Week 139: Higher & Degree Apprenticeship overview – latest data

Latest reflections in England

There was a fair amount of activity across the country again this week, as you would expect in November with a few more of the bigger employers launching their annual programmes.

Built Environment and Digital professions were especially prominent and other highlights included the first Dietitian DA I’ve ever seen (in Yeovil) and the Bank of England posting 12 vacancies for Professional Economists in partnership with the University of Kent.

Meanwhile London was the centre of activity on this occasion, while Yorkshire, Greater Manchester and Berkshire were also noticeably busy. The London vacancies were spread around some of the outer as well as inner boroughs and one of these was where I took the photo I’ve picked for this week’s slightly unusual featured image whilst on my way to a work commitment nearby.

Other home nations update

There was a little bit of activity in both Scotland and Wales this week too and I’ve drafted my first report on Scotland with a view to updating and publishing it at the end of this month. The number of Graduate Apprenticeship or equivalent opportunities I’ve recorded in Scotland since 1/6/22 has now reached 283.

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 daily from the government’s ‘Find an Apprenticeship’ website, whilst also keeping a close eye on other national vacancy sources including NHS Jobs, Not Going to Uni, Rate My Apprenticeship and the Amazing Apprenticeships listings.

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 112 is the most frequently quoted minimum entry requirement for DAs (sometimes more and quite often less), it’s otherwise much more about the skills, qualities and insights you can bring.

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 there’s something of a mismatch between supply and demand in terms of volume (there aren’t enough to go around), location (my regional breakdown raises questions about ‘levelling up’) and the range of occupations available (which probably doesn’t align too well with student aspirations).

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. It’s also true that a proportion of DA and HA opportunities will be snapped up by older applicants or even graduates and therefore work-readiness really matters to enable 18/19-year-olds to compete successfully.

Headline data

In England during the latest period from 14^th to 20^th November 2022 I recorded:

173 new Degree & L7 Apprenticeship vacancies and
146 new Higher Apprenticeship vacancies

In the 139 weeks since the start of the first COVID-19 lockdown (23^rd March 2020 to 20^th November 2022) I’ve now recorded:

15,930 new Degree Apprenticeships (Levels 6/7) and
15,279 new Higher Apprenticeships (Levels 4/5)
giving a total of 31,209

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 139 weeks since lockdown: 115 DAs + 110 HAs = 225 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’ve definitely seen an upward trend in volume compared with how things looked two to three years ago. However, with the threat of recession now apparently upon us, I’ll be keeping my eye very firmly on the ball in the coming weeks to see if there’s any sign of a slowdown. I suspect that there will be.

Updated analysis by county and region

By county (loosely defined), the 31,209 higher and degree apprenticeships advertised in England since the start of lockdown have been distributed as follows:

Greater London (8,200)
Yorkshire (2,763)
West Midlands (1,877)
Greater Manchester (1,651)
Bristol & Gloucestershire (1,236)
Hampshire (1,079)
Berkshire (961)
Hertfordshire (798)
Surrey (711)
Nottinghamshire (644)
Cheshire (604)
Sussex (595)
Tyne & Wear (582)
Derbyshire (541)
Essex (527)
Cambridgeshire (522)
Lancashire (503)
Warwickshire (478)
Suffolk (472)
Merseyside (431)
Somerset & South Bristol (412)
Devon (406)
Staffordshire (397)
Buckinghamshire (378)
Kent (362)
Wiltshire (357)
Dorset (350)
County Durham (349)
Bedfordshire (344)
Leicestershire (341)
Oxfordshire (335)
Northamptonshire (297)
Cumbria (292)
Norfolk (284)
Cornwall (277)
Worcestershire (220)
Lincolnshire (211)
Shropshire (157)
Isle of Wight (49)
Northumberland (45)
Herefordshire (33)
Rutland (7)
Home working with no central base (33)
Not specified (98)

Regional data: The table below shows how those stats add up regionally in the context of the local 15 to 24-year-old population. The population figures have been extracted from the very latest ONS census data published in June 2022 and my analysis provides the following information:

First number in bold = the latest cumulative number of vacancies for each region
Big number in brackets = the resident population of 15 to 24-year-olds in the region using the new ONS data and rounded to the nearest 100
Third figure in bold indexes my apprenticeship figures against the 15 to 24-year-old population. The ‘index’ shows the combined number of DAs and HAs since March 2020 per 1,000 of that population and the regions are then ‘ranked’ accordingly:

8,200 London (1,078,600: 7.60)
3,057 South West (645,800: 4.73)
3,161 West Midlands (720,900: 4.38)
2,962 East of England (685,300: 4.32)
4,436 South East (1,040,500: 4.26)
2,779 Yorkshire & Humber (670,800: 4.14)
3,478 North West (884,600: 3.93)
1,987 East Midlands (593,700: 3.35)
1,018 North East (313,000: 3.25)
131 Not specified / Home working

31,209 Total England (6,633,200: 4.70)

Whilst my data is always going to have flaws in it, the above comparisons nonetheless seem to raise continuing questions about ‘levelling up’. There are hints of a lack of balance between north and south and especially a distinct London-centric element. It’s this very concern that first prompted me to start collating regional as well as occupational data. The South West being so well-placed is perhaps surprising, although Bristol takes much of the credit for that.

Updated occupational analysis

Each week I update my occupational analysis by breaking down the new vacancies into what I loosely define as ‘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 15,930 new vacancies spread across 105 occupational areas and minimum starting salaries have ranged from £5,590 to £32,000pa. The occupational breakdown is as follows:

2,995 Police Constables

1,696 Accountancy/Tax/Audit Professionals

1,415 Digital Technology Solutions (general) *see below for details

794 Chartered Managers (general)

784 Software Engineers/Developers

615 Civil Engineers

587 Nurses (476 Adult, 86 Mental Health, 20 Learning Disability, 5 Child)

564 Chartered Quantity Surveyors

516 Data Scientists/Analysts/Engineers

432 Project Managers

383 Chartered Building/Property Surveyors

330 Electrical/Electronic Engineers

281 Supply Chain Leaders

278 Design & Development (Mechanical) Engineers

255 Food & Drink Technologists/Manufacturers

239 Cyber Security Professionals

230 Digital Marketing Professionals

206 Financial Services Professionals

187 Manufacturing Engineers

170 Building Services Design Engineers

169 Sales Professionals

165 Nuclear Engineers/Scientists

153 Solicitors

152 Retail Leaders

136 Professional Economists

133 Laboratory Scientists

131 Construction Managers

126 Environmental Practitioners

119 Aerospace Engineers

106 Network Engineers

98 Healthcare Science Practitioners (13 Biomedical Science, 13 Cardiac Physiology, 11 Nuclear Medicine Technology, 10 Medical & Clinical Engineering, 10 Neurophysiology, 10 Respiratory Physiology & Sleep Science, 8 Radiation & Radiotherapy Engineering, 7 Radiation & Radiotherapy Physics, 6 Audiology, 5 Digital Healthcare Science, 3 Bioinformatics, 1 Rehabilitation Engineering, 1 Renal Specialist)

84 Hospital Operating Department Practitioners

79 Digital User Experience (UX) Design Professionals

76 Railway/Rail Systems Engineers

67 Control Engineers

60 Non-Destructive Testing Engineers

58 Electro-Mechanical/Mechatronics Engineers

56 Radiographers (36 Diagnostic, 20 Therapeutic)

50 Project Control Professionals

45 Materials Scientists/Technologists/Engineers

43 Chartered Hospitality Managers

41 Broadcast/Media Systems Engineers

40 Internal Audit Professionals

39 Town Planners

38 Creative Digital Design Professionals

38 Manufacturing & Production Managers (non-food)

37 Occupational Therapists

36 Clinical Trials Specialists

36 Podiatrists

30 Recruitment Professionals

29 Building Control Surveyors

29 Social Workers

28 Business Analysts

28 Chemical Engineers

28 Packaging Professionals

24 Chartered Rural Surveyors

24 Environmental Health Officers

23 Transport Planners

21 Human Resources Professionals

20 Junior Traders (Global Financial Markets)

19 Weapons Munitions & Explosives Engineers

17 Architectural Technologists

17 Journalists

16 Public Health Practitioners

15 Architectural Assistants

15 Geotechnical Engineers

15 Marketing Managers

15 Professional Foresters

14 GIS / Geospatial Mapping & Surveying Professionals

12 Insurance Professionals

12 Physiotherapists

9 Business Managers (Social Change)

8 Agricultural/Horticultural Advisers

8 Gas Transmission Engineers

8 Propulsion Engineers

7 Fire Safety Engineers

6 Actuarial Professionals

6 Sport Development Officers

5 Chartered Legal Executives

5 Operations Analysts

4 Assistant Teachers / Learning Coaches

4 Compliance & Risk Specialists

4 Speech & Language Therapists

3 Building Information Modelling (BIM) Specialists

3 Buying & Procurement Professionals

3 Digital Transformation Engineers

3 Fitness/Leisure Centre Managers

3 TV Production Managers

2 Education Technology Specialists

2 Licensed Conveyancers

2 Midwives

2 Pensions Professionals

2 Tax Technologists

1 Brewer

1 Charity Manager

1 Community Centre Manager

1 Dietitian

1 Events Manager

1 Facilities Manager

1 Human Performance Engineer

1 Investment Banking Specialist

1 Lighting Designer

1 Marine Engineer

1 Population Health Intelligence Analyst

1 Prosthetist & Orthotist

*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 Product Specialist, Data Architect, Network Architect, Enterprise Architect, Digital Solutions Architect, Technology Architect, Cyber Security Specialist, IT Consultant, Solutions Consultant, Software Implementation Consultant, Software Consultant, Technical Consultant, Functional Consultant, Project Manager, Project Co-ordinator, Business Intelligence (BI) Developer, Business Systems Engineer/Developer, Automation Developer, Automation Test Developer, Full Stack Developer, Digital Developer, Technology Manager, Innovation Technologist, Innovation Design Analyst, Agile Analyst, Applications Support Analyst, Technical Support Analyst, Business Analyst, Business Technology Analyst, Network Strategy Analyst, Global Mobility Analyst, Content Analyst, Security Operations Analyst, Process Mining Analyst, SAP Analyst, User Experience Researcher, Junior Product Manager, Infrastructure Specialist, FinTech Specialist, DevOps Engineer, Solutions Engineer, Digital Solutions Engineer, Systems Engineer, Automation Engineer, IT Support Engineer, Service Desk Engineer, Cloud Engineer, Quality Assurance Engineer, Sales Engineer, Sales Account Manager, Sales Operations Manager, Scientific Computing Specialist, Platform Manager, Service Manager, Engineering Information Manager, Information Management Technology Specialist, Amazon Web Services Specialist, Supervisory Control & Data Acquisition Specialist, Fixed Telecoms Specialist, Operations Support Analyst, Support Desk Analyst, IT Support Analyst, IT Service Desk Analyst, IT/Computing Technician, Second Line Support Technician, WordPress Developer, Public Health Intelligence Officer, Technology Operations & Service Delivery Specialist, Digital Manufacturing Engineer, Electronic Systems Design & Development Engineer, Solution Engineering & Development Specialist, Client Delivery Specialist, Client Success Specialist, Client Consultant, Operations Resilience & Change Specialist, Microsoft 365 Product Specialist, Innovation Foundry Specialist, Continuous Improvement & Automation Specialist and Railway Signalling Control Systems Specialist.

That’s some list (currently 86) and it just keeps on growing.

Higher Apprenticeships (Levels 4/5):

In total there have been 15,279 new vacancies spread across 142 occupational areas and minimum starting salaries have ranged from £5,002 to £35,000pa. The occupational breakdown is as follows:

1,474 Sales Executives

1,136 Software Developers

1,101 Data Analysts

1,050 Project Management Associates

1,043 Trainee Accountants / Accounting Technicians

720 School/Community Sports Coaches

442 Construction Site Supervisors

441 Nursing Associates

406 Manufacturing Engineering Technicians

405 Business Analysts

355 Network Engineers

351 Taxation Technicians

301 Software Testers

287 Quantity Surveying Technicians

277 Cyber Security Technologists

264 Commercial Procurement & Supply Practitioners

257 Public Relations & Communications Assistants

238 Retail Assistant Managers

233 Civil/Site Engineering Technicians

213 Children/Youth/Family Practitioners

209 Buying & Merchandising Specialists

200 Building Services Engineering Technicians

184 Technician Scientists

177 Electrical/Electronic Engineering Technicians

172 Insurance Practitioners

171 Policy Officers (Central/Local Government)

163 Investment Operations Specialists

159 Marketing Executives

150 DevOps Engineers

150 Reablement Associate Practitioners (NHS)

134 Regulatory Compliance Officers

131 Associate Ambulance Practitioners

129 Early Years Lead Practitioners

119 Junior Management Consultants

88 Construction Design & Build Technicians

87 Human Resources Specialists

78 Quality Practitioners

77 Food Technology/Engineering/Production Technicians

77 Hospitality Managers

77 Nuclear Technicians

76 Healthcare Science Associates (24 Audiology & Hearing Aid Dispensers, 16 (Bio)Medical Engineering Technicians, 15 Cardiorespiratory & Sleep Physiology, 9 Radiography, 6 Genetics Technology, 2 Medical Physics, 1 Biochemistry, 1 Neurophysiology, 1 Rehabilitation Engineering, 1 Tissue Retrieval)

73 Mineral Products Technicians

72 Recruitment Consultants

69 Healthcare Associate Practitioners (57 unspecified, 5 Mammography, 4 Speech Therapy, 2 Phlebotomy, 1 Occupational Therapy)

61 Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability Practitioners

61 Financial Advisers/Paraplanners

54 Internal Audit Practitioners

51 Actuarial Technicians

49 Intelligence Analysts

48 Adult Social Care Lead Practitioners

47 Journalists

46 Vehicle Damage Assessors

43 Brewers

42 Automotive Engineering/Propulsion Technicians

38 Revenue & Welfare Benefits Officers

37 Operations Managers

37 TV/Media Production Co-ordinators

33 Business Improvement Practitioners

32 Automation & Control Engineers

32 Learning/Skills & Development Practitioners

31 Dairy Technologists

29 Railway Engineering Technicians

26 Ordnance Munitions & Explosives Technicians

24 Police Community Support Officers

23 Estate Agency Negotiators

21 Housing/Property/Lettings Managers

21 Market Research Executives

17 Countryside Rangers

16 Paralegals

15 Fibre Cable Engineers

15 Smart Energy Engineers

13 Land Referencers

12 Broadcast & Media Systems Technicians

12 Digital Community Managers

12 Engineer Surveyors

11 Audio Visual Technicians

11 Film/TV Post-Production Technical Operators

11 Hygiene Specialists

10 Air Traffic Controllers

10 Football Coaches

10 Information Managers

9 Employability Practitioners

9 Naval Architects / Marine Engineering Technicians

9 Railway/Passenger Transport Operations Managers

8 Acoustics Technicians

8 BEMS Control Engineers (Building Energy Management Systems)

8 Emergency Medical Technicians

7 Computer Games Developers

7 Counter Fraud Investigators

6 Applications Support Leads

6 Digital Accessibility Specialists

6 Facilities Managers

6 Fire Safety Inspectors

6 School Business Professionals

5 Antisocial Behaviour & Community Safety Officers

5 Architectural Technicians

5 Broadcasting Technical Operators

5 Rehabilitation Officers (Visual Impairment)

5 Visual Merchandisers

4 Aircraft Certifying Technicians

4 Dental Technicians

4 Gymnastics/Trampoline Coaches & Rebound Therapists

4 Space Engineering Technicians

4 Unified Communications Trouble Shooters

3 Fashion & Textiles Technologists

3 Pensions Administrators

3 Port Marine Operations Officers

3 Senior Culinary Chefs

3 Sports Development Officers

3 Town Planning Assistants

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 Travel Executives

2 VFX Artists

2 Water Recycling Engineers

1 Chaplain

1 Chemical Process Technician

1 Clinical Coder

1 Community Energy Specialist

1 Cultural Heritage Conservation Technician

1 Customs & Foreign Exchange Expert

1 Data Protection Practitioner

1 Fitness Club Manager

1 Fitness Instructor

1 Health Informatics Specialist

1 Horticultural / Landscape Design Practitioner

1 Junior Energy Manager

1 Lighting Designer

1 Metrology Technician

1 Outdoor Learning Specialist

1 Padel Coach

1 Payroll Assistant Manager

1 Process Leader

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 or Monday mornings.

Whilst I’ve been tracking vacancies in England since March 2020, I also started to record Degree and Higher Apprenticeships in Wales and Northern Ireland and Level 10 apprenticeships in Scotland from 1^st June 2022. I’ve always been very conscious that my blog only covers England and I intend to redress this with occasional reports on the other home nations, starting with Scotland at the end of this month.

http://www.alanbullockcareers.com