#NAW22: Degree apprenticeships giving students skills to succeed

A university report has found that achievement rates for Manchester Metropolitan degree apprentices are substantially above the national rates at all levels.

At Manchester Metropolitan, 83% of degree apprentices pass their apprenticeship, which is significantly higher than the national undergraduate average of 64%. At the end of the most recent completed cycle, 96% of the End Point Assessment results at the University were at Merit or Distinction level.

Today (February 9), National Apprenticeship Week is celebrating the hard work and success of apprentices. #AskAnApprentice day encourages apprentices to share knowledge about their apprenticeship and how apprenticeships can develop the futures of graduates.

It is also National Skills Day, which focuses on showcasing how degree apprenticeships allow young people to develop the skills they need to succeed in their careers, as well as those of the employer.

Levelling up

More than 2,500 students have started degree apprenticeships at Manchester Metropolitan since 2015 and more than 500 employers are partners on the programme. By 2026, the University aspires to increase apprenticeships numbers by 50%.

Degree apprenticeships are an innovative route into Higher Education and play an important role in levelling up, not just in delivering high quality skills, but also in enhancing life chances for all those with potential.

A recent survey of Manchester Metropolitan employer partners asked business leaders to assess the “degree of impact” that degree apprenticeships had on a number of objectives. All employers (100%) said that degree apprenticeships helped them to grow talent in the workplace.

Many also reported that degree apprentices brought knowledge into the organisation (88%), encouraged progression on the career ladder (81%), and reduced skills shortages (79%).

Kashif, Apprenticeship Lead at IBM, an IT service management company, who offer degree apprenticeships with the University, said: “Degree apprenticeships enable IBM to attract diverse talent, which is essential for innovation. Our degree apprentices have proven to be highly successful in terms of their career velocity and adding value to the business.

“Degree programmes enable our apprentices to develop a broad set of knowledge, technical skills and behaviours, which complement various entry-level roles in consulting, as well as deeper technical roles.

“Our apprentices work in a variety of different roles across multiple industries and have been involved in critical projects that have directly impacted the UK. This gives our apprentices a real sense of job satisfaction, as they can see how their hard work is contributing to society.

“Increasingly, IBM’s clients want apprentices to be included in the implementation of our solutions.”

Success

Many apprentices at the University have also been recognised at a national level; 25 of Manchester Metropolitan’s apprentices have won regional and national categories at the National Apprenticeship Awards and by other UK awarding bodies, including BAME, RSC, MSP, British Education Awards and Virgin Star.

Rebecca Goodwin, Digital and Technology degree apprentice, AstraZeneca, said: “I chose to do a degree apprenticeship because I wasn’t 100% sure what I wanted to do if I was to go to university full time. I didn’t want to spend all that time and money to be in the same position when I graduated.

“Going down this route meant I was able to explore lots of different roles within AstraZeneca and then also get that support at Manchester Met to try and figure out what it is that actually suited me that I wanted to go forward in the future with.

“I would definitely recommend doing a degree apprenticeship because not only have I been able to pick up all these different skills, I’ve been rotating around AstraZeneca, but I’ve also got all this experience and a full degree without having to pay for it.

“I feel really proud to be graduating - I had no idea what I really wanted to do, whereas I’ve just recently got a promotion at work doing something that I absolutely adore, and it’s not necessarily something I would have been exposed to if I hadn’t gone down this route.”

Find out more about our Degree Apprenticeships here.