Your top five apprenticeship questions answered

With applications still open, National Apprenticeship Week seems like a perfect time for me to remind would-be candidates to make sure they apply for the NATS engineering apprenticeship in plenty of time – the closing date is the end of this month!

If you’re successful, you’ll benefit from a great place to work and a fantastic environment in which to start your career, doing work that matters and learning from real projects before gaining a job at the end of it. Our early careers schemes have been recognised as some of the best in the country, so if you’ve got a passion for aviation we’d love to hear from you.

It’s also an ideal opportunity to highlight CEMAST in Fareham, Hampshire, which is the specialist engineering college we’ve partnered with to help deliver our scheme.

CEMAST has some amazing facilities that you’ll get to use. So as well as learning with NATS helping to keep the skies safe, you will also be in safe hands during your time at college.

Top five questions

How much will I get paid?

Most apprentices start on the minimum wage of £2.73 per hour, but some can earn up to £150 per week. We’re proud of the value we place on apprentices, so under the NATS scheme you’ll earn around £250 a week and have the option to join our pension scheme.

How much time will I spend in college?

You’ll spend one day a week at the fantastic facilities at CEMAST. The rest of the time is spent working on real projects from designing future air traffic control technologies through to radar maintenance.

How long will an apprenticeship last?

Under the NATS scheme your apprenticeship will last three and a half years. That’s because it is an advanced apprenticeship and you’ll finish your time with both real qualifications and a job, providing you have met all criteria along the way.

What qualifications do I need?

To start the programme, you should have a Level 3 qualification (A-Levels, Advanced Diploma, or equivalent) with at least one qualification in a STEM subject (science, technology, maths or engineering).

How do I sign up?

You need to apply through our website. We’ll select you for the next stage on the basis of your initial online application, so please do take the time to sell yourself and answer all the questions as well as you can. If you’re successful, we’ll invite you to an assessment centre in April.

If you’ve got any other questions, add a comment and I’ll do my best to answer them. Good luck!