Degree apprenticeships drive productivity and tackle key skills gaps, new report shows

• More than 90% of business leaders surveyed believe degree apprenticeships are tackling industrial skills gaps
• Degree apprentice graduates’ wages outstrip UK national average with 76% receiving a pay rise during their programme
• Boosting social mobility – more than a third of degree apprentices come from disadvantaged backgrounds
• New recommendations for government, including a broader Apprenticeship Levy

Degree apprenticeships are helping to boost businesses’ talent pipeline and tackle skills shortages in key industries such as healthcare, digital, banking, HR and biotechnology, a new report shows.

More than 90% of businesses surveyed – which includes multinational, public sector and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) – believe that degree apprentices are bringing much-needed expertise into their companies and driving productivity, while also plugging skills gaps to unlock growth.

It also benefits the apprentices who earn while they learn, working and studying for a degree at the same time.

Their earnings outstrip the UK national average, with some seeing their wages increase 131% compared to when they first started as a degree apprentice. Between one and four years post-programme, undergraduate degree apprenticeship alumni earn an average of £49,784 and postgraduate alumni £60,028.

The new report, Force for Impact, has been published today (September 11) by Manchester Metropolitan University which is a leading provider of degree apprentices working with over 600 employers.

The University surveyed its employer partners to better understand the impact of degree apprenticeships and provide a series of recommendations for government.

Professor Malcolm Press CBE, Vice-Chancellor of Manchester Metropolitan, said: “We’ve been a proud provider of degree apprenticeships since they first began and we have witnessed first-hand the difference they make to the economy, to employers and to the apprentices themselves.

“With our employer partners, we have supported more than 5,600 apprentices and that growth is only accelerating. Degree apprentices provide alternative routes for people to learn and work, and for businesses to develop a talent pipeline. Degree apprenticeships aren’t for everybody but they provide a vital pathway for many, complementing other training and learning routes.

“Our new Force for Impact report gives a real insight into the outcomes these programmes deliver, whether that is providing digital marketing for SMEs, upskilling current staff with the latest UX skills or training a new generation of nurses and social workers.

“We believe degree apprenticeships are a force for good and we have developed a set of recommendations for policymakers to take them to the next level.”

As part of the report, Manchester Met has created as set of recommendations for degree apprenticeships:

• Government should make a long-term commitment to degree apprenticeships
• Degree apprenticeships should be embedded as part of the UK’s mainstream higher education provision and given greater recognition and more promotion
• Clearer and more explicit progression pathways should be promoted from T-Levels and lower-level apprenticeships to degree and higher apprenticeships
• The Apprenticeship Levy should be widened and accompanied by additional support
• National research into career impact should be commissioned and robust performance metrics implemented
• Government should support, encourage and enable more adoption of degree apprenticeships among small and medium sized enterprises

The report also shines a light on the role degree apprentices play in boosting social mobility with more than a third coming from disadvantaged backgrounds. Additionally, almost 20% of degree apprentices are from a minority ethnic background.

Launched in 2015, degree apprenticeships were developed in conjunction with industry with a specific purpose of providing the skills businesses needed to drive economic growth.

Courses offered have rapidly grown since their inception and now feature a range of sectors, including: community nursing, healthcare science, digital user experience (UX), social worker, chartered manager, digital marketer and creative digital design, among many others.

They provide both the start to people’s careers – with just over half of apprentices under 24 years old when starting their programme – and support for older people looking to change direction or take the next step in their career.

Employers on the programme range from multinational corporations, such as AstraZeneca, Barclays, and IBM, to small-and-medium sized businesses aiming to grow and develop new staff.