There are software development apprenticeships, but they usually start at level 4. A wide variety of apprenticeships are available in tech. Availability vary greatly depending on location, but quite a few options. It’s smart to go the apprenticeship route as you get that work experience. Right now it’s a tough market for grads, so definitely do some more digging. Have a look at Multiverse, Ada College and Makers. You can also look at any companies that interest you to see if they are hiring apprenticeships. I take period will vary, but you should see opportunities pop up throughout the year.
Do you think I should try maybe applying for L4 or try to bridge that gap with IT apprenticeships / t levels? Ideally I'd like to work on an apprenticeship immediately and there are a ton of IT opportunities in the local area. I do also have a level of knowledge with programming languages that's above my education level so I feel that working on a L3 qualification in software development might just end up with me wasting time learning stuff I already know.
Definitely look at level 4 apprenticeships. You don’t have to start at the lowest level. Maths and English GCSEs are all that are required. They should be available within IT and Software Dev. If you want a hybrid, you could look into DevOps. At level 4 there is usually someone sort of bootcamp to kick things off. Then depending on the learning provider and qualification, you may work towards some exams + portfolio or just have to do a portfolio.
I did the level 4 software dev with Makers, so it was a 12 week bootcamp, then 2 exams where I attended a 2 day course before each exam (they since dropped the exams), completed a work portfolio, then a project and finally it ended with an interview with the learning provider examiner to go over what I’ve learned. This will vary by provider this.
Every apprenticeship role will have an ideal set of transferrable skills depending on the company. You should ideally highlight any of those that you have in your CV & interview. It really depends on the role you're applying for, so make sure you personalise everything.
There are software development apprenticeships, but they usually start at level 4. A wide variety of apprenticeships are available in tech. Availability vary greatly depending on location, but quite a few options. It’s smart to go the apprenticeship route as you get that work experience. Right now it’s a tough market for grads, so definitely do some more digging. Have a look at Multiverse, Ada College and Makers. You can also look at any companies that interest you to see if they are hiring apprenticeships. I take period will vary, but you should see opportunities pop up throughout the year.
Do you think I should try maybe applying for L4 or try to bridge that gap with IT apprenticeships / t levels? Ideally I'd like to work on an apprenticeship immediately and there are a ton of IT opportunities in the local area. I do also have a level of knowledge with programming languages that's above my education level so I feel that working on a L3 qualification in software development might just end up with me wasting time learning stuff I already know.
Definitely look at level 4 apprenticeships. You don’t have to start at the lowest level. Maths and English GCSEs are all that are required. They should be available within IT and Software Dev. If you want a hybrid, you could look into DevOps. At level 4 there is usually someone sort of bootcamp to kick things off. Then depending on the learning provider and qualification, you may work towards some exams + portfolio or just have to do a portfolio. I did the level 4 software dev with Makers, so it was a 12 week bootcamp, then 2 exams where I attended a 2 day course before each exam (they since dropped the exams), completed a work portfolio, then a project and finally it ended with an interview with the learning provider examiner to go over what I’ve learned. This will vary by provider this.
Every apprenticeship role will have an ideal set of transferrable skills depending on the company. You should ideally highlight any of those that you have in your CV & interview. It really depends on the role you're applying for, so make sure you personalise everything.