Live Life Team
Day release is a slightly old fashioned term for what has largely been renamed ‘Modern Apprenticeship’. It means that a young person will be working and learning on the job, as an apprentice, but will also need to attend college for a day a week to back up this experience, make certain that all the basics are covered and ensure that you are happy with the profession.
Employers who can accommodate apprentices can register with local colleges that offer the correct subjects for them, for example motor vehicle courses, and for four days of the week, you will work as a junior at the garage, learning from the more experienced mechanics and doing new things all the time in a live, public-facing environment. For one day a week you will go to college and join other young people doing similar training in other places, and spend the day doing more textbook formal learning in your chosen subject area.
This is where the name ‘day release’ came from, and whilst it sounds a bit like a prison term, it simply reflects the fact that you are released from your place of work for the day, and need to attend college instead. You may get taught aspects of health and safety at work, get a chance to handle various pieces of equipment and learn to do so correctly and safely. At the end you will sit an exam or assessment which means you also get formal qualifications to back up your apprentice experience.
