I’m leaving school this year and really want to get an apprenticeship in something like finance or office work. What should I do?

If you’re leaving school in the summer, after either GCSEs or a sixth form course and want to find an apprenticeship, now’s the time to start looking. People often think of apprenticeships as being in practical jobs like the building trades but they’re available in most career areas including administration, accounting, financial services and marketing.

You can do apprenticeships at different levels depending on your qualifications and on what the employer wants. Whatever level you’re at, you’ll be working and learning and gaining recognised qualifications which can be up to university level. Employers may want you to have A*-C grades at GCSE in maths, English language and science or you may have to take a test to check your maths and English.

Apprenticeships are advertised on the apprenticeship website and the first thing you should do is register at www.apprenticeships.org.uk The site will tell you everything you need to know about apprenticeships.

Some employers offer really good training but not through apprenticeships so you should also be looking for job vacancies in The Echo and on company websites.

Make sure you’ve got a really good CV and start sending it to companies that you’re interested in - start with local banks, building societies, insurance companies and accountants. To find out more about jobs in finance and administration have a look at the National Careers Service Job Profiles at website