If you have taken my advice so far, you may have had a look on Young Professionals and on the Government apprenticeship search page and started your list.
I recommend you make a spreadsheet and note in it –
- company name
- company website
- contact address
- date apprenticeship applications open
- make extra columns for you to record your application progress
My son applied for around 60 apprenticeships until he got one, so prepare to have a very extensive spreadsheet!
It is also a good idea to note in a calendar or diary when certain apprenticeships open to applications so you can be quick off the mark – some close when they have had a certain amount of applications so not all deadlines are fixed. Although it is not a good idea to rush an application, do make sure you do it as soon as you can.
We identified a few business areas of interest – it is a good idea not too be too closed to different opportunities as the application process is brutal and you may not hear anything at all from some companies – others you will receive a no the second after you’ve submitted your application (there are a lot of algorithms out there!).
We looked at Business Consulting, Finance, Insurance and Reinsurance, Construction Management (including Quantity Surveying, which is where we ended up!) and banking. Youth Employment has a useful careers guide which may help you find your direction, or more than one area of employment that you are interested in https://www.youthemployment.org.uk/careers-hub/ you will also find a comprehensive list in https://apprenticeshipguide.co.uk/apprenticeship-by-industry-sector/ and in https://www.ratemyapprenticeship.co.uk
Springpod have a range of virtual work experience programmes that you can sign up to. This can be a great help in deciding which path you want to take and if a career is right for you. It is also a useful thing to add to your CV. https://www.springpod.com/virtual-work-experience/search
Apart from the obvious large companies in these sectors, there are many more large to medium sized companies who offer apprenticeships so internet searches will reveal many more companies than you can bring to mind. Young Professionals work with some businesses to help them find apprentices, but not all of them, and mainly the big players so if you have the strength to keep searching, your time will not be wasted.
Just to start you off, here are a few –
Consulting/accountancy – Ernst and Young, DeLoitte, KPMG, BDO, Price Waterhouse Cooper, IBM, BBC Business
Banking – HSBC, Barclays, Credit Suisse, Bank of America
Insurance and Reinsurance – AON, Willis Towers Watson, Lloyds
Construction – Laing O’Rourke, Skanska, JLL, Turner and Townsend, Transport for London, Thames Water, Savills
Insurance companies were particularly hard to search for, but I discovered that if I searched for ‘insurance and reinsurance London’ and then used the map option on my search, lots of companies were revealed and I could click onto their websites to see if they offered apprenticeships. I know that sounds rather complicated, but I am a determined researcher!
I have put some links to company apprenticeship sites in the last section on my homepage
https://young-professionals.uk/
Apprenticeships UK 