Apprenticeships are available at two levels. They last between 2 and 4 years, providing individuals with vocational education, key skills, on-the-job training, and an NVQ.
Given industry's need for skilled technicians and craft employees, an Apprenticeship provides the skills necessary to make a real contribution in the workplace, both now and in the future.
EEF in your region can signpost you to the right sources of information on - how to set a programme up, how to recruit the best candidates, and where to go for guidance during the apprenticeship.
EEF also has a Model Contract of Employment for Apprentices available to members - download it here.
To advertise engineering apprenticeship vacancies, go to the EEF’s apprenticeship website
To find out more about how Apprenticeships operate, go to SEMTA (the Sector Skills Council for Science, Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies. This site has details of the content of both levels of Apprenticeship in Engineering.
For more information on government support for apprenticeships, go to their website.
Stop press - October 2006
The new age discrimination legislation being introduced from 1st October 2006 could potentially affect recruitment onto apprenticeship programmes. EEF has written a guide on age which is free to members to download (or £40 for a print version) and £60 for non-members - see here for details.