The findings will be used by government to help set pay policy generally and make improvements in apprenticeship training.

IFF Research, an independent research organisation, will be undertaking short telephone interviews with around 10,000 apprentices and will asked questions on pay and hours.

The questions apprentices are likely to be asked will include:

• the number of hours you spend working for your employer, in a typical week

• the number of additional hours you spend learning and training on top of your normal work. This could include
  attending college, courses, workshops or training sessions at your employer’s premises or held externally, learning at home, learning from workbooks, time with your assessor and time filling in a portfolio.

• how much you earn – ideally the amount you earn in gross terms i.e. before tax, national insurance and other deductions.

The anonymous answers to these questions will enable us to look at wage levels nationally, measure changes with previous years.

Apprentices selected to take part in the survey will receive a letter prior to receiving a call from one of the researchers.

A similar survey was undertaken in 2014.