The apprenticeship supervisor: role, requirements and limits in 2026

You choose a company, a trade, a school — and often overlook the factor that will weigh most on the year: the person who will supervise you day to day. Here is what to know about the apprenticeship supervisor before signing, as we explain it to candidates on SuperAlternant.

Who can take the role

The supervisor is a volunteer employee of the company, named in the contract itself. They must meet one of two conditions:

• hold a qualification at least equivalent to the one the apprentice is preparing, in the same field, plus one year of experience related to the target qualification;
• or have two years of experience related to that qualification, with no qualification requirement.

In small businesses the employer can take on the role personally.

How many apprentices per supervisor

A supervisor may not oversee more than two apprentices at a time, plus one repeating a year. The cap exists for a simple reason: beyond that, supervision becomes theoretical.

What the role actually involves

The job is not to hand you tasks but to make you progressively autonomous: planning how your skills build up, liaising with the training centre, and taking part in the assessments that punctuate the contract.

They must be given the time to do this, and follow training themselves where the company or the sector agreement provides for it.

Warning signs before you sign

Two interview questions will tell you a great deal: "Who will my supervisor be, and how many apprentices do they follow?" and "How much time a week will we have together?"

A company that cannot answer yet is not necessarily acting in bad faith — but a company that finds the question odd is telling you something. Supervision is a legal obligation, not a favour.