Apprenticeships

Claire_MUFC · 2 April 2013 at 7:36PM

Hey everyone,

I'm unemployed and on the Work Programme. My advisor and a few other people have all recommended applying for apprenticeships, which is what I have been doing.

However, I have now noticed a bit of a problem. Last week I did this Level 2 NVQ Business Administration course and passed it.

Going through a lot of the Apprenticeships on the national apprenticeship site, a lot of them under the training to be provided bit have this NVQ Level two Business Admin qualification listed. I.e. like this one:
L2 NVQ Certificate in Business and Administration
L2 Certificate in Principles of Business and Administration
Functional Skills in English, Mathematics, Information Communication Technology

Is there any point in applying for them if I already have one of the qualifications that they are training you for ?

Hope someone understand what I mean.

Thank you

elvis1 · 2 April 2013 at 9:43PM

Claire, it is worth applying for anyway. Not sure how your NVQ was done as most are work related now and last a few months.

Not sure if I have misread your message but it sounds like you did a NVQ in a week which to me is not the full qualification. My apologies if I have read it wrong.

You have got nothing to lose applying for it and fingers crossed you get one.:j

Claire_MUFC · 2 April 2013 at 10:06PM

Hi,

Thank you for your reply. Yeah, it was through the Work Programme. We did it in four days. There was like four units, and we got told it was a level 2 NVQ.

saintjammyswine · 3 April 2013 at 9:13AM

If you have completed one of the elements of an apprenticeship already then this will go towards your apprenticeship and you will not need to repeat it.

The provider will not claim funding for this element either.

This could be to your advantage as you will not need to be released for this element of the framework and could save the employer some of the training fees (if they apply).

mixenvixen · 3 April 2013 at 3:04PM

It could still be a really good idea to do an apprenticeship even if you already have the qualification. An apprenticeship is a form of work based learning, so would give you some great extra work experience to put on your CV. Many apprentices also get taken on by the employer after the apprenticeship has finished.

The only big downside I would say is the apprenticeship NMW (£2.65 an hour). If you are just in receipt of JSA then I imagine this would put you in a much better financial position. However if you are also receiving housing benefit (which most apprentices are not entitled too) realistically this could leave you in a very desperate situation to live on. However I am not a benefits expert- so don't hold me to that!

You can do level 3 apprenticeships and even higher, so perhaps you could expand on the qualifications you already have? I know you mentioned the ones you had found are only listing level 2- have you contemplated going through your phone book and approaching employers directly? I'm not quite sure which website you have currently been using so I have included some helpful links below! Best of luck!

https://www.apprenticeships.org.uk
https://www.notgoingtouni.co.uk/
https://www.plotr.co.uk/