is:
‘New degree apprenticeships from September 2015’
‘Apprenticeship handout for students 1’

4. Why we still want you to register for UCAS
1) It is common for students to change their mind about apprenticeships and decide to go to University. One reason is good apprenticeships can be very competitive and not easy to obtain.
2) Having all your details in one place that your form tutor can see is a good starting place for when you want to use the information in an application or a CV.

5. What you need to do. 1) Research possible apprenticeships
2) Produce an excellent and faultless C.V.
3) Produce a Personal Statement- that can be easily modified into a covering letter or used in an application form.

6. Task One – Research Apprenticeships
Use the following links to investigate apprenticeships. You can also use other sites through the internet.
You need to decide which employment sectors you want to work in. (financial services, hospitality etc.…) – make sure you know exactly what each sector is about.
You need to decide where you want to work - are you prepared to live away from home? If not how far are you prepared to commute?
What level of apprenticeship is available in your favoured employment sectors.
And finally what employers are there and what are their details. What are the pay and conditions
As part of this Task we want you to register for the National Apprenticeship Service and CareerFinder on UCAS (see links below) –to show you are serious about looking for a position
You need to produce a document detailing you findings so that the school can see you are serious about Apprenticeships -we will use it to organise mock interviews and a careers interview to help you further. Please hand this document to the Sixth Form Office by 8 July- so we know your intentions
apprenticeships and traineeships UCAS web site
findapprenticeship.service.gov.uk
careerfinder.ucas.com

7. Task Two- Produce (or update) your C.V
There are many possible formats for a C.V. But you will need to upload your C.V. as part of any apprenticeship recruitment process.
Use the suggested format in the template on Moodle/WG6 website but you are free to use headers, footers, lines and so on to create your own look.
C.V.s must be perfect- not one misspelt word or missing comma or full stop – a common recruitment practice is to eliminate applicants by faulty C.V.s and the more applicants the more rigorous the checks- be warned!
The C.V. needs to be handed in to the Sixth Form office with your Apprenticeship research document by 8 July

8. Task Three- Personal Statement
The Personal Statement. You need to show potential employers that you have the interest and aptitude for the role they are offering. You can use this Personal Statement in an application form or adapt it to make a covering letter for applications which want a letter plus C.V.
If you decide later to go down the UCAS route you will already have a Personal Statement to work on
You need to produce a C.V. for your form tutor by 6 July