‘Software development apprenticeships’ and ‘jobs in cloud computing’ are just some of the tech-related keywords dominating searches on Google and LinkedIn Jobs in 2025.
Roles requiring digital skills are more in demand than ever, and there are plenty of takers. Young people recognise that a tech career will set them up for a lifetime of success, and they want a piece of the pie.
The problem with attracting apprenticeship candidates in tech isn’t necessarily the low volume of applicants; it’s the lower quality. Everyone wants to work in tech, but not everyone will be the right fit for your business’ unique requirements and culture.
So, how can you sift through the noise and attract the truly exceptional talent that will drive your company’s innovation and growth? This three-step process will help.
Step 1: Where to find tech/digital apprenticeship applicants
Exceptional candidates don’t just fall out of the sky; you have to meet them where they are. You’ll likely have go-to methods for recruiting apprenticeships, but there are additional strategies you can deploy when attracting top tech and digital skills talent.
Try traditional apprenticeship recruitment channels like:
- Job boards: Sites like LinkedIn, Best Apprenticeships, and Indeed are the go-to for prospects seeking tech and digital apprenticeships.
- Social media: Platforms like YouTube, X, Instagram and even TikTok can be powerful tools for reaching young, tech-savvy candidates.
- Career fairs and school events: Digital and in-person career events in schools, colleges and universities put your business in front of a wide pool of possible talent.
Plus, become familiar with additional spaces unique to tech candidates, such as:
- Online coding communities: Sites like GitHub and Stack Overflow are teeming with aspiring developers and tech enthusiasts. Connecting with candidates here allows you to assess their skills, knowledge and creativity beyond a traditional CV.
- Coding forums: Posting apprenticeship opportunities in a forum like Reddit’s r/learnprogramming can help you reach a highly targeted audience already passionate about coding and digital skills.
- Hackathons and coding competitions: Sponsor or participate in hackathons and coding competitions, which attract highly motivated and skilled prospects.
- Open source projects: If your company has a respectable presence in the tech world or an established team for digital activities, why not contribute to open-source projects and engage with the developer community?
Step 2: How to engage top technology talent
Engaging the best apprenticeship talent in the tech and digital fields requires collaboration across your entire company – in three domains in particular. Therefore, we’ve broken this best practice down into three parts; here’s how to communicate apprenticeship and recruitment expectations to your tech, marketing and recruitment teams.
What to tell your tech teams:
Show off your tech stack: Be transparent about the frameworks, languages, tools and automation your apprentices will be working with – they’ll want to hear about the cool stuff, not the boring parts.
Highlight innovative projects: Tech apprentices are driven by innovation. Showcase the exciting projects your company is working on, emphasizing the opportunities to contribute to real-world solutions.
What to tell your marketing teams:
Optimise your job adverts: Craft compelling apprenticeship job descriptions using the same casual, jokey tone of voice that’s synonymous with the tech industry. Get likes, views and a top spot in search results by using relevant keywords, trending hashtags and targeted ads.
Create engaging content: Use videos, interactive demos and even cutting-edge tech like virtual reality (VR) tours to provide insight into your company culture and the day-to-day life of an apprentice.
What to tell your apprenticeship recruitment teams:
Present real-world challenges: Give potential apprentices coding challenges or problem-solving tasks throughout the recruitment process that allow them to demonstrate their hands-on technical and creativity.
Showcase future progression: This tip is double-pronged. As well as outlining the career paths available to apprentices, highlight company-wide goals and aspirations. For example, is your company working on a new AI model to detect credit card fraud? Tell the apprentice how the project will positively impact the financial industry and what their role would be in bringing it to life.
Step 3: How to make your business stand out from fierce competition
Tech giants like Google, Meta, Microsoft and Amazon are famous for their lengthy and extremely competitive application processes – but that won’t deter apprentices from going for gold. These companies are often the priority (and the dream) for young tech-savvy prospects, so the challenge is fighting against them for the best talent.
- Offer competitive benefits: While you may not be able to match the pre- and post-apprenticeship salaries of big tech, offer competitive benefits packages that include learning and development opportunities and flexible work arrangements.
- Build a trustworthy brand: Social media is the ultimate sidekick when increasing brand awareness. We already discussed some need-to-know digital spaces where your company should (metaphorically) hang out. A strong presence on social media can showcase your company’s culture, projects and apprenticeships.
- Partner with universities, bootcamps and schools: Becoming an in-demand tech employer means positioning your company as a thought leader in this space – yes, even above tech giants. Cultivate relationships with schools, universities, coding bootcamps and tech summer programmes to get access to a pipeline of talented candidates.
- Be proud of your unique culture: Tech giants have tens or even hundreds of thousands of employees, meaning apprentices’ chances for one-to-one, personalised support and progression opportunities are limited. Emphasise how your company’s smaller, more agile environment can give them the support and guidance they need to thrive on innovative projects.
Investing in tomorrow’s tech titans with apprenticeships
There is no shortage of interested parties out there when you’re advertising tech and digital apprenticeships. But you can attract the very best of the best with the three-step process we’ve outlined in this article. The goal is to foster a pipeline of prospects who are already skilled, eager to learn and active in the tech space – before they even hit ‘submit’ on their application.
The next step is to advertise on a relevant platform and get your business in front of quality candidates. As the UK’s best-loved apprenticeship job platform, Best Apprenticeships already has a qualified and highly engaged audience of UK-based tech talent.
