If you are considering beginning your career through an apprenticeship one thing that you need to think about is the availability of apprenticeships in the industry that you want to work in and you might well be asking – where can I find an apprenticeship?

Since 2009, the English region with the most workplaces offering apprenticeships has been the North West and it has also seen a huge growth in the number of workplaces offering apprenticeships.

It’s all very well people telling you that an apprenticeship is a great way to start your career, but in reality, you need an apprenticeship that you can access and the truth is that different industries are established in different areas. This means that if you are interested in a career say in media and you are looking for an apprenticeship in an area where media is not a booming industry, you will be facing lots of competition because the chances are there won’t be many employers taking on apprentices in media.

Where can I find an apprenticeship in agriculture, horticulture and animal care?

The regions with the most companies offering apprenticeships in agriculture, horticulture and animal care are the South West and the South East, in particular Central Devon, Tiverton and Honiton and Torridge and West Devon.

Where can I find an apprenticeship in the arts, media and publishing?

Aside from science and mathematics apprenticeships, apprenticeships in the arts, media and publishing are those least available with only 1,450 apprentice starts in 2014/15 (compared this with the 141,380 starts in business, admin and law). If you are looking for an art, media or publishing apprenticeship though, you will find that most of these are in London, Yorkshire and The Humber, the West Midlands and the South East.

Where can I find an apprenticeship in business, admin or law?

The greatest number of business, admin and law apprenticeships can be found in the North West and Yorkshire and The Humber with the largest numbers in Bootle, Heywood and Middleton, Knowsley, Makerfield, Shefield South East and Wentworth and Dearne.

Where can I find an apprenticeship in Construction?

Again, the majority of construction apprenticeships are in the North West and Yorkshire and The Humber, in particular in York Central and Barnsley East, although there are quite a lot in places like Wigan, Richmond and Leeds East too.

Where can I find an apprenticeship in education and training?

Education and training apprenticeships are available mostly in the North West and London, with the majority in Hayes and Harlington, Bolton South East and Wigan.

Where can I find an engineering apprenticeship?

In 2014/15 there were 72,930 engineering apprentice starts in England. 11,440 of these were in the West Midlands, 10,380 in the South East and 10,020 in the North West. The areas with the most engineering apprentices so far this year are Barrow and Furness, Copeland, Burton, Meriden, Stoke on Trent North and The Wrekin.

Where can I find an apprenticeship in Health, Public Services and Care?

Most of the health, public service and care apprenticeships can be found in the North West and the South East, in particular in North West Hampshire, Birkenhead, Blackpool South, Knowsley and Blackley and Broughton.

Where can I find an apprenticeship in ICT?

The greatest number of apprenticeships in IT can be found in the South East, the North West and London, in particular in Gosport, Rochester and Strood, Ilford South and West Ham.

Where can I find an apprenticeship in Leisure, Travel and Tourism?

Most leisure, travel and tourism apprenticeships are available in the North West and the South East, with most being found in Leigh, Preston and Rossendale and Darwen.

Where can I find a retail apprenticeship?

The North West and Yorkshire and The Humber are where the greatest number of retail apprenticeships can be found, in particular, Beverley and Holderness, Westmorland and Lonsdale, Don Valley, Doncaster Central and Richmond (Yorks)

I’m a student in the West Midlands looking for an apprenticeship in engineering

If you live in the West Midlands and assuming that you don’t want to move to get an apprenticeship it can help to understand where most of the apprenticeships are on offer.

Engineering apprenticeships in the West Midlands

For example – this chart shows the top 20 areas for apprenticeships in engineering within the West Midlands and you will see that 17% of West Midlands engineering apprenticeships are in The Wrekin.

I’m looking for an apprenticeship in Nottingham

If you are looking to do an apprenticeship in the Nottingham area, what are your best options?

The official government data on apprenticeships show that in Nottingham East, North and South the apprenticeships that are on offer in the greatest numbers are in business, admin and law; Health, public services and care; and retail apprenticeships.

I could go on and on with examples but the most important thing to consider when you are thinking of an apprenticeship is the availability. Lack of availability doesn’t mean that an apprenticeship is not an option but it is always good to know what your options are so that you can prepare well, especially if you know that you are going to face stiff competition. Apprenticeships tend to be available in sectors that reflect the employment in any area, this is why you get lots of engineering apprenticeships in places like the Midlands and the North West – that’s where a lot of engineering is based – always worth bearing in mind when wondering, where can I find an apprenticeship.