This paper discusses whether the introduction of Degree Apprenticeships (DAs) offered by English higher education providers (at Level 6) is enhancing social mobility by widening access to underrepresented groups, as the UK Government claims (DfE 2021; Halfon 2023) and is based on two pieces of research being carried out by researchers at Sheffield Hallam and the Edge Foundation.

Degree Apprenticeships (DAs) were introduced in England from 2015 for roles including digital, automotive engineering, banking, and construction (Hubble and Bolton 2019) and have quickly expanded to include many more occupational areas from retail management to health and social care. The number of DA starts (at level 6) trebled from 6,400 in 2017/18 to 25,000 in 2022/23 (DfE 2023). DAs provide “an innovative new model bringing together the best of higher and vocational education” (DBIS 2015). The incorporation of a full degree within the degree apprenticeship is “crucial to its ‘brand’” (Reeve and Gallacher 2022, p160). Reflecting that conclusion, Universities UK (2019, p15) noted that “degree apprenticeships are seen as having parity of esteem with traditional degrees, thus helping to raise the appeal of vocational education opportunities more broadly.” Even if parity of esteem is not entirely achieved, the introduction of DA contributes to the improved reputation of vocational and technical education and training.

Only few European countries offer apprenticeships at degree level and Scotland is one that introduced Graduate Apprenticeships. Other countries, such as Germany and Austria have hybrid studies. Consequently, this presentation will generate interest from those countries where policies target the inclusion of students from disadvantaged backgrounds in HE, where diversification of vocational students is of interest.

DAs are integral to the UK government’s strategy of improving economic productivity through enhancing the skills of the workforce whilst also addressing social inequality (see DfE 2021). DAs are, therefore, part of a coherent and comprehensive shift in education policy and funding in relation to the perceived needs of the UK economy.

In terms of the make-up of current apprentices on DAs, research finds that there are two main groups of students that are attracted to them. The first group of students is young (18 years old), going into a new job role as a degree apprentice rather than university as an undergraduate, either as part of a cohort in a large organisation or an individual joining a smaller organisation (see also Cavaglia et al., 2022). Such DA students, however, do not match the underrepresentation profile of what are considered ‘widening participation’ cohorts in the UK, in terms of social class background, gender and ethnicity (Cavaglia et al., 2022; McCaig, Rainford and Squire 2022). The second group of degree apprentices are existing staff already in employment and DAs are often offered to them as part of ongoing staff development within organisations; hence they are people that have not attended higher education, and to that extent DAs are ‘widening participation’ to some disadvantaged groups (e.g. mature students) albeit as a secondary consideration.  

The UK Government has argued that DAs are a suitable replacement for undergraduate degree programmes, mainly on the basis that degree apprentices don’t accrue student loan debt (Cavaglia et al., 2022) (degrees in England and Wales average around £9,00 per year), so represent a better offer for students from low-income backgrounds. 27% of apprentices on L6 and L7 programme came from the most advantaged areas (CSJ, 2020) and only 13 % lived in the most disadvantaged areas of England. Nevertheless, the extent to which DAs offered by HE providers fit their widening access remits is politically contested given that institutional efforts to improve access is regulated by the Office for Students. 

This paper is based on two ongoing pieces of research involving researchers based at Sheffield Hallam University and the Edge Foundation. Thus, the methodology draws on a combination of the different approaches employed. Project one is Impact of Degree Apprenticeships on Widening Participation Activity by HE providers and employs a case study approach to explore the extent to which DAs overlap with work in the area of widening participation (WP) to HE. It should be noted that HE providers are not mandated to offer DAs (in the UK HE providers are legally autonomous and thus have to be persuaded that provision aligns with their institutional mission and business model) but conversely, they are subject to a regulator (the Office for Students) in relation to access, quality and standards. In this context we are exploring how and in which ways university managers and administrators have pivoted their offer to include consideration of degree apprenticeships in their outreach work. The primary method is semi-structured interviews with key informants (KIs) at two contrasting HE providers offering a spread of provision by DA standards, and secondary data analysis of DA provision. KIs are drawn from a variety of institutional roles, including: employer liaison; marketing and recruitment; outreach; access and participation officers (responsible for compliance with OfS); and programme/course leaders. Project 2 Degree Apprenticeships in England: What can we learn from the experience of apprentices, employers and HE providers? This research was led by the Edge Foundation and investigated how DAs are perceived and experienced by various stakeholders; their motivations for engaging with DAs, and the challenges and opportunities moving forward, including the extent to which DAs are supporting widening participation into higher learning and contribute to social mobility. The research took a qualitative approach, interviewing 99 stakeholders. Semi-structured interviews were used with policy makers, universities, apprentices, employers and other relevant sector bodies. In relation to widening participation and increasing diversity we have asked questions from participants about, for example, what they aim to achieve via DAs, the characteristics of their apprentices, communications about DAs and recruitment processes. We used thematic content analysis and used NVivo to support data analysis. In order to further increase validity of findings, the research team has regularly discussed individual interviews and themes and sub-themes deriving from them.

There are two distinct groups of people participating in degree apprenticeships. Firstly, those that have recently left school or college having completed their (usually) A levels with high achievement. They are therefore new, or comparatively new, to the workplace. Secondly, and more frequently, DAs are taken up by existing employees who are already working within and returning to education (often in their mid-20s). In particular DAs were acknowledged for widening participation to university degrees by giving this mature group opportunities that were not available to them first time around at the traditional entry point of university, age 18. A variety of key reasons were given for this, including not being able to afford university, having children or family responsibilities at a young age, having other financial responsibilities (e.g. a mortgage) and broadly considering university was ‘not for them’ at 18. Other reasons participants mentioned they had learning difficulties or the style of learning in HE did not suit their needs. Case study analysis found that despite universities having a strong commitment to widening participation in higher education of students from under-represented groups, this doesn’t always translate to practices in relation to recruitment of DAs. DAs are primarily recruited by employers; employer prerequisites take precedence over the university’s desire to widen access. As a result, some university respondents discussed the need to engage more with schools and colleges to provide information and guidance on DAs. Some (mainly larger) employers strategically consider their social responsibilities included in their activities elements of WP, usually with a focus on underrepresented groups. Findings indicate an increasing number of school leavers who wish to pursue DAs, but there are not enough opportunities available to them, in part because opportunities are often offered internally to existing employees

Cavaglia, C., McNally, S., and Ventura, G. (2022) The Recent Evolution of Apprenticeships: Apprenticeship pathways and participation since 2015. London: The Sutton Trust. Available at https://www.suttontrust.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/The-recent-evolution-of-apprenticeships.pdf CSJ (The Centre for Social Justice) (2020). How to reboot apprenticeships and kick-start the recovery. London: The Centre for Social Justice Department for Education (DfE) (2021). Skills for Jobs: Lifelong Learning for Opportunity and Growth Available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/601980f2e90e07128a353aa3/Skills_for_jobs_lifelong_learning_for_opportunity_and_growth__web_version_.pdf Department for Education (DfE) (2023). Academic year 2022/23: Apprenticeships and traineeships. Published 30 November 2023. Available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/apprenticeships-and-traineeships Halfon, R, Rt Hon (2023) Ministerial speech to the Higher Education Policy Institute annual conference, 26th June 2023 Hubble, S. and Bolton, P. (2019) Degree Apprenticeships House of Commons Briefing Paper 8471 Published 18 December 2019. Available at: https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-8741/CBP-8741.pdf McCaig, C, Rainford, J and Squire, R (Eds) (2022) The Business of Widening Participation: policy, practice and culture, Emerald Publishing ISBN 9781800430501 Reeve, F and Gallacher, J. (2022) A New Approach to Providing Higher Vocational Qualification: Higher/Degree Apprenticeships and Graduate Apprenticeships, in E. Knight, A.-M. Bathmaker, G. Moodie, K. Orr, S. Webb & L. Wheelahan (eds) Equity and Access to High Skills through Higher Vocational Education Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave MacMillan, pp145-167. Research by the Edge Foundation and Sheffield Hallam on widening participation and DAs: https://www.edge.co.uk/research/current-research/impact-of-degree-apprenticeships-on-widening-participation-activity-by-he-providers/ Universities UK (2019) The Future of Degree Apprenticeships. Universities UK https://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/sites/default/files/field/downloads/2021-07/future-degree-apprenticeships.pdf