Summary

Since ‘lockdown’ started on Monday 23^rd March 2020, I’ve been keeping a record of all new higher and degree apprenticeship vacancies posted in England on the government ‘Find an apprenticeship’ website, excluding any that I perceive as unsuitable for an 18-year-old school or college leaver. I compare the data with the corresponding number of weeks pre-lockdown, whilst also building up an occupational and regional analysis. The overall picture it provides has proved increasingly useful for informing guidance.

However, unsurprisingly it hasn’t been a rosy picture so far and the only new glimmer of hope in the past week was the posting of 10 Adult Nursing degree apprenticeships in Harlow, Essex. This was the first time I’ve seen a significant number of Nursing DAs advertised nationally since I started keeping records in Autumn 2018.    

Headline stats

During the latest week, from 13^th to 17^th July, I recorded:

• 22 new degree apprenticeship vacancies and
• 24 new higher apprenticeship vacancies

The overall comparison pre- and post-lockdown now looks like this:

• In the 17 weeks prior to lockdown (25^th November to 20^th March) I recorded: 1,875 new degree apprenticeships  and  1,212 new higher apprenticeships, giving a total of 3,087 and an average of 182 new vacancies each week.
• In the 17 weeks since the start of lockdown (23^rd March to 10^th July) I have recorded: 397 new degree apprenticeships and 335 new higher apprenticeships, giving a total of 732 and an average of 43 new vacancies each week.

This represents a 76.3% reduction in vacancies post-lockdown compared with pre-lockdown. In other words, the number of new DAs and HAs continues to have been cut by more than three quarters and this pattern hasn’t really changed over the past few weeks. At least it isn’t getting any worse!

Updated regional analysis

By county, the 732 higher and degree apprenticeships advertised nationally in England since the start of lockdown have been distributed as follows:

• Greater London (132)
• Yorkshire (55)
• Hertfordshire (46)
• Surrey (46)
• Essex (43)
• Hampshire (39)
• Greater Manchester (36)
• West Midlands (31)
• Gloucestershire (28)
• Suffolk (21)
• Berkshire (20)
• Tyne & Wear (19)
• Nottinghamshire (19)
• Sussex (19)
• Cheshire (16)
• Lancashire (14)
• Merseyside (12)
• Devon (12)
• Cambridgeshire (11)
• Warwickshire (10)
• Bedfordshire (10)
• Oxfordshire (9)
• Kent (9)
• Derbyshire (8)
• Staffordshire (8)
• Leicestershire (7)
• Northamptonshire (7)
• Somerset (7)
• Cumbria (6)
• Buckinghamshire (6)
• Durham (5)
• Shropshire (5)
• Worcestershire (4)
• Norfolk (3)
• Cornwall (3)
• Lincolnshire (2)
• Dorset (2)
• Herefordshire (1)
• Wiltshire (1)

This is how those stats add up in regional terms. In brackets I’ve added the total population of each region in millions, which puts the apprenticeship figures into a little more perspective. For example, although the South East is top and the North East is bottom, in population terms they’re also the largest and smallest regions respectively, so the divergence isn’t quite as stark as it first appears:

• 148 South East (9.1)
• 134 East of England (6.2)
• 132 London (8.9)
•   84 North West (7.3)
•   59 West Midlands (5.9)
•   55 Yorkshire & Humber (5.4)
•   53 South West (5.6)
•   43 East Midlands (4.8)
•   24 North East (2.7)

Updated occupational analysis

Each week I update my occupational analysis by breaking down the new vacancies into what I loosely term ‘occupational areas’, which in some cases differ slightly from the official apprenticeship standards terminology. Since lockdown, the complete lists of occupational areas represented in each category are now as follows. They are listed in league table format:

Degree & Level 7 apprenticeships:

In total there have been 397 new vacancies spread across 33 occupational areas and minimum starting salaries have ranged from £7,830 to £27,665pa.  

1^st Digital Technology Solutions* (current total = 97)

2^nd Accountancy or Taxation

3^rd Financial Services

4^th Electrical/Electronic Engineers

5^th  Civil Engineers

6^th Data Scientists & Analysts

7^th Chartered Management (general)

8^th Retail Management (all with Morrisons)

9^th= Chartered Surveyors

9^th= Control Engineers

11^th Healthcare Science Practitioners*

12^th Adult Nursing

13^th Broadcast & Media Systems Engineers

14^th Business to Business Sales Professionals

15^th= Laboratory Scientists

15^th= Town Planners

17^th= Chemical Engineers

17^th= Food Technologists

17^th= Packaging Technologists

20^th= Building Services Design Engineers

20^th= Environmental Health Practitioners

20^th= Environmental Practitioners

20^th= Mechanical, Product Design & Development Engineers

20^th= User Experience (UX) Professionals

25^th= Building Control Surveyors

25^th= Cyber Security Technologists

25^th= Materials Scientists

25^th= Supply Chain Leadership

29^th= Digital Marketing

29^th= Geospatial Mapping Surveyor

29^th= Manufacturing Engineer

29^th= Marketing Management

29^th= Visual Merchandiser

*Digital Technology Solutions has encompassed Software Engineering, Network Engineering, Data Analytics, Cyber Security, IT Business Analyst, Infrastructure Engineering, and BIM (Building Information Modelling).

*Healthcare Science Practitioners has encompassed Cardiac Physiology, Neurophysiology, Biomedical Science, Radiation Engineering, and Digital Healthcare.

Higher apprenticeships:

In total there have been 335 new vacancies spread across 33 occupational areas and minimum starting salaries have ranged from £6,474 to £29,000pa.

1^st Software Developers (current total = 68)

2^nd Manufacturing Engineering Technicians

3^rd Data Analysts

4^th Buying, Merchandising & Supply Chain

5^th  Project Management

6^th  Accounting Technicians

7^th= Network Engineers

7^th= Science Laboratory Technicians

9^th= Broadcast & Media Systems Technicians

9^th= Electrical/Electronic Engineering Technicians

11^th= Nursing Associates (Mental Health)

12^th= Sales Executives

12^th= Software Testers

14^th Investment Consultants

15^th Information Systems Business Analysts

16^th= Children, Young People & Family Practitioners

16^th= Cyber Security Technologists

18^th Building Services Engineering Technicians

19^th Insurance Professionals

20^th= Financial Paraplanners/Advisers

20^th= Policy Officers

22^nd= Food Technologists

22^nd= Hearing Aid Dispensers

22^nd= Hospitality Management

22^nd= HR/Learning & Development/Employability Practitioners

22^nd= Learning & Skills Teachers

22^nd= Public Relations 

22^nd= Quantity Surveying Technicians

22^nd= Regulatory Compliance Officers

30^th= Civil Engineering Technician

30^th= IT Support Professional  

30^th= Operations Management

30^th= Revenue & Benefits Officer

Going forward

I will probably post another brief update next week.

© Alan Bullock, 19/7/2020