Support and Services for Apprentices

The Waterfront Building is the heart of our main campus in Ipswich, featuring a large auditorium, lecture and seminar rooms, study spaces, a café and the Infozone.

The James Hehir Building boasts the latest clinical skills and sports and exercise laboratories, as well as specialist bioscience teaching and research facilities, all created to give you the tools you need to achieve your full potential. 

The Arts Building is the hub for the humanities subjects with purpose-built, industry-standard studios for: Architecture, Art, Graphic Design, Film and Photography as well as computer laboratories, digital suites and an exhibition space. 

The Atrium is home to Suffolk Business School, the Ipswich Waterfront Innovation Centre (IWIC) and is also the main teaching building for STEM subjects. It is equipped with cutting-edge technology including a virtual environment radiotherapy training suite, a 3D productivity suite and laboratories for Psychology, Games Design, Network and Software Engineering. In the Library Building, alongside the library students will find a range of learning resources and single/group study areas. This Building is also home to the Students’ Union’ offices, SU campus shop and social space.   

Students interested in staying in student accommodation have a variety of options to choose from: Athena Hall is the on-campus halls of residence, located just a 2 minute walk from the Waterfront Building and there are also two off-campus halls of residence and shared houses located close by.  

The Health and Wellbeing Building is a space on-campus dedicated to the promotion of integrated care amongst our student body, practice partners and the wider community. It houses brand-new clinical simulation facilities, two state-of-the-art hospital wards, a midwifery birthing unit, a new sports and exercise facility, a working radiography imaging suite and counselling/physiotherapy clinic rooms.  

The DigiTech Centre opened in 2021 and is a hub for digital research and training. The Centre is based at Adastral Park and features high tech laboratories which support the delivery of the ICT and Digital Creative courses offered by the University.  

The Hold is a purpose-built heritage centre which opened in 2020, supporting research, teaching and public engagement. The £20m cutting-edge teaching spaces and facilities provide students with a contemporary new learning environment in an immersive modern building. 

View our virtual tour of the University of Suffolk.

The University of Suffolk Students Union

To put it simply, we believe that every student at the University of Suffolk should have a fantastic experience. The Students Union is a charity led by your Student Officers and we want to make sure that we give you the knowledge to shape, mould and develop your experience at the University of Suffolk. We deliver your sports, societies, events and much more whilst you work hard and play harder at University. We're funded largely by the University however we will always remain independent and on your side. Join us on our journey to build the best SU run by students for students.

This is your SU and you own it.

Apprentice Unions

Other apprenticeship-specific Unions include:

UNISON

Union Learn

GMB

You can also join your industry trade union as well, and your employer should be able to help point you in the right direction.

Awards

National Apprenticeship Awards

Rate My Apprenticeship Awards

BAME Apprenticeship Awards

As well as national awards, there are a number of industry or sector specific awards. Your employer or training provider will know more about these.

The University of Suffolk is a fully inclusive learning environment, where everyone is welcome and every student is given the chance to discover new things, push themselves and thrive. If you have particular needs, or you feel that certain adjustments would enhance your studies, then we can help. We offer a range of support to make sure everyone benefits at the University of Suffolk. Find out more about the services available to apprentices.

Furthermore, the DSC (Disabled Student Commission) has published a useful guide about considerations for disabled applicants to higher or degree apprenticeships.

Impartial Careers and Employability Advice

Although apprentices are already employed within their sector, the opportunities for growth and development are always at the forefront of our mind. The Careers, Employability and Enterprise Team are available to enhance your journey as an apprentice, and an employee by giving impartial advice.

Apprentice network groups / extra activities

Building networks whether you are a sole apprentice or part of a bigger cohort is important in reducing isolation and making friends for life!

• Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education apprentice panel
• Young Apprentice Ambassador Network
• Association of Apprentices
• National Society of Apprentices
• Student-Staff Liaison Committees

There may also be employer or training provider specific apprentice networks. Speak to your line manager or training provider to find out. You can also search on the Internet to find out more.

Council Tax

Degree Apprenticeship students may be able to get a declaration from their employer.

If you need proof that you are enrolled at the University, you can generate your student status certification yourself using Gradintelligence. All students who enrol on a programme of study with the University of Suffolk will have an account created with Gradintelligence that provides a document access and sharing web portal that enables you to view and share your digital documents securely, at any time and from anywhere. Following completion of your enrolment and the commencement of your course, you will be sent an email with an account activation link. The email containing the activation link will be sent to your University of Suffolk email address, and the link will remain active for 30 days. If you do not activate your account, you will be sent a reminder. Please look in your University email inbox as well as junk/spam folder for the latest email from Gradintelligence.

Any queries relating to your eligibility for Council Tax Exemption should be directed to your local council.

Student Discount

NUS Apprentice Extra discount card

The NUS extra card helps stretch your hard-earned cash by providing high street discounts and access to exclusive events, all for just £11.