Providing technical, research and logistical support to Historic Environment professionals working with heritage assets.
Apprentices learn to research, assess and report on heritage assets, applying national and local legislation, policy frameworks and professional standards to real casework. This includes understanding the significance and condition of historic buildings, archaeological sites, landscapes and other designated assets, and knowing how legal instruments such as the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 and the National Planning Policy Framework apply in practice. They also develop skills in casework administration, technical writing, record-keeping and stakeholder communication.
Working across office and site-based tasks, apprentices handle incoming requests for heritage advice, maintain Historic Environment Records, and prepare documents such as desk-based assessments, designation statements and conservation reports. They interpret architectural drawings and design and access statements, attend site visits to assess condition and significance, and liaise with planners, developers, owners and colleagues. They manage their own caseload to deadlines, apply relevant legislation to each case, and escalate complex or sensitive decisions to senior staff when appropriate.
Completion typically leads to assistant-level roles across local authorities, national heritage bodies, planning consultancies and specialist contractors. Common job titles include assistant conservation officer, heritage at risk projects officer, listing officer, designation officer and assistant heritage consultant. With experience, progression moves toward senior adviser, principal officer or heritage consultant positions. Employers span Historic England, local authority planning departments, archaeological units, private development consultancies and third-sector organisations with estate or built heritage responsibilities.
Sorted by achievement rate.
No training providers currently listed for this standard.
Completers typically move into assistant or associate-level posts working directly with heritage assets and the planning system. Common job titles include Assistant Historic Environment Officer, Assistant Conservation Officer, Heritage at Risk Projects Officer, Listing Officer, and Historic Environment Record Officer. Some move into junior consultant roles within private sector heritage consultancies, while others join local authority planning teams or national heritage bodies as Casework Officers or Designation Officers.
With three to five years' experience, many progress to Historic Environment Officer, Conservation Officer, or Heritage Consultant without the assistant grade. From there, career tracks tend to split: those in local government or statutory bodies may move toward senior advisory or team leader roles, while those in consultancy often specialise in a particular area such as archaeological assessment, listed building consent work, or conservation management planning. Senior Consultant, Principal Heritage Consultant, and Historic Environment Manager are realistic longer-term titles.
Local planning authorities are among the most consistent employers, alongside national bodies such as Historic England, Cadw, Historic Environment Scotland, and the Historic Environment Division in Northern Ireland. Private sector heritage consultancies, from small specialist practices to larger multidisciplinary planning and environmental consultancies, also recruit at this level. Other opportunities sit within infrastructure project teams, church bodies holding ecclesiastical exemption, and third-sector organisations managing historic estates or collections.
Throughout the apprenticeship, learning takes place alongside employment. The apprentice builds knowledge, skills and behaviours across research, casework, policy application and stakeholder communication, putting them into practice through real work on heritage assets and planning-related projects. Before final assessment, the apprentice and employer confirm readiness through a gateway check, which typically involves reviewing the evidence gathered during the programme. Final assessment then establishes whether the apprentice can genuinely perform the role. Assessment models for many standards are currently being updated following sector reforms, so check the standard's gov.uk page for the current specification before enrolling.
Building a record of real workplace activity from the start is the most effective preparation. This means keeping evidence of casework, research outputs, site visit records and written reports as they are produced, rather than trying to reconstruct them later. The apprentice should maintain regular contact with both their employer and training provider to track progress against the knowledge, skills and behaviours required, and flag any gaps early. Consistent, well-documented work throughout the programme puts the apprentice in the strongest position when the gateway review takes place.
Look for providers with achievement rates above 65% on their FATP profile, and strong employer satisfaction scores, since this apprenticeship involves substantial independent casework and employers need confidence that learners are being prepared to work without close supervision. Good providers will have supervisors or tutors with direct experience in historic environment practice, whether in local authority conservation teams, archaeological units or heritage consultancies. Ask to see examples of the written outputs apprentices produce: desk-based assessments, significance evaluations or listing advice are all fair tests of whether teaching connects to real casework.
Be cautious of providers who cannot name the specific legislation covered in their curriculum, particularly the 1990 Listed Buildings Act and the NPPF, or who treat the standard as broadly interchangeable with generic planning or built environment apprenticeships. A high learner volume paired with a declining achievement rate warrants scrutiny. Providers who cannot explain how apprentices practise site visits, condition assessments or stakeholder engagement in realistic settings, rather than classroom theory alone, are unlikely to produce job-ready graduates.
There are no nationally fixed entry requirements set by the standard, so employers can define their own criteria. In practice, most employers look for a good level of general education, often including GCSEs or equivalent in English and maths. Some prior interest or experience in heritage, history, archaeology, or planning is useful but not always essential. Apprentices must be employed in a relevant role throughout, and employers should confirm that the role genuinely involves heritage advice or historic environment work.
The typical duration is around 24 months, though this can vary depending on the individual and employer. The apprentice remains employed throughout and applies their learning directly to real casework. Off-the-job training is a required element, but the specific minimum requirement is subject to revision under current Skills England reforms. Check the current funding rules on gov.uk for the most up-to-date figure before planning delivery.
Before moving to end-point assessment, the apprentice must pass through the gateway, where the employer and training provider confirm the apprentice has developed the required knowledge, skills, and behaviours. Assessment methods for many standards are being updated as part of ongoing reforms, so the specific end-point assessment components should be verified against the current standard specification on the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education pages on gov.uk. The assessment will require the apprentice to demonstrate competence across research, advice, legislation, and professional conduct.
The funding band for this standard is £10,000, which is the maximum that can be drawn from the apprenticeship levy or paid via co-investment. Levy-paying employers (those with a wage bill above £3 million) pay through their Digital Apprenticeship Service account. Smaller employers contribute 5% of the training cost, with the government paying the rest. Employers with fewer than 50 staff taking on an apprentice aged 16 to 18 pay nothing. Costs above the funding band are met by the employer.
The work is a mix of office-based research and periodic site visits. Day-to-day tasks include researching heritage assets using Historic Environment Records and other sources, interpreting planning applications and listed building consent requests, drafting reports and advice notes, maintaining case records, and liaising with applicants, colleagues, and statutory consultees. The apprentice may handle cases independently where appropriate, applying legislation such as the NPPF and the Listed Buildings Act to provide clear, evidenced recommendations on proposed changes to heritage assets.
Completion typically leads to roles such as assistant heritage officer, assistant conservation officer, casework officer, or heritage consultant at assistant or associate level, across local authorities, Historic England, planning consultancies, and charitable bodies. Many completers work towards professional membership with bodies such as the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists or the Institute of Historic Building Conservation. A level 4 qualification can also support progression into a relevant degree or higher-level apprenticeship in heritage, conservation, planning, or a related discipline.
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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: 441.
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.