Parity, prestige, and personalisation – attracting the degree apprentices of the future

By Lindsay Conroy, Apprenticeship Lead at UCAS

Degree apprenticeships. A great opportunity to study, receive on and off the job training, while getting paid. And get the same award at the end of it as a traditional degree.

So, what’s holding more students back from taking advantage of such a great route to becoming an eminently employable expert in their chosen field? Perception is a major factor. Recent research from UCAS showed that the word ‘prestigious’ was associated with university degrees by 76% of those polled compared to just 4% for apprenticeships. Students also said that the ability to get a job is an important outcome for post-school or college options. 87% of applicants think a university degree is important to getting a job compared, compared to just over half (57%) who think the same for apprenticeships.

We need to do more to clearly show young people the benefits of studying for degree and degree-level apprenticeships. Encouragingly though, UCAS in a great position to support employers and the education sector to do just that. We are the most cited source for information for applicants of higher education and apprenticeships. 89% of students said it would be useful to have a centralised platform that offers a help and advice service when it comes to finding and applying for apprenticeships. As a trusted and independent charity, supporting people to make informed choices about their futures is key to meeting our objectives. It’s a natural progression for UCAS from working closely with universities and colleges, to employers, providing truly valuable insight into the degree apprenticeships for students.

Overall, around half of prospective undergraduate applicants say they are also interested in apprenticeships. Looking at specific subjects, interest is even higher. 55% of potential engineering students (representing 83,000 people), 53% of those considering computer science (59,000) and 60% of future agriculture applicants (6,000) within UCAS’ pre-applicant database say they want to know more about the apprenticeship routes available. Over a third are interested in becoming future medics (70,000). Within this surge in demand, if significant proportions of these students can be served the information they need, they’ll be able to make much more informed decisions about their futures – and potentially it’ll be a better suited option for their own learning style and career goals. ?

We are already making inroads into improving support. Over 30 million unique visitors come to UCAS each year,?and we deliver personalised content via the UCAS Hub. It offers huge benefits to students from disadvantaged?backgrounds, who may be less supported or unaware of help available.?Of the 750,000 people over the last 6 months who have set up their UCAS account ready for next year, 342,000 said they’re interested in an apprenticeship.

We must take more significant steps though. We can provide a useful mirror and reflect information on higher and degree level apprenticeships alongside the traditional three-year option, then students could easily and thoroughly compare their options. Parity of prestige between the two routes is within reach.

Making sure parents are well informed is also vital. These key influencers of young people are often unaware of all the options available, with almost one in three (30%) unaware that their son or daughter can apply to degree apprenticeships alongside their university application. Unsurprisingly, parents who had taken an apprenticeship themselves are twice as likely to encourage their child to follow in their footsteps rather than choose an undergraduate degree.

Parity in the supply of apprenticeship opportunities to young people is also vital. Last year over 18% of 18 year olds in England told us that as well as their UCAS undergraduate application, they were simultaneously applying for a degree apprenticeship, representing around 50,000 applicants. However, there were just 3,600 new higher and degree level apprenticehip starts aged under 19 at the same time – and that compares with 95,200 aged 19 or over. A staggering gap when comparing supply and demand.

Demand is clearly there – both for the degree apprenticeships themselves and to find out more about them as students make their big life-changing decisions.

Within five years, we forecast there could be a million undergraduate applicants. Demand for all post-secondary options is also going to go through the roof. If supply can’t keep pace, students’ decisions on their education, training and careers choices are going to happen in an intensely competitive environment. Probably more than ever before. Getting careers advice right for those students who are currently in Year 9 (and equivalent) is very quickly taking on heightened importance.??

Personalisation is critical to engage young people, and presenting the range of options in a neutral, comparable and inclusive way is essential. It’s the basis of the best careers information. Around a third of students tell us that they did not receive information about apprenticeships at school or college, and this is despite half of potential undergraduate applicants telling us they are interested in this route.?With UCAS supporting schools and colleges to meet their obligations under the Baker clause by working with employers to present opportunities and insight, we will support a prolonged discovery journey of inspirational options that add real value. In providing options for all students, whatever their choices, UCAS can play an active part in solving the issues.