Apprenticeships in the public sector

Public sector employers offer apprenticeships at every level, from level 2 (equivalent to GCSEs) to degree and master’s level, in roles from healthcare support and business admin to nursing, social work, digital and policing. You are employed and paid while you train. The legal minimum for apprentices under 19, or in their first year, is £8.00 an hour from 1 April 2026. Most NHS, Civil Service and council apprentices are paid considerably more because they are placed on a pay band or grade.

Apprenticeship levels

Level	Name	Equivalent education level
2	Intermediate	GCSE
3	Advanced	A level
4 and 5	Higher	Foundation degree or higher national diploma
6 and 7	Degree	Bachelor’s or master’s degree

Each apprenticeship follows a standard that sets out what you will learn and how you will be assessed at the end. Part of your paid time goes on off-the-job training, either at college, at a university, online, or with a training provider coming to your workplace. Degree apprentices end up with the same degree as a full-time student, without paying tuition fees.

What apprentices are paid

The national minimum rates from 1 April 2026 are:

• £8.00 an hour for apprentices aged under 19, and for apprentices of any age in the first year
• after the first year, the age-related rate: £10.85 at 18 to 20, and the National Living Wage of £12.71 from 21

In practice, public employers usually pay more. Many NHS trusts put apprentices on an Agenda for Change band. Civil Service apprentices are typically employed at AO or EO grade and paid that grade’s salary. Councils often place apprentices on the bottom points of the NJC spine or on their own apprentice rates. The advert gives the actual salary. See National Living Wage and minimum wage rates 2026 for the full table, and the take-home pay calculator to see what a salary works out at after deductions.

Employers pay no employer National Insurance on earnings up to £50,270 a year for apprentices under 25, and larger employers pay the Apprenticeship Levy (0.5 per cent of their pay bill, with a £15,000 allowance) into a fund they can spend on training. That is part of why big public employers run so many apprenticeship schemes.

Where the apprenticeships are

NHS

Trusts run apprenticeships in healthcare support, pharmacy, business admin, estates, IT and finance, and higher-level routes into registered professions: nursing associate, nursing, operating department practice, physiotherapy and others. Many degree-level places go to existing staff. See NHS apprenticeships and Nursing degree apprenticeship.

Civil Service

Departments recruit apprentices in business admin, digital and data, finance, project delivery, commercial, policy and other professions, usually through central campaigns. Nationality rules apply as for other Civil Service jobs. Civil Service apprenticeships covers the process.

Councils

Councils offer apprenticeships across their services, including admin, customer service, social care, planning, surveying, accountancy, highways, horticulture and vehicle maintenance. Social work degree apprenticeships are also common for existing council staff. Adverts appear on council sites and on myjobscotland in Scotland.

Schools

Schools take teaching assistant apprentices, and apprentices in school business support and site roles. For teaching itself, England offers a postgraduate teaching apprenticeship for graduates, with grants matching the bursary amounts for some subjects, and a teacher degree apprenticeship is being piloted in maths.

Police, fire and armed forces

Some police forces recruit constables through a degree apprenticeship route, alongside other entry routes; see How to become a police constable. Fire services and the armed forces also train recruits through apprenticeship programmes, often built into basic training.

Apprenticeships for existing staff

You do not have to be a new starter. Many public employers use apprenticeships to train people already on their payroll, for example a healthcare assistant moving into nursing associate training, or a council admin officer studying for an accountancy or project management apprenticeship. You usually stay on your existing salary and contract while you study. If you already work in the public sector, ask your manager or learning and development team what is funded, since these internal places are often advertised only to staff.

How to apply

In England, the gov.uk “find an apprenticeship” service lists vacancies, including many public sector ones. Public employers also advertise on their usual sites: NHS Jobs, Civil Service Jobs, council careers pages and Teaching Vacancies. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland run their own apprenticeship programmes and websites, with different names and rules.

Applications are judged like other public sector jobs, against a person specification. For entry-level apprenticeships, employers look mainly for reliability, motivation and basic English and maths. Some require particular GCSE grades, while others let you take functional skills qualifications during the apprenticeship instead. Higher-level apprenticeships ask for evidence that you can cope with study alongside work, and degree apprenticeships in nursing or social work usually carry the same entry requirements as the university course.

Before you accept, check the length of the apprenticeship, what happens at the end, who the training provider is and how much of your week is set aside for study. Apprentices have the same rights as other employees, including holiday, sick pay under the employer’s scheme and pension membership.