Which apprenticeship is right for me?

Financial Services Apprenticeships are a great opportunity to make a start on your career in the Financial Services sector, while also studying for an industry recognised qualification such as CeMAP.

There is a wide variety of apprenticeships available and it’s important to pick the right one for you. You’ll need to research the opportunities available carefully to pick one that will kick-start your career and help you achieve your goals.

In this blog post, we’ll take a look at the aspects you need to consider when you’re choosing an apprenticeship. We’ll explain what you should look for in an apprenticeship training provider, how to choose the right apprenticeship level and what to expect once your apprenticeship gets underway.

How to choose an apprenticeship

Undertaking an apprenticeship is a serious commitment that could take up to two years to complete, so it’s important to choose the right apprenticeship to suit your goals. If you can’t find a suitable one right now, it’s better to keep looking than to accept an apprenticeship simply because it’s the only one available at the time.

Here are some of the factors that you need to consider:

Potential employers

Take some time to research potential employers and make sure that the company you pick is one that you’d like to work for. You can also look into the job role on offer to make sure that it fits with your career goals.

It’s also a good idea to research the opportunities for progression within the company. If possible, try to find out how many apprentices stay on at the company after they have completed their apprenticeship. The company website is a good place to start your research.

Training Providers

You should also research the training provider who will be delivering the academic training included in your apprenticeship.

It’s important to pick a training provider who has plenty of experience in your chosen industry and has a good track record for apprenticeship training. For instance, Simply Academy has been designing and delivering financial apprenticeships training since 2017 and our staff are highly experienced in this field.

Be sure to confirm the qualifications, subjects and grades that you’ll need for your chosen apprenticeship course, as well as any essential skills and qualities that will help to support your application.

Course choices

Make sure that you pick an apprenticeship that fits well with your career ambitions.

For example, if you would eventually like to work as a financial adviser, the Financial Services Administrator Apprenticeship is a great introduction to the sector. On the other hand, a mortgage advisor course like our Mortgage Adviser Apprenticeship is better suited to prospective mortgage advisers.

Apprenticeship levels

You should also consider which apprenticeship level is suitable for your current position and where you want to progress to. This depends on the experience and qualifications that you currently have as well the goals you want to achieve.

Which apprenticeship level is right for me?

There are seven different levels of apprenticeship, ranging from GCSE level study up to postgraduate degree level study. At Simply Academy, we offer Level 3 and Level 4 Financial Services apprenticeships.

Our Mortgage Adviser apprenticeship and other Level 3 apprenticeships are equivalent to A level study and generally take 15 months to complete. To enrol on a level 3 apprenticeship, you will usually need to have five GCSEs at grades A*-C or 5-9, including English and Maths.

Level 4 apprenticeships, like our Financial Advisor apprenticeship, are equivalent to Foundation Degree study and take around 24 months to complete. If you would like to enrol on a Level 4 apprenticeship, you will generally need to have Level 3 qualifications as well as the GCSEs listed above. The Level 3 qualifications could be A levels, NVQs or a BTEC and these may need to be in subjects that are relevant to your chosen apprenticeship. You could also do a Level 3 apprenticeship before progressing onto the Level 4 apprenticeship.

Our blog post has more information about the different apprenticeship levels and requirements for apprenticeships.

What to expect from an apprenticeship

An apprenticeship involves studying for an industry-recognised qualification combined with work in a real job. This gives you the opportunity to gain valuable experience within your chosen industry and allows you to put your newly acquired knowledge into practice in a real-life environment.

Because apprenticeships are designed to meet the requirements of employers, you can be sure that you’ll be learning the exact skills that are needed to do your new job successfully.

The apprenticeship standard for your chosen profession will outline the training you’ll receive and how you will be assessed. And your training provider will assign a mentor who will support your progress and help to keep your learning on track.

If you’d like to know more about financial services apprenticeships, our expert Apprenticeships team can help. You can contact them by email at [email protected] or by phone on Freephone 0808 208 0002