Part of the how to hire cluster in the employment knowledge graph — connected to occupations, documents, hiring guides, career guides, country guides and employment law.
Scope the role first
An apprenticeship pairs paid work with formal training towards a recognised qualification or trade. Before recruiting, confirm the apprenticeship framework and requirements in your jurisdiction, choose a training provider where one is needed, and define the skills the apprentice will build over the programme.
Decide who will mentor the apprentice, how learning time fits around the job, and what the role looks like at the end. Because you are hiring for potential, scope the role around growth and support rather than expecting prior experience.
Where to find candidates
- Schools, colleges and their careers services.
- Apprenticeship platforms and government or sector schemes where available.
- Training providers who can connect you with candidates.
- Local advertising and community outreach.
- Open days, taster sessions and careers events.
- Referrals from staff and your wider network.
How to screen and shortlist
- Focus on potential, attitude and willingness to learn, not finished skill.
- Check that candidates meet the framework’s entry requirements.
- Look for genuine interest in the trade or field.
- Keep applications simple and accessible for first-time applicants.
- Confirm availability for both work and structured study time.
- Verify right to work and any age-related requirements.
How to interview
- Use friendly, accessible interviews suited to early-career candidates.
- Explore motivation, curiosity and commitment to learning.
- Ask about interests, projects or activities rather than only work history.
- Set out clearly what the apprenticeship and the job involve.
- Assess attitude, reliability and how they respond to guidance.
- Consider a short practical or aptitude task relevant to the trade.
Documents, checks and onboarding
- A job description covering the role, the training and the qualification.
- An apprenticeship agreement or contract as required in your jurisdiction.
- An offer letter confirming the role, training plan and start date.
- Right-to-work verification and any age-related documentation.
- A training plan agreed with the provider where one is involved.
- An onboarding plan with a named mentor and regular reviews.
Common hiring mistakes
- Screening apprentices as if they should already have experience.
- Skipping the structured training and mentoring that make it an apprenticeship.
- Using an inaccessible process that deters first-time applicants.
- Overlooking the entry requirements of the relevant framework.
- Failing to protect dedicated time for study alongside work.
- Leaving the apprentice without a clear mentor or review plan.
Export, edit and share documents
The documents, policies and templates this involves can be exported, edited, signed, stored and shared as PDFs with the HELPERG PDF Editor.
Workforce communication tools
Employers, agencies and recruiters often need candidate screening calls, international candidate calls, recruitment coordination and team collaboration. TwinPhone provides browser calling, virtual numbers and international business communication workflows.
Measuring recruitment marketing and traffic?
Related tools from the HELPERG ecosystem that may help with this:
- WebmasterID — Privacy-first website analytics for recruitment marketing — understand traffic sources, visitor behaviour and conversion performance on your employer or careers site.
Need hiring support?
Tell us about your workforce needs. We can help connect you with recruitment and staffing partners that match your hiring requirements — HR helper group is a matching platform, not a recruitment agency, and makes no placement guarantees.
Free, printable HR & employment resources
Practical, ungated resources to put this into action — no signup.