Within these pages are listed all the apprenticeships offered across the country, as Kate Ridley-Pepper, Director of Work Based Skills at the Department for Education, explains:
As the Director responsible for Apprenticeships at the Department for Education, it gives me great pleasure to write this foreword for the Apprenticeship Guide 2026.
What does this guide provide for apprentices? It has been described as an apprenticeship encyclopaedia, as within its pages are listed all of the current apprenticeships offered across England. As well as this, readers will discover more about opportunities for progression, salary expectations and the many benefits and advantages of embarking on an apprenticeship. You’ll 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 own businesses and their whole workforce, from new recruits to existing employees. For teachers, parents and carers, this guide offers an insight into the wide range of careers that apprenticeships support and will show you the fantastic progression and personal development opportunities that apprenticeships offer.
Apprenticeships at all levels
Apprenticeships are available from the age of 16+, and from Level 2 (GCSE equivalent) through to Levels 6 and 7, including degree apprenticeships that let you work toward a degree while employed. They are for young people starting their careers, existing employees enhancing their skills and workers retraining in a new occupation. We have also introduced greater flexibility with shorter-duration apprenticeships, making these opportunities even more accessible to a wider range of learners and employers.
Whether you’ve just received your A-level results or are considering your next career step, apprenticeships offer a high-quality alternative to academic or classroom-based qualifications. They provide an excellent opportunity for young people and adults to take up employment whilst also gaining the necessary knowledge and skills the need to progress in their chosen career.
An apprenticeship is a job with training that blends learning and earning. Through a combination of on-the-job and off-the-job training, an apprenticeship will enable you to be competent in a specific occupation whilst working on real projects and gaining financial independence from the start. Your training is funded by your employer and the government, so there are no tuition fees.
There are high-quality apprenticeships available in over 650 occupations. Many of these opportunities are in Skills England’s priority sectors where job growth is expected to be strongest by 2030, including advanced manufacturing, clean energy, creative industries, digital technologies, financial services, life sciences, and healthcare.
Foundation apprenticeships
We recognise that it can sometimes be challenging for young people who have a general idea of their career direction but need support to take those crucial first steps. Similarly, employers seeking to recruit young talent want assurance that candidates are committed and possess the essential employability skills to make a meaningful contribution to their business. This is why we have introduced foundation apprenticeships as a key component of our Growth and Skills offer, providing
accessible entry points into exciting career pathways.
Foundation apprenticeships launched in August 2025 across seven key sectors: construction, engineering and manufacturing, digital, and health and social care. These programmes are specifically designed to bridge the gap between education
and employment, offering young people a structured pathway into their chosen industry. To encourage employer participation, we provide up to £2,000 for every foundation apprentice they take on and retain, demonstrating our commitment to supporting both learners and businesses in this vital initiative.
We are already seeing strong demand for foundation apprenticeships to expand into additional sectors that support our growth agenda, including hospitality, and work is underway to make this happen.
Shorter duration apprenticeships
We’ve also introduced shorter duration apprenticeships, which are now being delivered with the new minimum duration changing in legislation to 8 months. This is a direct result of what industry has told us – that there are clear circumstances where a learner can achieve full occupational competence more quickly than the current 12month minimum.
Degree apprenticeships
Degree level apprenticeships offer a unique opportunity to combine degree-level study with being in a job and earning from day one.There’s a wide range of professional careers you can begin through an apprenticeship with over 100 undergraduate-level apprenticeships available, across a range of industries and sectors.
Degree apprenticeships allow you to ‘earn as you learn’ and achieve a degree from some of our best universities. With a degree apprenticeship, you’ll earn the samequalification as a full-time university student—but you will gain years of industry
experience. You’ll be working on real projects, earning a salary, and gaining financial independence from the start.
Degree apprentices put their training into practice straight away in the workplace and build vital experience on their CVs. Employers offering degree apprenticeships work in partnership with universities, colleges and training providers across England to provide alternative degree courses that are recognised in the same way as full-time degrees.
If you’re wondering where the opportunities are, Skills England has identified ten priority sectors where job growth is expected to be strongest by 2030. These include areas like advanced manufacturing, clean energy, creative industries, digital technologies, financial services, life sciences, and healthcare. Many of these growing sectors actively recruit apprentices, putting you on a path into some of the UK’s most dynamic and expanding industries.
Not all degree-level apprenticeships include a degree qualification—for some you will receive recognition from a professional body, such as the Health & Care Professions Council.
High-Quality training
As we move forward as a country, we will continue to build on the strong foundations we have created. By updating apprenticeship standards, improving the quality of training delivered and introducing new flexibilities, we will make sure businesses and individuals can continue to benefit from the opportunities apprenticeships provide.
I am sure you will be inspired by the variety of case studies, demonstrating that apprenticeships are open to all. Whether you learn best by doing, want to startearning straight away, or have a clear career interest, there’s an apprenticeship pathway that could be right for you.
I wish you all the very best and the greatest success on your exciting apprenticeship journey.
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