When people come to know about apprenticeship, then they often get confused about the term. They have tons of questions in mind like what is an apprenticeship, how does it work, and is apprenticeship a job. 

If you need a one-word answer for that question, then it is "Yes, apprenticeship is a job." However, it's nature is quite different from the usual job you do. I know it doesn't sound obvious. Therefore I'm going to clear the whole concept for you.

How Apprenticeship is a Job?

In your job, you have some tasks, roles, and responsibilities to handle every day. You work full-time. The same happens with an apprenticeship program. You will work under the supervision of an expert in standard working days at business hours like 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM.

Usually, when a person is new on the job, then he has to go through the probation period. It's not the case with an apprentice as he is selected by an employer to join and learn. He can start earning from the first day he shows up on the job and handles his task. 

He needs to complete 40 hours per week of work.

What establishes a difference between apprenticeship and job?

Although the leading roles and responsibilities are the same, you are not as accountable as a job person is when you become an apprentice. It's because you are joining a company. After all, you want to get on-job training, education, and experience while working. 

On the other hand, an employee is hired to perform the job about which he has a complete idea. Yes, some work-based training is also done in a formal job, but it's different from an apprentice training.

An apprentice is a low-skill worker who is a newbie in the market and wants to learn every aspect of the trade. On the other hand, an employee knows the basics, so work-based training helps him adopt the environment.

Another difference is between the training timeline of an employee and an apprentice. The apprenticeship training period is usually one to seven years, while an employee gets training for one to six months.

How Much Can You Earn from an Apprenticeship if it is a Job?

When we talk about a job, then salary is the first thing that hits our mind, like what we are going to get in return for. In the same manner, apprenticeship involves a return in the form of an hourly salary rate. In the UK, an employer will pay you 4-5 euros per hour while in the USA, you can expect to get $15 per hour.

Just like when you promote to a higher level your salary and benefits boost up, in the same manner when you reach the next level of apprenticeship training, then your per hour wage will be increased.

A person who is doing an apprenticeship can earn $300,000 during the program, on average. Besides. An apprentice who fully completes his program receives $50,000 annually. 

What is a pre-apprenticeship program?

A student who wants to qualify quickly for an apprenticeship in an industry can enroll himself in a pre-apprenticeship program. The fact is that the field of apprenticeship is quite competitive. Tons of students are competing for the same thing. Although many students apply for this training, only a few of them successfully get it.

Therefore, if you want to make a successful entry into an apprenticeship program, you should consider a pre-apprenticeship. Generally, this program is introduced by a sponsor of apprenticeship.

What happens in pre-apprenticeship?

It is a formal training program that has a full-fledged curriculum to follow. You get an idea about hands-on training right from a lab. It also involves educational and vocational services. Students take part in volunteer jobs to grasp an idea of the field. The purpose of this program is to offer the best assistance to students who apply to an apprenticeship program.

What benefits come along with an Apprenticeship for an Apprentice?

Here are some key benefits that increase the value of this training program in the eyes of an apprentice.

• Having a pay-check from the day first of training. 
• Hands-on training and job-experience
• Increment in wages when reaching to next level of training
• Gaining job and industry skills
• Debt-Free Education and Training
• 90 percent chances of getting hired by the same company

Bottom Line 

An apprenticeship is a job that also involves full-time training and weekly academic classes. You will get paid at the rate of minimum wages in your country. When you are unable to afford your study but are quite talented, you should try your luck for this program. Take a start from a pre-apprenticeship program, and hopefully, it will successfully lead to a lucrative apprenticeship.