Apprenticeship CV examples

A strong apprenticeship CV should be clear, well-structured, and straight to the point. Employers know you’re at the start of your career, so your CV needs to focus on your potential, willingness to learn, and relevant skills rather than a long job history.

This guide will show you how to write a CV, structure each section, and highlight your best qualities – even if you’ve never had a full-time job before. By the end, you’ll have an application that shows employers why you’re the right apprentice for the role.

A quality CV structure makes it easy for employers to see why you’d be a great apprentice. They shouldn’t struggle to navigate towards your skills and aspirations. Since you may not have much experience, it’s important to focus on skills, education, and any relevant projects or activities.

Here’s how to set up your CV:

• Name and contact details – Keep your personal details and an optional photo at the top so employers can easily reach you.
• Profile (or personal statement) – Start with a short introduction summarising your enthusiasm, strengths, and interest in the apprenticeship.
• Core skills – Then, give a quick list of relevant skills, such as teamwork, communication, problem-solving, or technical abilities.
• Education – Since experience may be limited, highlight relevant subjects, coursework, or projects.
• Work experience – If you’ve had part-time jobs, internships, or volunteer work, include them in reverse chronological order.
• Additional info – It’s recommended you outline any extracurricular activities, hobbies, or awards that show your potential.

First impressions matter, and your CV format should be professional, clear, and easy to read. Employers aren’t looking for flashy designs – they want a well-organised document with a cohesive layout that quickly tells them what they need to know. Avoid visual mistakes to give yourself the best chance.

Follow these formatting tips:

• Bullet points – Use these to highlight key skills and achievements quickly and clearly.
• Divide sections – Separate parts of your CV logically so it’s easy to navigate.
• Use a clear and readable font – Stick to professional and clean fonts, and a sensible colour scheme.
• Keep it 1-2 pages – As someone with less experience, this should be plenty of space to cover your skills and any experience.

Your CV profile is the first thing employers will read, so it needs to be engaging and to the point. Since you may not have much experience, focus on your enthusiasm for the apprenticeship, key strengths, and career ambitions.

As a junior candidate, you should be using a personal statement, which is longer than a profile and lets you talk more about your aspirations. A personalised cover letter is also massively recommended for applying to apprenticeship opportunities.

To make your profile stand out, consider including:

• Why you’re interested in the apprenticeship – Show enthusiasm for the industry and a desire to develop your skills.
• Your key strengths – Highlight qualities like problem-solving, teamwork, or a strong work ethic.
• Relevant skills or achievements – If you’ve done any projects, coursework, or part-time work that’s relevant, mention it.
• Any work experience – No one is expecting loads, but if you have any, then make sure to mention it!
• Career aspirations – Employers like to see that you have long-term goals and want to grow in the industry.

A core skills section helps recruiters see your strengths at a glance – kind of like a quick preview before they get into the full story. 

Since apprenticeships focus on learning, you don’t need to be an expert – but you should highlight transferable skills that show you’d be a great fit. Tailor these skills to match the apprenticeship you’re applying for.

For apprenticeship applicants, education is often one of the most important sections on your CV. Since you may not have a long work history, highlight subjects, coursework, or projects that show relevant skills.

List your qualifications in reverse chronological order, starting with the most recent. If you’re not a school leaver or in college yet, mention your predicted grades.

If you studied subjects relevant to the apprenticeship, such as engineering, business, IT, or construction, make sure to highlight them and provide additional detail if you can.

Example education sections

What to include in your education section

For each qualification, add the following info:

• Qualification & organisation – State what it is you studied and where you did so
• Dates studied – Simply provide the month and year you began the course, and when you finished it
• Extra details – If it’s particularly relevant to the job, expand a little on specific qualifications, or modules and projects, to provide more detail on how they contributed to your current expertise.

If you’ve had a part-time job, done work experience, or even just helped out with something that involved responsibility, this is your chance to show that you’ve already got some real-world skills. Employers aren’t expecting years of experience, but they do want to see any evidence of responsibility, reliability, and relevant skills.

List any roles you’ve had in reverse chronological order. If you have no work experience, don’t worry: you can include school projects, freelance work, or even responsibilities from clubs and societies.

• Outline – Introduce the role, company, or organisation where you gained experience.
• Responsibilities – Explain what you did in the role. Use action words like “assisted”, “supported”, and “organised”.
• Achievements – Highlight any key successes, such as learning a new skill, completing a project, or getting positive feedback.

The additional info section is an optional part that can be added to the bottom of your CV, for anything that might help convey why you’re a good fit for the role.

Only focus on the things that are relevant to the role: marathon running is impressive, but will it help with an IT apprenticeship?

Good additional info for Apprenticeship

Additional info example