Demystifying Degree Apprenticeships: addressing five common business concerns 

To demystify degree apprenticeships, we address five common concerns from employers and explain the crucial role Manchester Met plays in supporting businesses to implement degree apprenticeships into their recruitment and training strategy.  

1. Degree apprenticeships require substantial investment 

Through partnering with over 600 employers, we often find that a major barrier to offering apprenticeships is the misconception that they are a significant financial burden. 

However, the government offers funding options depending on the annual pay bill of your business to help offer apprenticeships.  

• For employers with an annual pay bill of less than £3 million, the government will pay at least 95% of the tuition fee for any apprentice, with the cost of training for individuals up to the age of 21 being fully funded. 
• For employers with an annual pay bill of more than £3 million, you will pay levy contributions which you can access to cover the costs of degree apprenticeships. If the levy pot has been exhausted, the government will pay at least 95% of the fees.  

To find out more information regarding additional financial support provided by the government to employers, access our website.  

To help SMEs understand these changes, we’re hosting a webinar where our team will walk you through how the funding has changed and provide details on how to secure it. Join us and get all your questions answered. 

Degree Apprenticeships for SMEs: Grow your business and retain top talent 

• Tuesday 25 June, 11:00am – 12:00pm 
• Book your place today.

2. Degree Apprenticeships don’t equip individuals with the skills needed for complex projects and roles  

Many think that degree apprenticeships are only suitable for entry-level roles and that apprentices are not able to progress to highly skilled positions. At Manchester Met, we offer a range of programmes from higher apprenticeships to masters degrees in a variety of subject areas including creative and digital technology, business, HR and management, health and social care and science. 

Degree apprenticeships offer a unique opportunity to inject fresh knowledge and academic thinking into an organisation. Apprentices engage in real-world projects that directly benefit businesses, blending theoretical learning with practical application.  

For instance, our Laboratory Scientist (Chemical Science) degree apprentice at Italmatch, Kasia Gierek, has successfully applied the theoretical knowledge gained at university to real-world work situations. In her second year, Kasia was given the responsibility to carry out laboratory work for a significant project, which involved introducing a new product to the plant. Due to the quality of her work at the company and the academic knowledge acquired during her degree, she won a silver medal at the WorldSkills UK 2023, one of the most challenging STEM competitions in the country. Now, she has been selected to represent the UK in the Chemical Laboratory Technology category at WorldSkills Lyon 2024, where she will compete with individuals from around the world. Find out more about her apprenticeship journey. 

3. Supervising and training degree apprentices requires too much time and resources

Another concern is that apprenticeships require extensive internal resources for training and mentoring, where leaders may struggle to effectively mentor apprentices while juggling their own work and being asked to do more with fewer resources.  

Partnering with us to offer degree apprenticeships will provide your organisation with a wealth of training and development resources, including skills coaches, line manager/mentor sessions, and comprehensive guides to support you through the entire process.  

Our employer partner, Sian Cummins, Content Designer Manager at BT Group, shared her insights on the training received from us: “We’ve received a comprehensive induction on what to expect as an apprentice line manager. We learned how to use a 30, 60, and 90-day template to ensure they’re hitting the right milestones in their career during that initial period.”  Read her full testimonial to find out more about the support we can provide.  

4. Apprenticeships are for only entry-level roles 

It’s important to remember that apprenticeships offer a powerful solution to help businesses nurture employees at the start of their careers, but they are not just for entry-level roles.  

Our masters level programmes are an ideal opportunity for upskilling your current employees, serving as a strategic platform to refine their expertise, develop advanced skills, and prepare them for higher-level responsibilities within the business. 

Also, undergraduate level apprenticeships are not only for young employees or those entering the world of work for the first time.  Our programmes also provide a great opportunity for experienced professionals, who didn’t have the chance earlier in life, to gain a university degree without having to follow the traditional path. With flexible entry requirements, mature employees can enrol to acquire industry required qualifications, change career paths or transition from one sector to another within the business.  

For example, our Chartered Manager Fast-Track Degree Apprenticeship recognises and builds upon existing managerial capabilities, enhancing individual effectiveness and embedding new ways of thinking. This provides a great platform to upskill current employees, save on recruitment costs, and provide employees with career progression within the business.  

Also, when businesses are recruiting for new positions, we offer dedicated support to help them connect with quality candidates. We promote all apprenticeship vacancies on our website, as email alerts to a pool of candidates and on social media.  

5. Degree apprentices are likely to leave once they graduate

Employers see better retention rates when hiring apprentices. New recruits are likely to develop a strong sense of belonging to their employer as they spend time training and developing as professionals in their chosen fields. Whereas, upskilling current employees makes them feel valued and motivated.  

To support business retention strategies, our skills coaches inform employers on apprentices’ progression throughout the programme, discussing skills development and where they see opportunities for career progression.  

Our employer partner, Kashif Taj, Apprenticeship Lead at IBM UK, highlighted our support in maximising apprentices’ performance: “Manchester Met actively listens to employers and takes action on their feedback. This is evident in the skills coach meetings where the employer, apprentice, and skills coach discuss progress and identify any support opportunities, enabling apprentices to feel supported and to reach their potential.” Read more about how our apprenticeships benefited IBM UK. 

We know that integrating apprenticeships into businesses’ recruitment and training strategy can be daunting. However, partnering with Manchester Met guarantees the level of support needed to ensure a smooth delivery of apprenticeships every step of the way. 

If you are new to apprenticeships and want to find out more about how you can implement them in your business, we want to hear from you!  

Contact our expert team and explore our list of programmes 

Stay updated about the latest apprenticeship news by following us on LinkedIn, Twitter/X, and Facebook.  

Please note that this article was produced with information available and approved as of May 2024.