Every year the government asks thousands of apprentices what made them start. The answers are public, so here they are, unpolished. We would rather show you the real numbers than a slogan, because somewhere in this page is the reason that belongs to you.
Read the top line again. A career that moves. The certificate came third and the money fourth. Most people say yes to the person they get to become. And for learners over 25, the career line rises to 43 in every 100.
Tap the one that sounds most like you. Each opens onto what it actually looks like here, and where on this site to test it.
The most common reason in the country, and the one apprenticeships were built for. Levels stack: a level 2 opens a level 3, and the ladder runs to degree height while you stay paid. Question five on our Deciding page exists so you ask your employer where this leads before you start, and the pathways maps show every rung.
Plenty of capable people feel sure at work and shaky about learning. Here the teaching starts from how you learn, and confidence gets built from evidence: things you can now do that you could not do in March. You do not need to arrive feeling like a student. The every-learner page shows exactly how that works.
Years of experience with nothing on paper to show for it is one of the most common situations we meet. The skills check maps what you already know, the programme gets shorter or moves up a level to match, and you finish with recognised proof of a standard you may already be working at. The honest contract covers how that works.
Apprenticeships are the oldest mastery system there is, and ours are built with serious names. The curriculum maps show precisely what you would learn, month by month, and the partnerships page shows who set the standard you would be learning to.
In the national survey, 84 in every 100 apprentices said they had taken on more responsibility since starting. Responsibility is also a conversation to have up front: the three-way deal sets out what your employer commits to, and question five on the Deciding page asks what role this leads to here.
The national data says motivation changes with where life has put you. See if one of these is your situation, worry and all.
You have done the work for years and nobody ever wrote it down. The strongest draw here is recognition and a path forward without leaving the job.
The real worry is time and being sent back to school. You start from experience, never from a desk, and your six learning hours sit inside the paid week.
Income, independence and a career head start, all at once. For under-19s the pay-while-learning line matters most in the whole survey.
The real worry is picking wrong. The readiness check and the pathways maps exist so you choose a route you have seen, and the early weeks are for settling in.
Credibility, influence and being ready for the promotion before it is offered. Older learners pick career movement more than any other group.
The real worry is repeating what you already know. The skills check trims the programme to what you cannot yet do, and says so in writing.
A safe route into new work while the wage keeps coming. The apprenticeship carries you across instead of asking you to jump.
The real worry is starting again from zero. Experience transfers more than people expect, and the skills check finds every bit of it.
Six in every hundred apprentices start because their employer told them to. They finish less often than everyone else. That is why this site keeps handing the decision back to you.
Why choosing beats being chosen
said they had become better at their job since starting.
said their career prospects had improved.
had taken on more responsibility at work.
felt more satisfied in their work than before.
Self-reported by apprentices in the national evaluation. That is exactly why this site pairs them with its honest pages, so you can weigh the shine against the small print. Source for every number on this page: DfE Apprenticeship Evaluation 2023, learner survey.
The people who chose for themselves are the ones still there at the end. Every tool on this site exists to get you into that group or to save you the year.
Leave your details and a short message, and a member of the TLC team will get back to you. You can also email info@tlc-uk.org.
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