Day release ensures that skills, knowledge and behaviours learned on-the-job are combined with regular off-the-job learning. It serves to reinforce an apprentice’s experiences in the workplace, helps them apply theory to practice, and ensures that they are able to perform their job role to the highest possible standard.  

Day release is a popular method of apprenticeship training amongst a wide range of employers.  

Pros and cons of day release apprenticeship training

As mentioned, day release ensures that apprentices learn theory based on their practical experiences in the workplace that they could have had that very same week. For example, an apprentice who works in retail could learn about the theory of dealing with customer refund requests a week before having to undertake that task in the workplace.

Additionally, for employers it ensures that valuable resource in your team is not unavailable for a longer period of time – as can be the case with block release apprenticeship training. On the other hand, busy periods at work, combined with coursework deadlines, can be stressful for an apprentice and it’s important for employers to be aware of their apprentice’s workload and offer support where possible.

For employers it ensures that valuable resource in your team is not unavailable for a longer period of time.

Day release training needs to be accessible for apprentices – it is unreasonable to request that they travel considerably further than they would be expected to commute to work. Therefore, it’s advisable to find a day release apprenticeship training provider that is located in the same town or city as the apprentice.

It is at the employer’s discretion if they wish to pay for the apprentice’s travel to their day release apprenticeship training provider. However, those in receipt of funds from the Apprenticeship Levy cannot use these funds to cover the cost of travel. The nature of day release means that employers do not need to pay for any accommodation costs, unlike block release apprenticeship training, where an apprentice may need to go to another part of the country for their training.

How do I find training providers who provide day release apprenticeship training?

Employers can find apprenticeship training providers who provide day release apprenticeship training by using Find a Training Provider. Simply search by location, apprenticeship standard, level of apprenticeship or industry and filter by training providers who provide day release apprenticeship training to get a comprehensive list of providers.