An apprenticeship for the people who deliver cultural learning and participation officer work in UK organisations.
At Level 3, this apprenticeship trains people to plan, coordinate and deliver cultural learning and participation activities on behalf of arts, heritage, or community organisations. Apprentices develop skills in programme coordination, audience engagement, facilitation, and working with diverse community groups. They also gain grounding in safeguarding, accessibility, project administration, and monitoring outcomes, so they can demonstrate the social impact of cultural work to funders and stakeholders.
Week to week, an apprentice in this role might book and prepare workshop spaces, liaise with visiting artists or facilitators, and support outreach sessions in schools, libraries, or community centres. They keep records of attendance and participant feedback, help produce promotional materials, and assist with grant reporting. Communication with community partners, session planning, and handling practical logistics take up a significant part of the working week.
Completing this apprenticeship typically leads to roles such as Participation Officer, Community Engagement Officer, Learning Coordinator, or Outreach Worker. With experience, progression into senior programme management or curatorial roles is common. Employers span a wide range: museums, galleries, theatres, heritage sites, arts charities, local authorities, and community arts organisations. The apprenticeship is well suited to organisations that receive public or charitable funding and need staff who can both deliver community-facing work and account for it to funders.
Sorted by achievement rate.
No training providers currently listed for this standard.
Completing this apprenticeship typically leads into roles such as Learning and Participation Officer, Community Engagement Officer, Arts Education Coordinator, or Outreach Officer. Some completers move into programme assistant or junior producer roles within cultural organisations, supporting the design and delivery of workshops, events, and participation projects aimed at specific communities or age groups.
After a few years in post, practitioners often move into Senior Learning Officer, Learning and Participation Manager, or Community Programme Manager roles. The leadership track leads toward Head of Learning, Head of Participation, or Director of Engagement positions within larger cultural organisations. A specialist track is also common, with people deepening expertise in areas such as early years cultural provision, youth arts, or work with hard-to-reach communities, sometimes moving into freelance facilitation or consultancy.
Museums, galleries, theatres, orchestras, dance companies, heritage sites, libraries, and arts centres are the core employers. Local authority cultural services and combined authority arts teams also hire in this area. Many posts sit within charities and not-for-profit organisations, though larger publicly funded bodies such as national museums and regional producing theatres offer more structured career pathways. Arts Council England-funded organisations make up a significant share of the employer base.
Learning takes place in a real working environment throughout the apprenticeship, with the apprentice building knowledge, skills and behaviours relevant to supporting cultural learning and participation work. Before moving to final assessment, the apprentice and their employer confirm readiness through a gateway review, which typically checks that the apprentice has met any English and Maths requirements and has gathered sufficient evidence of workplace competence. Final assessment then confirms whether the apprentice can perform the role to the required standard. Assessment models for many Level 3 standards are currently being updated, so check the ST0696 page on the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education website for the current specification.
Building a strong body of evidence from day-to-day work is the most effective preparation. That means keeping records of projects, events, community engagement, and any learning programmes supported, rather than trying to reconstruct evidence later. Working regularly with both the employer and the training provider helps to identify gaps early and ensures progress stays on track. A clear understanding of the knowledge, skills and behaviours set out in the standard gives a useful checklist to work through steadily across the whole programme.
A strong provider for this standard will have tutors with practical backgrounds in arts programming, community engagement, or cultural sector project management, not just generic business or education qualifications. On their FATP profile, look for an achievement rate above 65% as a baseline; above 75% suggests consistent learner support. Employer satisfaction scores matter here because the cultural sector is relationship-driven and employers need providers who understand how small arts organisations actually operate. Learner reviews that mention real placement activity, audience development work, or community outreach projects are a positive signal.
Be cautious of providers who deliver this standard as a minor addition to a broad creative or business portfolio, with no visible specialism in the cultural sector. A high learner volume combined with a falling achievement rate is a concern, particularly given how varied the roles in this sector can be. If tutors cannot demonstrate recent connections to venues, galleries, museums, libraries, or community arts organisations, their contextual knowledge may be out of date. Vague answers about how off-the-job training is structured, or no evidence of employer co-design in the curriculum, should give pause.
Most employers ask for GCSEs in English and maths at grade 4 or above, or equivalent Level 2 qualifications. Some will consider candidates who have worked or volunteered in arts, heritage, or community settings. Apprentices who do not yet hold Level 2 English and maths will need to achieve this before completing the apprenticeship. Individual providers may set additional requirements, so check directly with them before applying.
The apprentice is employed throughout and splits their time between on-the-job learning and structured study with a training provider. The government is currently updating minimum duration and off-the-job training rules under Skills England reforms, so check the current specification on the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education page for ST0696 on gov.uk for up-to-date figures.
Before sitting the end-point assessment, the apprentice must pass through a gateway. This is a review point where the employer, training provider, and apprentice confirm that the required knowledge, skills, and behaviours have been demonstrated in the workplace. Assessment models for many Level 3 standards are under review; check the current assessment plan on gov.uk for ST0696 to see the specific methods in use, such as professional discussion, portfolio, or observation.
Levy-paying employers (those with a payroll above £3 million) use their digital apprenticeship service account. Smaller employers co-invest with the government, typically contributing a small percentage of the training cost. Employers with fewer than 50 staff taking on an apprentice aged 16 to 18 pay nothing. The funding band cap for ST0696 sets the maximum the government will contribute; your training provider can confirm the current band and any top-up arrangements.
The role sits within arts, heritage, museum, gallery, or community cultural organisations. Day-to-day work typically includes planning and delivering participatory arts or heritage programmes, engaging community groups, supporting schools or outreach activity, administering projects, communicating with participants and partners, and monitoring how well programmes are meeting their aims. The apprentice usually works across both office-based tasks and on-site or community delivery.
Completing this apprenticeship opens routes into roles such as participation officer, community engagement coordinator, learning producer, or arts development worker. With experience, progression towards management or producing roles is common. Some completers go on to study a Level 4 or higher apprenticeship, a foundation degree, or a full degree in arts management, cultural policy, or education. The cultural sector also values continued professional development through sector bodies such as Arts Council England funded networks.
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Curated by Alex Lockey, FATP founder and editor. Last reviewed: .
Sources include the apprenticeship's official specification on apprenticeships.gov.uk, Skills England guidance, IfATE archive records, DWP funding bands, and provider data sourced directly from the public Apprenticeship Provider and Assessment Register (APAR). Standard reference: ST0696.
Some sections on this page were drafted with AI assistance from published source data and reviewed by a human editor before publication. See our editorial methodology for how we maintain this content. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.