What is an Apprenticeship?


An apprenticeship is designed to enhance your level of competency and confidence, allowing you to upskill within your current role by developing your practical skills and knowledge.

Learner Benefits

Our Apprenticeships offer you a practical alternative to university and a fast route into the career of your choice. They provide you with a number of great tangible benefits, whether you are an existing employee in a business or someone who is looking to start a career.

Your training will either be funded by your employer or through a co-investment between the government and your employer, which means you can avoid the large debts associated with going to university.

Benefits include:

  • Receiving practical, on-the-job work experience that will put you ahead of the competition.

  • Gaining knowledge of how your chosen industry works.

  • Gaining a nationally recognised qualification which is highly attractive to your current and future employers.

  • Learning at a pace suited to your individual needs, with the support of a mentor.

  • Earning a wage as you learn new skills.

  • Getting paid holidays, plus bank holidays.

  • Working alongside experienced staff.

  • Taking a fast route into a career with good prospects.

The Learner’s Handbook

NUS Card Discounts

The NUS, or National Union of Students is a group that allows students to get access to discounts at many stores and supermarkets to help with living expenses.

They have two cards available to those studying with us at the Colleges' Partnership:

  • Professional Qualifications Discount TOTUM card

  • Apprenticeship Extra Card

  • If you're doing an apprenticeship, you'll want the Apprenticeship Extra Card. If you're doing a professional qualification, such as a Teaching qualification, or a coaching and mentoring qualification, then you'll want the Professional Qualifications Discount TOTUM card.

    For the Professional Qualifications Discount TOTUM card, you need to be studying for at least 12 hours over a minimum of 10 weeks, or 120 hours total at least, and for the Apprenticeship Extra Card, you simply need to be an apprentice.

    For a greater list of available discounts, please visit the NUS Website, where you'll be able to see all the discounts available to you.

  • To apply for the Apprenticeship Extra card, visit the NUS Website, put "The Colleges' Partnership" as your place of study and fill the rest of the form. Your card will then be sent to you once it's been completed, and should be with you within a week. You'll be able to use it immediately, at any of the locations that accept it.

    To see some of the locations that accept the NUS TOTUM and Apprenticeship Extra Cards, please click here for the TOTUM card, and here for the Apprenticeship Extra card.

    If you're doing a teaching qualification or a coaching and mentoring qualification, you can get a code from us which you can use to buy the card. To get the code, please get in contact using this form.