Three apprenticeship tips to kickstart your career

A list of companies who offer the best apprenticeships has been released, with catering and hospitality company Mitchells & Butlers named the country’s number one apprenticeship employer for 2025.

The rankings celebrate the top 100 apprenticeship employers as well as the top 50 small and medium-sized enterprise apprenticeship employers across England based on criteria such as achievements, diversity and learner feedback. The rankings have been compiled by The Department of Education, along with the RateMyApprenticeship website. You can view both lists here.

Here are some things to consider if you're thinking about whether an apprenticeship might be right for you.

What is an apprenticeship?

In general, an apprenticeship is a paid role that combines hands-on work experience with off-the-job training. You'll usually do four days (or 80% of your time) at work and take one day a week (20%) to study. And you’ll earn while you learn.

Exact apprenticeship opportunities differ depending on where you live, but there are hundreds of roles you can do, at different levels in a variety of careers, including construction, catering, health, education, science, civil engineering and digital technology.

What apprenticeships are there?

Exact opportunities differ depending on where you live, but there are hundreds of apprenticeships you can do, at different levels in a variety of job areas, including construction, catering, health, education, science, civil engineering and digital technology.

To see the answers to some more frequently asked questions about apprenticeships, visit this page.

Apprenticeship myths busted: do you get paid on an apprenticeship?

You may have heard lots of different things about apprenticeships, but how do you know what's the truth and what's just a myth?

We spoke to some apprentices about their experiences and asked them to bust some apprenticeship myths.

On wages, Tay said, "I didn’t start off on minimum wage, and I’ve also had two pay reviews since I started and that was a year ago."

On apprentice qualifications being lesser than college or university, George said, "I feel that the experience you gain working practically on the job on an apprenticeship is invaluable really because it gives you proper practical experience."

On a lack of future career opportunities, Katrina said, "I know what role I’m going to go into when I come off my scheme, and I’ve also been made aware of promotional opportunities I can apply for as well."

You can find out more about Tay, George and Katrina's apprenticeship journey's here.

Bitesize Careers Podcast: Apprenticeship edition

If you’re asking yourself ‘What job can I do?’ The Bitesize Careers Podcast is here for you. Katie Thistleton, along with inspiring young guests and career experts will help you find the answers to your questions in this engaging podcast.

Series one of the Careers Podcast featured an episode about apprenticeships where Katie Thistleton spoke to Jasmine, a marketing apprentice at Amazon, who (spoiler alert) rank quite highly on the Department of Education's Top 100 list!

Jasmine said of her decision to pursue an apprenticeship, "I think I've always been quite a go-getter. Like, I like to get involved. I like to get stuck in. And the more I thought about, you know, studying for like another three years when I knew I really just wanted to go straight into work, the more university just didn't seem like the right choice for me."

You can hear more from Jasmine on the Bitesize Careers Podcast, which can be found here.