Apprenticeship CV: The Ultimate Guide + FREE Template

For many school leavers, you may not have any work experience and your apprenticeship may be your first real job, and therefore your first taste of earning your own monthly wage and navigating the world of work. For this reason, you may be considering how to begin writing your apprenticeship CV when you may have little to no experience at all in the field of work that you wish to pursue.

But there’s no need to worry, here at Tyne North Training, we have written the ultimate guide to creating your apprenticeship CV – to focus on highlighting your strengths, showcasing your interests and winning an apprenticeship in 2020. Let’s get started…

Apprenticeship CV: Getting Started

First things first and not needing a big introduction – let’s start with the basics when it comes to writing your CV. The key information to make sure you start with is:

• Your name
• Your contact details (email address and phone number)

 

Selling Your Yourself

When it comes to writing your CV, the one specific area that you can really sell with confidence is yourself. Nobody knows you better than you know yourself, right? This is an important asset due to its position at the very top of your CV, and it is likely to be one of the first things that your potential employer will read.

You may lack work experience in your desired industry right now, and employers of apprentices will completely understand this – but you can never lack understanding of your own ability and personal character. 

Your personal statement/profile should show your potential employer that you are a good fit, and persuade them to continue reading the rest of your CV.

So how can you make your cv stand out?

• Be clear about the purpose of your CV
• Be concise about your interest and why you are suitable for the position
• If you do have any relative work experience – be it an internship, a placement, a part-time job, a hobby – be sure to state this briefly in this section (to avoid excessive repetition further down the CV)! It shows dedication to your interest and an enthusiastic approach 

Keep Relevancy Consistent

The next two steps that we are going to delve into are all about your skills and achievements, and your work experience (if applicable). But the key thing to point out here before we begin is the importance of being RELEVANT with your information. You want to show your potential employer that you are a good fit to their criteria, therefore anything you list should always link back to the industry, job role or position if possible. 

What qualifications look good on a CV?

As we mentioned above, for many apprentices – this will be your first job, and employers of apprentices completely understand this and therefore they don’t expect you to list off a career of relative work experience. However, one thing that you definitely can do – is list your key skills, qualifications and achievements that are relative to the apprenticeship you are applying for. 

To keep this section clear and concise, try listing your skills in bullet point form. An example of this could be:

• How many GCSE’s (or expected grades) you have
• Do you speak any other languages? Include this (boasts communication skills)
• What about any customer service skills? (A key valued skill within Business Admin) Are you great on the telephone? Do you love to meet new people? 
• Do you have any computing skills?
• What technical skills do you have? 
• Do you work well in a team? 
• Were you Head Boy/Head Girl at school? Or part of your Student Council? 

Any skill or achievement that you have or you are proud of, as long as it is relative to your apprenticeship, then definitely list here to help you stand out from other applicants and improve your cv. 

List Your Industry Experience

If you do have any industry experience that is relative to the apprenticeship that you are applying for, then be sure to list it in this section. List your job title, the name of the company you worked for, the dates of your employment and what your duties and responsibilities were when you were there. 

If you don’t have any relative workplace experience then that’s okay! You’re only just stepping out of full-time school education so it can be expected for sure. If you have anything key to mention, for example, you assisted a family member or friend at work one weekend and learnt a skill that could apply, note this down. Or did you do any volunteer work? Mention that too. 

Outline Your Education 

School is great for teaching us many ‘firsts’. From punctuality, attendance rate, communication skills and many more. If you don’t have any industry experience at all yet, then use the education section to shine. 

Be sure to list:

• The name of your school 
• The subjects you studied 
• Your qualifications (or predicted grades)

You can also use this section to mention if you were a part of any school teams or clubs or if you won any awards. 

Briefly Describe Your Hobbies, Interests and aspirations

This section can be easy to deter off track, so be sure to stick to relevant hobbies and interests that can benefit your career. 

This could be:

• Going to the gym / being part of a sports club – it shows you value your personal fitness and health
• Reading – perhaps you like to keep up to date with the latest correspondence? You like to read books or articles about your industry? 
• You run your own blog / have created your own website? This highlights creativity, technical skill, initiative

Whatever your hobbies and interests may be, linking them back to your application in any way possible is great for showing your attention to detail, intent and purpose. 

You can also talk about your career aspirations and where you see yourself in 5 years or so. Try and think about what you want to get out of the apprenticeship and try and demonstrate how keen you are to progress (we hope you do!)

REMEMBER: Before You Submit Your CV

Step by step, by this point you have covered all vital parts of your CV. But what can you do before you submit your apprenticeship application? 

Include a cover letter. Even if this has not been asked of you, taking the initiative to go the extra mile will always help you to stand out. 

It shows the following:

• You have taken the time to find the specific contact that you are writing to
• You are taking your application seriously and wanting to stand out 
• You can summarise the key intentions of your application, before introducing your CV

 

Contact Tyne North Training Today…

If you would like to speak to our team here at Tyne North Training about applying for an apprenticeship, then please do not hesitate to get in touch today! 

You can contact via phone: 0191 262 6860 or via email: tnt@tynenorthtraining.co.uk. We hope you found this guide helpful today, and good luck with writing your CV!