- Newcastle is currently the UK's apprenticeship hotspot, with opportunities more than 2.5 times as prevalent as in London.
- Childcare, IT and pharmacy lead apprenticeship hiring.
- Apprenticeship opportunities go beyond the typical vocations with new opportunities spanning HR, accounting to data, legal and media.
Britain's apprenticeship landscape is expanding beyond its traditional roots and new Indeed data shows the North of England is fast becoming a key hotspot for opportunities. Childcare, technology and healthcare are now emerging as major apprenticeship sectors, standing alongside more traditional routes like engineering and skilled trades.
Between January and July 2026, childcare had the highest prevalence of apprenticeship opportunities of any occupation analysed, with apprenticeships accounting for 6.58% of all childcare job postings on Indeed. Pharmacy followed closely at 6.47%, while IT infrastructure, operations and support ranked third at 4.07%.
The data also highlights how far apprenticeships have moved beyond their traditional roots. In 2025 marketing apprenticeships accounted for 1.83% of apprenticeship postings, compared with 1.18% for construction, while IT infrastructure, operations and support (5.02%) was more than 10 times as prevalent as software development (0.46%).
Newcastle is Currently the UK's Apprenticeship Hotspot
Location matters too, with Indeed's analysis revealing significant differences between Britain's biggest cities.
The North of England performs particularly strongly, with three northern cities – Newcastle, Leeds and Sheffield – appearing in the UK's top 10 cities posting apprenticeship roles.
UK's Top 10 Cities for Apprenticeship Opportunities
Apprenticeship share of all job postings, January–July 2026
- Newcastle upon Tyne – 1.62%
- Southampton – 1.47%
- Birmingham – 1.32%
- Derby – 1.29%
- Leeds – 1.23%
- Sheffield – 1.18%
- Leicester – 1.16%
- Cardiff – 1.11%
- Reading – 1.10%
- Nottingham – 1.09%
But the picture changes depending on the career people are looking to enter. While Newcastle had the highest overall concentration of apprenticeship opportunities, with apprenticeships accounting for 1.62% of all job postings in the city, Indeed’s occupation-level analysis reveals different pockets of opportunity around the country.
Looking specifically at where apprenticeship postings within individual occupations are located, London accounts for the largest share across many occupations. However, Birmingham emerges as a key centre for childcare and civil engineering apprenticeships, accounting for 1.5% and 3.3% of all UK apprenticeship postings in those occupations respectively.
Some cities have carved out a real specialism. Glasgow ranks second nationally for IT infrastructure, operations and support apprenticeships, accounting for 2.2% of UK postings in the occupation, while Manchester ranks among the top three cities for pharmacy (1.7%), IT infrastructure, operations and support (1.6%), installation and maintenance (1.0%) and civil engineering (1.7%).
Bristol also emerges as a hub across several areas, ranking among the leading cities for education and instruction (0.7%), logistic support (1.5%) and dental apprenticeships (1.8%).
In some occupations, cities outside the capital take the lead. Norwich is the UK's leading city for medical technician apprenticeships, accounting for 2.3% of postings nationally, ahead of London at 1.7%.
The findings show that while Newcastle has the highest overall concentration of apprenticeship opportunities, where the strongest opportunities are can vary considerably depending on the career, with distinct apprenticeship hubs emerging across healthcare, technology, engineering and other sectors.
Childcare, Tech and Healthcare Lead the Way
The national picture really shows how broad apprenticeships have become as a route into work.
Alongside childcare and IT, healthcare accounts for three of the top 10 occupations, with pharmacy (6.47%), dental (2.19%) and medical technician roles (2.8%) all ranking highly.
Traditional technical routes remain an important part of the picture. Installation and maintenance accounts for (3.06%) of apprenticeship postings, civil engineering (2.75%) and production & manufacturing (2.16%).
Top 10 Occupations for Apprenticeship Hiring
Share of apprenticeship postings, January–July 2026
- Childcare – 6.58%
- Pharmacy – 6.47%
- IT Infrastructure, Operations & Support – 4.07%
- Education & Instruction - 3.20%
- Installation & Maintenance – 3.06%
- Medical Technician - 2.80%
- Civil Engineering - 2.75%
- Logistic Support - 2.59%
- Dental - 2.19%
- Production & Manufacturing - 2.16%
The Apprenticeship Market is Evolving
The shape of apprenticeships has changed considerably since 2019, opportunities have widened and access has become far greater across technical, professional and specialist careers. Between 2019 and January–July 2026, apprenticeship prevalence increased 72% in education and instruction, 58% in industrial engineering, 46% in data and analytics, 46% in project management and 45% in legal, highlighting how apprenticeships are increasingly providing pathways into careers beyond the occupations traditionally associated with them.
While the types of careers offering apprenticeships have broadened, the overall availability of apprenticeship opportunities has fluctuated considerably since 2019.
Apprenticeship hiring was disrupted during the pandemic before rebounding as the labour market reopened. Opportunities reached a post-pandemic peak in 2023, but have since moderated, with the 12-month average share of UK job postings represented by apprenticeships falling by approximately 31% between May 2023 and July 2026.
Interest in apprenticeships has remained resilient. Apprenticeship-related searches represented 1.2% of UK job searches in July 2026, compared with apprenticeships accounting for 0.9% of postings.
The figures suggest there continues to be a strong appetite for apprenticeship routes, even as the availability of opportunities has eased from its post-pandemic high.
Matthew Burney, Senior Talent Strategy Advisor at Indeed, said:
"The apprenticeship landscape is much broader than people might think. Alongside engineering and skilled trades, we're now seeing opportunities across childcare, healthcare and technology, as well as careers like marketing, HR and finance.
"For people starting out in their careers, that means an apprenticeship can now provide a route into a much wider range of professions than it used to. The fact that marketing apprenticeships are more prevalent than construction apprenticeships shows just how much the landscape has shifted.
"There is clearly a strong appetite for these opportunities. For employers, that's a chance to tap into a motivated pool of talent, while for jobseekers it pays to look beyond the traditional routes – some of the strongest opportunities today may be in careers they’d never even considered."
