Trading standards professional
Level 6 · DegreeBusiness and administration 3 yr typical
About this apprenticeship
What it involves
This Level 6 apprenticeship trains trading standards professionals to protect consumers and honest businesses by enforcing consumer protection, product safety, fair trading, and food standards legislation. Apprentices investigate complaints, carry out inspections, and work to regulate businesses across a wide range of sectors. It can lead to qualification as a Chartered Trading Standards Practitioner and senior roles in local authority trading standards or national enforcement bodies.
On the job
What you’ll learn
Consumer protection, product safety, and fair trading legislation
Food standards law including labelling, composition, and safety
Investigation and enforcement powers under Trading Standards legislation
Sampling, testing, and using scientific analysis in enforcement
Interviewing techniques and evidence gathering for prosecutions
Animal health and welfare regulation where relevant to the employer
Working with businesses to achieve compliance and give advice
On the job
What you’ll do day to day
Inspect business premises for compliance with trading standards law
Investigate consumer complaints about products, services, or fraud
Take samples of goods for testing and analysis
Conduct formal interviews under caution with suspected offenders
Prepare case files for prosecution or civil enforcement action
Advise businesses on their legal obligations under trading standards law
Work with partner agencies including police, HMRC, and the DVSA
The deal
How this apprenticeship works
You earn a wage from day one. You are a paid employee, not a student. There are no tuition fees - the training is funded by your employer and the government.
About 20% is “off-the-job” training. Roughly a day a week is spent learning away from your normal duties - at a college, training provider, or online - working towards a recognised qualification.
It ends with an end-point assessment (EPA). Near the end, an independent assessor checks you can do the job to the national standard - through tests, a project, a portfolio or an interview. Pass it and you are fully qualified.
How to get there
What you need to start
Level 6 (Degree) - roughly Bachelor’s-degree level. Usually needs A-levels or a Level 3 qualification (employers set UCAS-point targets). You earn a full degree while you work - with no tuition fees to pay.
What’s next: Leads into professional roles, sometimes with a Level 7 (Master’s) apprenticeship after.
Entry requirements are set by each employer and can vary - always check the specific vacancy.
Hear from employers
What it’s really like
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