Week 118: Higher & Degree Apprenticeship cumulative vacancies – lots to report

Latest reflections

This week’s healthy crop of 311 new vacancies included 130 in the East Midlands, many of them with Rolls-Royce’s Defence Submarines business in Derby. Elsewhere, Shropshire was also notable for punching above its weight and as ever an intriguing range of occupations and locations featured, not least a Project Management Associate HA at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire. Even tiny Rutland got in on the act, as did Camborne in Cornwall and Isle of Grain in Kent, and there was some interesting activity around the northern coastal fringes in areas such as Teesside, the Fylde Peninsula and West Cumbria.

With my database passing the 26,000 mark this week, I’m increasingly struck by the growth in occupations that are perhaps not frequently talked about. Amongst numerous others the Nuclear sector has been very prominent in recent weeks, while there’s also been a steady stream of Construction Site Supervisor vacancies and the total of Regulatory Compliance Practitioners has now reached 100. This week also saw another ‘new entrant’ with four HAs for Aircraft Certifying Technicians with a company located at Birmingham Airport.

The steady growth in health sector DA has continued too and this week saw eight Clinical Trial Specialists in Farnborough (Hants), along with three Occupational Therapists, a Podiatrist, an Audiologist, a Speech & Language Therapist, a Mental Health Nurse and an Adult Nurse.

My data currently spans 228 different DA and HA ‘occupations’, not to mention 25 sub-divisions of what I loosely call Healthcare Science and a whopping 75 different varieties of Digital Technology Solutions. In conversations I’ve had with colleagues in the past few days, it has got me wondering if it’s almost time to create a new vocabulary or dictionary of careers.

My new data on Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland is also taking shape. In particular I aim to provide a brief report on Scotland in the near future, as I’m already starting to see some patterns emerging there.

But after a prolific haul of 114 new vacancies, Derbyshire had to be the theme of my featured image this week with thanks to Linda Biggs on Pixabay.

Background

Since the first ‘lockdown’ started on Monday 23^rd March 2020, I’ve kept a record of new higher and degree apprenticeship vacancies posted in England and in doing so have built up an evolving occupational and regional analysis. I largely use data extracted every week from the government’s ‘Find an Apprenticeship’ website, whilst also keeping an eye on other national vacancy sources, especially NHS Jobs, Not Going to Uni, Rate My Apprenticeship and Investment 20/20.

I collated similar data for a period of 70 weeks prior to the March 2020 lockdown and my weekly headline data compares the pre-lockdown and post-lockdown figures, using the two 70-week periods either side of lockdown as a benchmark.

My target audience is Level 3 school and college leavers and those who influence and advise them. Therefore, I only include vacancies at Levels 4 to 7 that ‘work-ready’ 18/19-year-olds seeking their first permanent role could reasonably apply for, whether at the point of leaving school/college or after a few months of temporary experience. If more than a year’s permanent experience is clearly required, I don’t normally include the vacancy in my figures.

I would emphasise the term ‘work-ready’ because academic qualifications alone will never be enough to compete successfully for a higher or degree apprenticeship. Whilst a UCAS points score of around 112 is often needed for DAs (sometimes more, sometimes less), it’s otherwise much more about the skills, qualities and insights you can bring. STEM subjects will also put potential applicants at a significant advantage in terms of opening up a wider range of options.

My data will never be fully reliable because not all vacancies are advertised nationally in a way that also gives an indication of actual numbers and locations. However, the analyses that I’ve built up paint an intriguing picture of what’s out there in a changing post-18 career landscape. The figures also suggest that supply is never likely to match demand and that there may be something of a mismatch between the occupations to which young people often aspire and the reality of what’s available.

One further and slightly confusing factor to take into account is that it’s quite normal for some 18/19-year-old school/college leavers to apply for lower level apprenticeships too, especially at Level 3. In fact I sometimes see Level 3 apprenticeships that ask for A Level or equivalent qualifications and Level 4 to 7 apprenticeships that don’t. It’s also true that a significant proportion of opportunities will be snapped up by older applicants. It’s a competitive market place, so work-readiness really matters.

Headline data

During the latest period from 20^th to 26^th June 2022 I recorded:

176 new Degree Apprenticeship vacancies and
135 new Higher Apprenticeship vacancies

In the 118 weeks since the start of the first COVID-19 lockdown (23^rd March 2020 to 26^th June 2022) I’ve now recorded:

13,538 new Degree Apprenticeships (Levels 6/7) and
12,473 new Higher Apprenticeships (Levels 4/5)
giving a total of 26,011

Using the 70 weeks either side of the initial lockdown (on 23/3/20) as a benchmark, my latest comparative figures are as follows:

Weekly average in the 70 weeks before lockdown: 82 DAs + 71 HAs = 153 total
Weekly average in the 70 weeks after lockdown: 84 DAs + 75 HAs = 159 total
Weekly average in the 118 weeks since lockdown: 115 DAs + 106 HAs = 221 total

This shows that both DAs and HAs have more than fully recovered since the initial reductions in the early days of the pandemic. Whilst it’s fair to say that I’m being more thorough in the way I track down and monitor new vacancies than I was in pre-COVID days, I’m definitely seeing an upward trend in volume compared with how things looked two to three years ago. That said, with talk of economic turbulence ahead, I intend to keep my eye on the ball to see if things change.

Updated regional analysis

The 26,011 higher and degree apprenticeships advertised in England since the start of lockdown have been distributed as follows:

Greater London (7,187)
Yorkshire (2,279)
West Midlands (1,565)
Greater Manchester (1,279)
Bristol & Gloucestershire (965)
Hampshire (878)
Berkshire (762)
Hertfordshire (652)
Surrey (585)
Nottinghamshire (521)
Tyne & Wear (499)
Cheshire (476)
Sussex (474)
Derbyshire (472)
Cambridgeshire (438)
Essex (438)
Lancashire (436)
Warwickshire (428)
Suffolk (416)
Merseyside (364)
Devon (338)
Staffordshire (327)
County Durham (325)
Somerset & South Bristol (318)
Wiltshire (317)
Leicestershire (299)
Bedfordshire (292)
Kent (290)
Buckinghamshire (272)
Oxfordshire (271)
Dorset (271)
Norfolk (265)
Cumbria (259)
Northamptonshire (255)
Lincolnshire (179)
Worcestershire (178)
Shropshire (123)
Cornwall (97)
Isle of Wight (43)
Northumberland (35)
Herefordshire (31)
Rutland (7)
Home working (24)
Not specified (81)

The following list shows how those stats add up regionally. In brackets I’ve included the total population of each region using the latest ONS data rounded to the nearest 1,000, which gives a sense of proportion to the apprenticeship figures. For example, in population terms the North East is by far the smallest region, so the differences in apprenticeship numbers are not quite as disproportionate as they might appear. (In my data Yorkshire includes North Humberside and East Midlands includes South Humberside.)

To place this into sharper perspective, I’ve added an extra stat in bold which indexes the apprenticeship figures against the total population of each region. In effect, the index equals the number of DAs and HAs post-lockdown per 10,000 of total population. Clearly London outperforms the rest of England by quite a wide margin, but I think it’s interesting to view the bigger picture too.

7,187 London (8,962,000: 8.02)
3,575 South East (9,180,000: 3.89)
2,810 North West (7,341,000: 3.83)
2,652 West Midlands (5,934,000: 4.47)
2,501 East of England (6,236,000: 4.01)
2,306 South West (5,625,000: 4.10)
2,279 Yorkshire (5,503,000: 4.14)
1,733 East Midlands (4,836,000: 3.58)
863 North East (2,670,000: 3.23)
105 Not specified / home working

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 from the official apprenticeship standards terminology. Since the start of lockdown in March 2020, the complete lists of occupational areas represented in each category are given below. In my view, this provides a fascinating insight into what the emerging occupations are in a changing landscape.

Degree Apprenticeships (Levels 6/7):

In total there have been 13,538 new vacancies spread across 101 occupational areas and minimum starting salaries have ranged from £5,590 to £32,000pa. The occupational breakdown is as follows:

2,870 Police Constables

1,223 Digital Technology Solutions (general) *see below for details

1,062 Accountancy/Tax/Audit Professionals

693 Software Engineers/Developers

659 Chartered Managers (general)

560 Nurses (462 Adult, 77 Mental Health, 16 Learning Disability, 5 Child)

524 Civil Engineers

430 Chartered Quantity Surveyors

417 Project Managers

404 Data Scientists/Analysts/Engineers

324 Chartered Building/Property/Land Surveyors

270 Electrical/Electronic Engineers

268 Design & Development Engineers

256 Supply Chain Leaders

215 Food Technology/Production/Manufacturing Professionals

193 Digital Marketing Professionals

192 Cyber Security Professionals

169 Manufacturing Engineers

150 Nuclear Engineers/Scientists

149 Financial Services Professionals

139 Sales Professionals

126 Building Services Design Engineers

124 Professional Economists

122 Laboratory Scientists

119 Retail Leaders

116 Solicitors

113 Aerospace Engineers

108 Environmental Practitioners

100 Construction Managers

95 Network Engineers

83 Healthcare Science Practitioners (11 Biomedical Science, 11 Cardiovascular Physiology, 10 Medical & Clinical Engineering, 10 Neurophysiology, 8 Nuclear Medicine, 7 Radiation & Radiotherapy Engineering, 6 Respiratory Physiology & Sleep Science, 6 Radiation Physics, 5 Digital Healthcare Science, 3 Audiology, 3 Bioinformatics, 1 Medical Physics, 1 Rehabilitation Engineering, 1 Renal Specialist)

74 Hospital Operating Department Practitioners

74 Railway/Rail Systems Engineers

70 Digital User Experience (UX) Design Professionals

62 Control Engineers

60 Non-Destructive Testing Engineers

46 Electro-Mechanical/Mechatronics Engineers

40 Hospitality Managers

40 Internal Audit Professionals

40 Radiographers (28 Diagnostic, 12 Therapeutic)

39 Materials Scientists/Technologists/Engineers

38 Manufacturing & Production Managers (non-food)

37 Town Planners

35 Clinical Trials Specialists

33 Occupational Therapists

32 Broadcast/Media Systems Engineers

32 Creative Digital Design Professionals

30 Recruitment Professionals

29 Podiatrists

27 Social Workers

24 Business Analysts

23 Packaging Professionals

22 Chemical Engineers

22 Transport Planners

20 Human Resources / People Professionals

19 Weapons Munitions & Explosives Engineers

18 Chartered Rural Surveyors

18 Environmental Health Officers

17 Architectural Technologists

17 Journalists

15 Building Control Surveyors

15 Professional Foresters

14 Architectural Assistants

14 Junior Traders (Global Financial Markets)

13 GIS / Geospatial Mapping & Surveying Professionals

13 Marketing Managers

13 Public Health Practitioners

11 Physiotherapists

9 Business Managers (Social Change)

9 Geotechnical Engineers

9 Project Control Professionals

8 Agricultural/Horticultural Advisers

8 Gas Transmission Engineers

8 Propulsion Engineers

6 Actuarial Professionals

5 Fire Safety Engineers

5 Operations Analysts

5 Sport Development Officers

4 Assistant Teachers / Learning Coaches

4 Chartered Legal Executives

4 Compliance & Risk Specialists

3 Building Information Modelling (BIM) Specialists

3 Digital Transformation Engineers

3 Fitness/Leisure Centre Managers

3 Speech & Language Therapists

3 TV Production Managers

2 Buying & Procurement Professionals

2 Education Technology Specialists

2 Midwives

2 Pensions Professionals

2 Tax Technologists

1 Brewer

1 Charity Manager

1 Community Centre Manager

1 Events Manager

1 Facilities Manager

1 Human Performance Engineer

1 Marine Engineer

1 Population Health Intelligence Analyst

1 Prosthetist & Orthotist

1 Visual Merchandiser

*Digital Technology Solutions (general) has encompassed or led to the following range of specialisms:

Software Engineer, Software Developer, Software Tester, Network Engineer, Data Scientist, Data Analyst, Global Data Analyst, Data Architect, Network Architect, Enterprise Architect, Cyber Security Specialist, IT Consultant, Solutions Consultant, Software Implementation Consultant, Software Consultant, Project Manager, Project Co-ordinator, Business Intelligence Specialist, Business Systems Engineer/Developer, Automation Developer, Automation Test Developer, Full Stack Developer, Digital Developer, Solutions Architect, Technology Architect, Technology Manager, Innovation Technologist, Innovation Design Analyst, Agile Analyst, Application Support Analyst, Technical Support Analyst, Business Analyst, Global Mobility Analyst, Content Analyst, Security Operations Analyst, Process Mining Analyst, User Experience Researcher, Junior Product Manager, Infrastructure Specialist, FinTech Specialist, DevOps Engineer, Solutions Engineer, Digital Solutions Engineer, Systems Engineer, Automation Engineer, Support Engineer, Service Desk Engineer, Cloud Engineer, Sales Engineer, Sales Account Manager, Sales Operations Manager, Scientific Computing Specialist, Platform Manager, Service Manager, Engineering Information Manager, Amazon Web Services Specialist, Supervisory Control & Data Acquisition Specialist, Fixed Telecoms Specialist, IT Support Analyst, IT Service Desk Analyst, Support Desk Analyst, WordPress Developer, Technology Operations & Service Delivery Specialist, Functional Consultant, Technical Consultant, Digital Manufacturing Engineer, Electronic Systems Design & Development Engineer, Solution Engineering & Development Specialist, Client Delivery Specialist, Client Success Specialist, Client Consultant, Operations Resilience & Change Specialist, Innovation Foundry Specialist, Continuous Improvement & Automation Specialist and Railway Signalling Control Systems Specialist.

That’s some list and it keeps growing.

Higher Apprenticeships (Levels 4/5):

In total there have been 12,473 new vacancies spread across 127 occupational areas and minimum starting salaries have ranged from £5,590 to £35,000pa. The occupational breakdown is as follows:

1,198 Sales Executives

1,024 Software Developers

930 Data Analysts

885 Project Management Associates

871 Trainee Accountants / Accounting Technicians

405 School/Community Sports Coaches

354 Manufacturing Engineering Technicians

351 Construction Site Supervisors

333 Nursing Associates

327 Business Analysts

296 Taxation Technicians

290 Network Engineers

264 Software Testers

240 Quantity Surveying Technicians

232 Public Relations & Communications Assistants

230 Retail Assistant Managers

210 Cyber Security Technologists

208 Commercial Procurement & Supply Practitioners

206 Civil/Site Engineering Technicians

188 Children/Youth/Family Practitioners

187 Building Services Engineering Technicians

184 Buying & Merchandising Specialists

174 Electrical/Electronic Engineering Technicians

169 Technician Scientists

168 Government Policy Officers

150 Insurance Professionals

133 Investment Operations Specialists

131 Associate Ambulance Practitioners

127 Marketing Executives

112 DevOps Engineers

100 Regulatory Compliance Officers

86 Early Years Lead Practitioners

77 Food Technology/Engineering/Production Technicians

77 Junior Management Consultants

77 Nuclear Technicians

75 Construction Design & Build Technicians

73 Healthcare Science Associates (18 Audiology & Hearing Aid Dispensers, 14 Cardiorespiratory & Sleep Physiology, 13 Bio/Medical Engineering, 8 MRI Radiography, 6 Genetics Technology, 4 Mammography, 4 Speech Therapy, 2 Medical Physics, 2 Phlebotomy, 1 Biochemistry, 1 Tissue Retrieval)

73 Mineral Products Technicians

72 Human Resources Consultants/Partners

65 Recruitment Resourcers/Consultants

63 Quality Practitioners

59 Financial Advisers/Paraplanners

47 Healthcare Associate Practitioners (general)

44 Adult Social Care Lead Practitioners

44 Hospitality Managers

39 Brewers

39 Vehicle Damage Assessors

37 Intelligence Analysts

36 Actuarial Technicians

34 Automotive Engineering/Propulsion Technicians

34 Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability Practitioners

34 TV/Media Production Co-ordinators

31 Business Improvement Practitioners

31 Dairy Technologists

30 Learning/Skills & Development Practitioners

29 Internal Audit Practitioners

28 Journalists

26 Automation & Control Engineers

26 Ordnance Munitions & Explosives Technicians

25 Railway Engineering Technicians

22 Revenue & Welfare Benefits Officers

21 Estate Agency Negotiators

21 Housing/Property/Lettings Managers

20 Operations Managers

15 Smart Energy Engineers

14 Countryside Rangers

14 Fibre Cable Engineers

14 Police Community Support Officers

12 Broadcast & Media Systems Technicians

12 Land Referencers

12 Logistics Specialists

11 Hygiene Specialists

10 Digital Community Managers

9 Naval Architects / Marine Engineering Technicians

9 Railway/Passenger Transport Operations Managers

8 Acoustics Technicians

8 Emergency Medical Technicians

8 Information Managers

8 Paralegals

8 Post-Production Technical Operators (Film/TV)

7 Computer Games Developers

7 Employability Practitioners

6 Facilities Managers

6 Fire Safety Inspectors

6 Football Coaches

6 School Business Professionals

5 Architectural Technicians

5 Counter Fraud Investigators

5 Rehabilitation Officers (Visual Impairment)

4 Aircraft Certifying Technicians

4 Conveyancing Technicians

4 Market Research Executives

4 Unified Communications Trouble Shooters

3 Fashion & Textiles Technologists

3 Gymnastics/Trampoline Coaches

3 Pensions Administrators

3 Port Marine Operations Officers

3 Senior Culinary Chefs

3 Space Engineering Technicians

3 Sports Development Officers

3 Utilities Technicians

2 Arboriculturists

2 Auctioneers

2 Building Information Modelling (BIM) Technicians

2 Early Intervention Practitioners

2 Historic Site Advisers

2 Music Recording Technicians

2 Tax Technology Technicians

2 Town Planning Assistants

2 VFX Artists

2 Water Recycling Engineers

1 Chaplain

1 Chemical Process Technician

1 Clinical Coder

1 Community Energy Specialist

1 Community Safety Officer (Antisocial Behaviour)

1 Dental Technician

1 Digital Accessibility Specialist

1 Fitness Club Manager

1 Fitness Instructor

1 Horticultural / Landscape Design Practitioner

1 Lighting Designer

1 Metrology Technician

1 Payroll Assistant Manager

1 Tennis Coach

1 Wedding Accessories Designer

1 Wedding Venue Co-ordinator

Going forward

All being well I will continue posting frequent updates, usually on Sunday nights.

As from 1^st June I have also started to track Degree and Higher Apprenticeships in Wales and Northern Ireland and their equivalent in Scotland (Graduate Apprenticeships). I’ve always been very conscious that my blog only covers England and I intend to redress this in the very near future.

https://alanbullockcareers.com