Penny Hele – Inspiring Futures project officer at Plymouth University – writes on LinkedIn that Plymouth University now offers ‘degree apprenticeships’. The courses they have at present are a Chartered Manager programme run by the Business School and a four year degree in Digital & Technology Solutions.
http://www.plymouth.ac.uk/apprenticeships.
The idea of a Degree Apprenticeship is that:
- businesses collaborate with universities and colleges in order to offer vocational degree courses which combine academic study with practical experience and wider employment skills;
- apprentices split their time between university study and the workplace and are employed throughout;
- they gain a full bachelor’s or master’s degree from a university while earning a wage and getting real on-the-job experience in their chosen profession;
- the cost of course fees is shared between government and employers, meaning that the apprentice can obtain a full bachelors or even masters degree without paying any fees.
UCAS says that “Degree apprenticeships are new, so there are only a limited number of vacancies available at the moment. It is anticipated that the number of vacancies will grow over the next year or two … Competition for apprenticeships can be tough – partly because there are often only a limited number of vacancies available, particularly on higher and the new degree level apprenticeships, but also because school/college leavers and adults already in employment will be able to apply to them too. Employers may also be considering applications from exisiting employees …”
The Times Guide to Higher & Degree Apprenticeships lists the 30 organisations that recruited the largest number of sixth form school leavers for higher or degree apprenticeships or comparable training schemes in 2015. They offered a total of more than 2,800 places.
According to Which? University, there are degree apprenticeships in the following sectors and occupations. However it looks as though they are in demand because a search carried out today using their Find an Apprenticeship tool for all degree level vacancies in England returned only 26.
