Please note that there are currently no plans for new cohorts of Level 7 Archivist and Records Manager apprentices.
What are the apprenticeships?
For key information about the Level 7 Archivist and Records Manager apprenticeships, visit the ‘About the apprenticeships‘ webpage.
Who runs the apprenticeships?
Unlike our past traineeship programmes, The National Archives does not run these apprenticeships. Instead, The National Archives helped to launch the apprenticeship scheme and then any archive across England (that had at least one qualified archivist to provide support) could choose to employ an apprentice. Archives advertised vacancies themselves and all applications needed to be directed to the employing archive.
How much does it cost to be an apprentice?
Level 7 apprentices are full-time employees with all the corresponding benefits, such as salary, pension and annual leave. Like any other job, employers are free to set their own salary for the apprenticeship but we advise that at a minimum employers follow the Archive & Record Association’s salary recommendations, benchmarking their apprenticeship to the paraprofessional level for people working towards a professional qualification.
What’s more, employers cover the costs of the off-the-job training so the apprentice doesn’t need to pay for this. The only costs to being an apprentice are the usual day-to-day costs associated with any type of employment, such as covering the costs of commuting to work. As a result, Level 7 Archivist and Records Manager apprenticeships remove the financial barriers to joining the archives sector.
What qualifications are needed?
Each archive recruited and employed its own apprentice so set its own entry requirements. However, the apprenticeship scheme is an inclusive one that recognises that people don’t need to have followed an academic path to become a great archivist. We recommend that employers don’t require undergraduate degrees and many archives that have started employing apprentices asked for A Levels or equivalents instead.
Are the apprenticeships always full-time roles?
The Level 7 apprenticeships already require 42 months full time to complete (the 36-month learning period and the six-month assessment period) so these apprenticeships are not available part time. It is also not currently possible to significantly compress the time it takes to complete the apprenticeship since the three years of experience working in an archive is a vital part of the apprenticeship. Apprentices that have experience in some areas may be able to reduce some of the off-the-job learning but candidates with too much experience are ineligible for the apprenticeship as apprenticeships are for new learning.
Where can I find apprenticeship vacancies?
There are currently no plans for new cohorts of Level 7 Archivist and Records Manager apprentices but current apprentices will continue their course until completion.
Get in touch
If our webpages haven’t answered all of your questions, you can get in touch via armapprenticeship@nationalarchives.gov.uk