Within these pages are listed all the apprenticeships offered across the country, as Kate Ridley-Pepper, Director of Apprenticeships for the Department for Work and Pensions, explains:
As the Director responsible for Apprenticeships at the Department for Work and Pensions, it gives me great pleasure to write this foreword for the Apprenticeship Guide 2026-2027.
This guide has rightly been described as an apprenticeship encyclopaedia. Within its pages you will find every current apprenticeship available across England, along with information on progression routes, salary expectations and the many benefits and advantages of embarking on an apprenticeship. You will also find guidance on how Skills England’s occupational maps can help you understand career pathways and choose an apprenticeship that aligns with your long-term goals.
For employers, this guide gives an overview of the variety of apprenticeships available to benefit their businesses and their whole workforce, from new recruits to existing employees. For teachers, parents and carers, it offers an insight into the wide range of careers that apprenticeships support and the fantastic progression and personal development opportunities they provide.
Apprenticeships are available from the age of 16, and from Level 2 (GCSE equivalent) through to Level 6, including degree apprenticeships that let you work toward a degree while employed. An apprenticeship is a job with training that blends learning and earning – you will gain real workplace experience and financial independence from the start, with no tuition fees as your training is funded by your employer and the government. There are high-quality apprenticeships available in over 650 occupations, many of them in Skills England’s priority sectors where job growth is expected to be strongest by 2030, including advanced manufacturing, clean energy, digital technologies, life sciences and healthcare.
If you are a young person thinking about your future, apprenticeships are designed with you in mind. We are committed to helping 50,000 more young people get started, because everyone deserves a real opportunity to build a career they are proud of. We have introduced foundation apprenticeships to make that first step easier — launched in August 2025 across construction, engineering and manufacturing, digital, and health and social care, and now expanding into retail and hospitality. These programmes bridge the gap between education and employment, offering a structured pathway into your chosen industry, while employers receive up to £2,000 for every foundation apprentice they take on.
We have also launched apprenticeship units as part of our wider Growth and Skills Offer. These short, flexible courses – lasting between 30 and 140 hours and delivered over a period of one to 16 weeks – are designed to help employers upskill existing employees aged 19 and over in the critical skills that businesses need most. The current offer includes units in AI leadership, battery manufacturing, electric vehicle charging, solar PV installation and welding, supporting the clean energy, digital and advanced manufacturing sectors where skilled workers are in greatest demand.
I am sure you will be inspired by the case studies throughout this guide, demonstrating that apprenticeships are open to all. I wish you every success on your exciting apprenticeship journey.
Kate Ridley-Pepper, Director of Work Based Skills, Department for Work and Pensions
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