Civil Service apprenticeships

There is no single Civil Service apprenticeship scheme. Each department and agency decides how many apprentices to take, which jobs they cover and what they pay, then advertises them on Civil Service Jobs alongside ordinary vacancies. Searching that site for “apprentice” or “apprenticeship” is the quickest way to see what is open.

What the apprenticeships cover

Departments run apprenticeships in areas that match their work: business and administration, customer service, digital and technology, data and analysis, project delivery, finance, HR, commercial and procurement, and some operational roles. Most entry-level apprentices join at the lowest delegated grades, administrative assistant (AA) or administrative officer (AO), and some higher apprenticeships sit at executive officer (EO) level or above. The AO role and the EO role have their own guides.

An apprenticeship is a job first. You are a civil servant with a contract, a line manager and a department, and you study for the qualification alongside the work, with part of your paid week set aside for it.

What you are paid

Each department sets its own pay ranges, so there is no national scale to quote. The legal floor is the National Minimum Wage apprentice rate, £8.00 an hour for apprentices under 19 and for those aged 19 or over in their first year. After that, age-based rates apply: £10.85 an hour for 18 to 20, and the National Living Wage of £12.71 an hour from 21. Many departments pay above these figures, and the salary on the advert is the number that counts.

Civil Service employees can usually join the Civil Service pension scheme, and member contribution rates for 2026/27 start at 4.6% on pay up to £36,199. Check the advert or ask HR whether apprentices are eligible from day one. The grades and pay guide shows how the grade structure fits together.

Who can apply

UK nationals, including dual nationals, can apply for any post. About 75% of posts are also open to Commonwealth citizens and EEA nationals, and the conditions for EEA, Swiss and Turkish nationals are in Annex A of the Cabinet Office nationality rules. Reserved posts, linked to national security, are open to UK nationals only. The advert states the nationality requirement for the job in question.

Apprenticeship adverts also carry an age or education requirement set by the apprenticeship standard and the funding rules. Some schemes are aimed at school and college leavers, others at adults changing careers. Read the eligibility section carefully, because it is a common reason for applications being sifted out.

How selection works

Departments assess applicants with Success Profiles, a framework of five elements: Behaviours, Strengths, Ability, Experience and Technical. An apprenticeship application usually asks for a CV or short form, a personal statement or examples of behaviours, and often an online test. Civil Service Success Profiles explained shows how the elements fit together, and Civil Service behaviours covers writing the examples. Online tests are covered in Civil Service online tests.

Disability Confident applies in many departments: opt in and meet the minimum criteria and you can be offered an interview, though not the job itself. See Disability Confident and guaranteed interviews.

Security checks and timing

Most posts need pre-employment checks, including identity, right to work and a baseline security check, and some need higher clearance that takes longer. Start dates can therefore fall several weeks after an offer. Departments usually say when checks should finish. If you are changing jobs or finishing college, ask for a realistic start date before you hand in notice.

Where to start

Create an account on Civil Service Jobs and set up an alert for apprenticeships in your area. The how to use Civil Service Jobs guide covers searching, alerts and the application form. If you are still deciding between routes, how to get into the Civil Service compares them, and apprenticeships in the public sector gives the wider view across employers.