What’s the minimum age requirement for an apprenticeship?
The minimum age requirement for an intermediate (entry-level or Level 2) apprenticeship is 16 years old.
It’s pretty rare to be accepted into one before this because you’ll need to demonstrate some minimum qualification achievements at Secondary level. Although, that being said, some people have started one at the age of 15 depending on their educational background. So, you may just be one of those lucky few.
What’s the age requirement for the different apprenticeship levels?
Whilethe minimum age requirement is 16 years old, some apprenticeships are a bitdifferent. This is mainly a reflection of the level of study you’ll be workingtowards, and your education provider wanting to make sure there’s a minimumlevel of academic achievement to be able to do this successfully.
Here’sa breakdown of what the minimum age requirements are per apprenticeship level:
Intermediate Apprenticeship: Minimum age requirement of 16 years, although possible to start one at 15 if you can demonstrate educational requirements.
Advanced Apprenticeship: Minimum age requirement of 16 years.
Higher Apprenticeship: Minimum age requirement of 18 years. As these are a higher level of study, you will need to be 18 to get into one, demonstrated a substantial academic background.
What about degree apprenticeships?
Degree apprenticeships are as high up as you can go in terms of the level you’ll be studying. As with all other university courses, you’ll need to be at least 18 years old to be eligible for one.
If you’re interested in a degree apprenticeship in order to complete a postgraduate (level 7) qualification, you’ll need to demonstrate how you meet the educational requirements (usually a bachelor’s) and so the age requirement will be higher purely to reflect that you have met this.
Can you be too old to do an apprenticeship?
Absolutely not! Unlike the minimum requirements, there are no upper thresholds for apprenticeships when it comes to age.
Apprenticeshipshave been designed to help anyone of any age get into the career path that theywant, and as such, employers are not allowed to discriminate or set upper agelimits for eligibility to get onto on.
Withsome mature apprentices looking to retrain in new areas, such as Terry Robinson -one of the UK’s oldest apprentices at 70 years old! - it’s fantastic to seethese opportunities open to everyone.
AsTerry himself says:
“You're never too old to learn new things.”
We couldn’t agree more! And if you're ready to get started, there are over 12,000 apprenticeship opportunities on Springpod for you to explore and apply, see them below!
