Young Apprenticeship
YA/Potential YA
Want to get a head start in life?
If you’re bright- predicted to get 5 GCSEs A* - C…
If you’re motivated – want to give yourself the best chance of securing a good job in the future…
If you’d like real work experience- spending up to 50 days over two years to find out what it’s like working in Health, Social Care or Early Years…then the Young Apprenticeship [YA] programme could be just what you’re looking for.
YAs are a great way for students, like you, to get real and valuable work experience and a recognised vocationally related qualification at the same time. You carry on studying for your GCSEs and do your YA at the same time. It’s a pilot scheme at the moment, which means it’s not available everywhere. If you’re lucky enough to live in an area where it is up and running, check out the FAQs, look through the rest of this site and then ask your school about how to get on it.
YA Case Study - Billy
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Here’s how it works
A local YA Partnership- a group of schools, colleges, training providers and employers working together- will sort out the details of how it will work for you. You’ll spend part of your time at school, part of it with a training provider and the rest at work. The exact mix will depend on what and where you decide to study, and how your partnership is made up. Whilst you’re on the YA, you’ll spend time finding out about Health Care, Social Care and the Early Years sectors in equal proportion, so you’ll get the broadest range of experience and be able to see the career opportunities that you could be taking up in the future.
Who can apply?
As we said earlier, you need to be predicted to get 5 A*-C grades at GCSE. In addition you need to have a proven track record of good attendance and behaviour. Obviously this is important if we are placing you with employers! And along with your obvious enthusiasm and desire to know more about the sector we will need parental/guardian approval. We need to know those who look after you are aware of the programme and support you. Sometimes you may not be back at the usual school closing time if the work experience finishes at 5pm.
What qualifications can I take?
You’ll follow the core National Curriculum and continue to study for your GCSEs whilst you’re at school, but for two days a week (or equivalent) over two years you’ll work towards a nationally recognised Level 2 vocationally related qualification. This would be either the GCSE Health and Social Care Double Award, an OCR National Certificate in Health and Social Care Level 2 or a BTEC 1st Diploma in Health and Social Care Level 2.
What are work placements?
Over the two years you’ll be on the YA programme you’ll get 50 days work experience via placements in the Health, Social Care and Early Years sectors in equal amounts.
The 50 days cross all three sectors, with around 17 days spent in each. Depending on your partnership, this may be:
1. Regular work placements or experiences (either full days or half-days).
2. Block placements of one or more weeks.
3. A combination of these.
YA Case Study - Daniel
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Where will the placements be?
The exact placements will vary, again depending on the partnerships in your area, but they could be in any of the following:
Health Care Places
• Hospital wards
• Outpatients
• Cardiac Rehab
• Health visitors
• Facilities and estates
• Mental Health
• Cardiology
• Audiology
• Radiology
• Prosthetics
• Maxi facial
• Maternity
• Fracture Clinic
• Health Eating Centres
• Pharmacy (both hospital and shop)
• Opticians
• Health Trainers
• Clinical Physics
• Diabetes Centre
• Dentists
• Health clinics
Social Care
• Residential home for older people
• Occupational therapy
• Services for people who have learning disabilities
• Day centres
• Rehabilitation units
- Personal assistant
Domicillary Care
Early Years
• Nurseries
• Schools
• Sure Start establishments
• Playgroups
• Children’s Centres
Each placement will have had health and safety checks to ensure they are safe for you. Staff will know what activities you can and cannot do. For example you won’t be allowed to do any personal care tasks like taking someone to the toilet, or changing a baby’s nappy.
What to expect on a placement
When you arrive you will be assigned a member of staff (or maybe more than one) who will be with you all the time you are there on work experience. You will be shown around the work place and be told where you can and cannot go and what you can and cannot do (this will vary from place to place). You will get to meet the other members of staff and generally be given the opportunity to become familiar with your surroundings and ask questions. You may want to think of a few questions before you go to placements in case you are worried of not having anything to say.
The first time can be a bit scary, but as long as you follow the advice of your placement supervisor you will be fine. Do not be afraid to ask any question, no matter how trivial it seems, to ensure you are comfortable in your surroundings. If in doubt, ask!
YA Case Study - Grantham
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To recap, things you will need to know;
• What time you are expected to arrive and what time you must leave
• What the travel arrangements are to and from the work placement.
• What you must wear.
• Who your supervisor is. Be clear about who you need to report to on arrival at your work placement.
• What you will need to take with you.
• If you are unable to attend on time for any reason, you need to ring the placement, the partnership and your school, so make sure you have the phone numbers.
Important things to remember:
Please don’t be late. You’ll have been given clear information as to where you are going, what time you are expected to arrive and who to report to.
Make sure you’re neat and tidy.
Wear whatever has been specified.
Take along any information that has been supplied to you.
YA Case Study - Harlon
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And finally…
You’ll only get out of the experience what you are willing to put into it. It’s a great opportunity to give yourself a head start, so make the most of it.
What Comes Next
After you have completed your YA there are several options available to you.
FULL-TIME EDUCATION
You may decide to stay on at school to do AS/A levels, or go on to a 6th form college or FE College (Further Education) to take a particular course. If you live in one of the areas offering the new Diplomas you may decide to take that route. You may be able to get some income from an EMA (Education Maintenance Allowance), depending on family income.
GOING INTO WORK
If you don’t want to carry on with full-time education, and you want to apply what you have learnt in the work place then there are other opportunities available for you.
Health and Social Care roles offer you the opportunity to apply yourself directly in the field you have learnt.
In health the type of role you could start with as an Apprentice is within Health Care Support. An Apprentice is the next step on from Young Apprentice, and they start at 16 plus. Being an Apprentice involves assisting other staff on a ward or in a community setting.
The NHS Careers website; http://www.nhscareers.nhs.uk/ provides details of the Healthcare Support role and other roles under “A-Z of Careers”.
In Social Care you would probably start as a Care Assistant possibly in a residential home or in day care. You can check out social care roles under http://www.socialcarecareers.co.uk/
Please note:
Apprenticeship opportunities do vary depending on where you live and what local employers require.
Further Qualifications
There is a wide range of opportunities for YAs to progress to NVQ levels 4 or 5, Foundation Degrees and Higher Education. However, in some cases other entry requirements may be required in addition to having completed an Apprenticeship or Advanced Apprenticeship scheme.
Advanced Apprenticeship
This offers progression to NVQ levels 4 or 5 and Higher Education, as well as some Foundation Degrees. An example of this can be seen in The Skills for Health Foundation Degree Framework, which can be found at http://www.skillsforhealth.org.uk/uploads/page/90/uploadablefile.pdf
See what Ofsted has to say about the YA programme [Click Here]
Find out what others have to say about YA
SEE VIDEO CASE STUDIES BY CLICKING LINKS BELOW
YA Case Study - Joe
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Want the full picture? Check out our Student FAQS.
Parent/guardian? Check out our Parent/guardian FAQs
See how YAs are helping young people to secure employment.