Writing a CV for an apprenticeship starts with showing what you can offer: your skills, education, experience and interest in the role.
If you have not had a paid job yet, school projects, volunteering and responsibilities outside the classroom can give you useful examples.
Learning and Skills provides a free, interactive CV template to help you get started. Use this guide to work out what to write, then download the template from our 'For individuals' page and fill it in with your own details.
A clear apprenticeship CV helps the employer understand your experience and how it relates to their vacancy. Work through these six steps, keeping the role description in mind.
Give your CV separate sections for contact details, a personal profile, education, experience and relevant skills. You can also include interests when they add useful evidence, such as organising activities or developing a practical skill.
If you are leaving school or college, education can come before experience. If you already have relevant work experience, you may want to put that first. Choose the order that brings your most relevant information closer to the top.
Use a readable font, consistent spacing and clear headings. The National Careers Service offers further CV writing advice, including guidance on structure and presentation.
Start with your name, phone number and an email address you check regularly. Check these carefully: an employer needs to be able to reach you about your application.
Underneath, write a short personal profile explaining what kind of apprenticeship interests you and what you can bring to it. Use specific strengths you can support with examples elsewhere in your CV.
List your most recent school, college or training first. Include the name of the organisation, dates attended and the qualifications you have achieved or are working towards.
If you are waiting for results, label predicted grades clearly rather than presenting them as achieved results. Include relevant subjects and projects that help explain your interest in the role.
Check the vacancy's entry requirements separately. Apprenticeships have different requirements, so your CV should make your current qualifications easy to understand without assuming that every role asks for the same grades.
Include paid work, work placements and volunteering, starting with the most recent. Give the organisation, your role and dates, then explain what you did in a few clear lines.
Describe actions rather than simply listing qualities. "Served customers and checked orders during weekend shifts" gives more information than "good communication skills". Only include tasks you have genuinely carried out.
Changing sectors does not mean leaving all your previous experience behind. In Laney's apprenticeship story, her move from fast food into early years shows a change of direction. For your own CV, look for experience you can connect honestly to your chosen role.
Relevant skills might include teamwork, organisation, communication or using particular software. Explain where you have used each skill, rather than filling the page with a long list.
Read the vacancy and identify the skills, responsibilities and entry requirements it mentions. Then choose examples from your own experience that help show how you meet them.
For an administration role, you might describe organising information or using spreadsheets. For an early years role, relevant volunteering or experience helping with activities could be useful. Be clear about your responsibilities and avoid implying you have qualifications or professional experience you do not have.
Look beyond the role title when deciding what interests you. Halima's apprenticeship story describes business administration work involving HR, recruitment and learning support. The duties in a vacancy can tell you more than the title alone.
Read your CV carefully and check it against the vacancy before submitting your application. Use this checklist:
Ask someone you trust to read it too. Keep an editable copy so you can update your CV for the next application, and check that the version you submit opens correctly.
You can include projects, volunteering, hobbies and responsibilities that demonstrate relevant skills. Give the activity a clear label and describe your contribution so the employer understands what you did.
For example, organising a group presentation could show planning and teamwork. Helping at a community event could demonstrate communication. Include the situation, your actions and what happened, without inventing figures or overstating your role.
You do not need to present yourself as a finished professional. Gracie's apprenticeship story describes how her confidence and workplace skills developed after she started. Your CV can focus on your starting point and the experience you already have.
Explain what interests you about the work and why learning through an apprenticeship appeals to you. Connect that interest to the actual role rather than using the same general sentence for every application.
You might enjoy practical learning, want to develop a particular skill or be interested in the employer's work. In Bradley's apprenticeship story, learning through experience was important to his choice. Your reasons may be different; describe them honestly.
We provide a free, interactive CV template that you can fill in and use when applying for vacancies. It gives you a starting point for putting your information together.
Go to our page for individuals and look for the "How to write a CV" section. Select "Click here to download our CV template", download it and fill it in with your own details.
Before uploading your CV with an application, review the vacancy and adjust your examples to match. Keep your details accurate and your writing clear.
Our friendly team is on hand to explain the application process and support you through the next steps. If you need help, contact us.