As we gear up for National Apprenticeships Week 2012, here are 12 crucial facts about apprenticeships you may not have known...

1. Apprenticeships in England date back to the twelfth century. Originally, a minor would be indentured to a ‘master craftsman’ until the age of 21. He graduated from his apprenticeship on production of a ‘masterpiece’.

2. Creative Apprenticeships have only been around since 2008, but there are already over 900 of them in the UK.

3. An apprenticeship typically lasts 9 months. The next stage could be the next apprenticeship level up, full employment with the apprenticeship employer or a colleague, or just increased experience and some good contacts to take to the next job.

4. Currently, nearly 6 out of 10 apprentices stay on with their employer after their apprenticeship.

5. An Apprentice typically spends one day a week on ‘day release’ at a local college, four at work. However, it is becoming increasingly common for colleges to offer distance learning options as well. 

6. The National Minimum Wage for an Apprentice is currently £2.60 p/h.

7. According to research conducted by Creative & Cultural Skills, the last cohort of 200 Creative Apprentices is expected to deliver a net gain of c£2.4m to the UK economy.

8. All apprenticeships work according to a ‘framework’, which sets out what you need to study to get your qualification. This helps ensure an apprenticeship is delivered consistently and according to national standards, no matter where it is completed.

9. Specifically creative Apprenticeship frameworks currently available are: Technical Theatre, Live Events & Promotion, Community Arts, Costume & Wardrobe, Music Business, Cultural Heritage, Design, Jewellery, Fashion & Textiles, Creative & Digital Media and Photo Imaging.

10. There are also less industry-specific frameworks available to creative employers, since a ‘creative apprenticeship’ is more about working in the creative sector than working to a ‘creative’ framework.

11.  The government will fund an apprentice’s college training if they are under the age of 25 and do not hold a degree. 100% of the costs will be covered if the apprentice is 18 or younger; 50% for 19-25 year-olds. For this reason, most apprentices are between the ages of 16-25, although there is no official age restriction on when you can become an apprentice.

12. Surveyed by Creative & Cultural Skills last year, 79% of employers felt that apprentices made a significant contribution to their business.

Find out more about apprenticeships....

Ten Myths about Creative Apprenticeships - we bust the common myths

All about our Apprenticeship Training Service