Publishing Professional Apprenticeship

Employers are expected to pay the apprentice a salary, but if your firm pays the Apprentice Levy (annual payroll of £3m-plus), that will cover the training costs.

As of 1st April 2024, anyone up to the age of 21 will receive full funding from the government.

For non-levy payers, there are two ways to pay for the training: either via a levy share from a levy payer or through co-contribution, where most of the funding is drawn from the government and all the employer must contribute is £500 plus VAT.

Several organisations have expressed an interest in participating in a levy share; if you would like to know more, please do contact LDN Apprenticeships.

LDN can expertly handle the recruitment at a fee of just £750 this includes advertising the role, screening and preparing the candidates, they can also run a Career Kickstarter event.

If you prefer to recruit yourselves, LDN will advertise the role on their website and signpost to their candidate pool for free.

In some ways, it takes significantly less. Most training employers would need to provide is covered by the apprenticeship provider, which will free up the line manager’s time. In the beginning, you need to be prepared to give feedback often but with the right candidate, once they are up and running, the support from the apprentice scheme means that other than the bi-monthly review sessions, there is little extra time involved.

The apprentice is required to spend a minimum of six hours a week on their learning which will include online modules and monthly group sessions as well as monthly catch-ups with their Skills Coach. This time can be split across days, though very commonly apprentices work their Fridays from home and devote that day to the apprenticeship. There is always flexibility on both sides.

LDN Apprenticeships frequently add new opportunities to their website. They also advertise on other job sites – find a role that is best suited for you and complete the application form!

Be sure to think about your answers carefully before you submit your application as it is the first opportunity to get to know you before you start your apprenticeship journey.

Applications will be rejected if they lack detail, or have poor spelling and grammar so proofread your work before submitting.

You can browse their current opportunities here.

The apprenticeship is 15 months and will run alongside your work placement (full-time job).

This is a Level 4 Publishing Professional Apprenticeship.

It is a rigorous programme that allows participants to gain a qualification that is the equivalent to the first year of university whilst putting their knowledge into practice in the real world.

The end-point assessment includes:

• Portfolio of evidence including 15-20 pieces
• Work-based project and presentation
• Professional discussion underpinned by portfolio

This apprenticeship has been built on the success of the previous Level 3 Publishing Apprentice standard, which had over 100 graduates. The majority of the alumni went on to secure permanent roles with a publisher, including DK, Hachette, Penguin Random House, Bloomsbury, Taylor and Francis, and Quarto or continued in permanent roles or gained promotions at Elsevier, Cambridge University Press, University of London Press, Pearson and AM Digital, amongst many others.

This is a Level 4 qualification, if you have a degree in publishing or a Masters in publishing, you are unfortunately not able to apply.