“Its a struggle to get to work”
In March a group of apprentices in Wales were talking about the cost of travel. They were worried that apprentices they knew were spending a significant amount of their income on getting to and from work but weren’t sure this was happening everywhere.
In June and July over 3000 apprentices took part in our travel survey, letting us know how much they were spending, how far they were traveling and how that affected them.
Across the UK apprentices are paying an average of £24 per week in travel costs. The Apprentice National Minimum Wage is £2.73, in that light £24 per week seems an awful lot. An apprentice on NMW would need to start work at 9am on Monday, work all day and then again on Tuesday until 10:20 just to earn enough to pay for travel.
“Lack of financial support to help with travel expenses creates a great deal of stress and worry which then reflects and interferes with all other areas of your life. Without a credit card I would not be able to afford to pay the petrol to get me to work and college, but then there is the struggle to pay off the debts that build up.”
Apprentice East Midlands
Download the full report here: National Society of Apprentices Travel Research