Latest reflections on the situation in England

Normally the midsummer months tend to be relatively quiet, and this week was a case in point. However, it gave me the time to catch up with a small batch of vacancies I hadn’t previously counted, whilst also making a couple of other adjustments and minor improvements. Hence, the cumulative occupational and regional data I’ve presented below is all the more intriguing and representative, I think.

Another recent development has been the appearance of some new DAs for Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners (PWPs). Until recently I’d perceived this to be very much a postgraduate profession, but there’s now a Level 6 apprenticeship route into it too, albeit that successful applicants would usually need some significant paid or voluntary experience in a mental health support setting. That being said, I’ve recently noticed half a dozen PWP DAs for which I think an exceptional younger applicant with relevant insights and voluntary experience could at least make a viable application, and for that reason I’ll continue to include such vacancies if and when I think they meet my criteria.   

As this week’s regional spread was a little more even than usual, I’ve chosen a non-specific featured image in the form of a photo I took this afternoon in a quintessentially English setting. There again, I suppose it could be interpreted as mildly relevant with Sports Coach HAs having just hit four figures.

I’ve also got new Scotland and Wales updates almost ready to publish and they’ll be posted in the next couple of days – see below.

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland updates

Having now tracked vacancies in the three other home nations for a full year (since 1^st June 2022), my latest running totals are as follows:

• Scotland: 610 vacancies at SQF Levels 10/11
• Wales: 79 vacancies at Levels 6/7 and 142 at Levels 4/5
• Northern Ireland: 109 vacancies at Levels 4 to 7 

I will be publishing new Scotland and Wales updates this week, reflecting on this first full year of vacancies, and I’m finding the wide geographical spread in Scotland especially interesting. In addition I intend to publish some Northern Ireland reflections in due course, once I have enough reliable data.

Background

Since the first COVID-19 ‘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 tabs on other national vacancy sources especially Not Going to Uni, Rate My Apprenticeship and NHS Jobs.

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 an applicant 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, I think the analyses I’ve built up still 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, thereby ironically leaving some vacancies hard to fill).

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 Level 3 apprenticeships too. It’s also true that a significant proportion of opportunities at Levels 4 to 7 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 29^th May to 4^th June 2023 I recorded:

• 80 new Degree & L7 Apprenticeship vacancies and
• 165 new Higher Apprenticeship vacancies
• giving a total of 245 for the week

In the 167 weeks since the start of the first COVID-19 lockdown (23^rd March 2020 to 4^th June 2023) I’ve now recorded:

• 21,060 new Degree Apprenticeships (Levels 6/7) and
• 19,221 new Higher Apprenticeships (Levels 4/5)
• giving a total of 40,281

The average weekly totals in the 167 weeks since lockdown have been:

• 126 DAs + 115 HAs = 241 average weekly total

Updated analysis by county and region

By county (loosely defined), the 40,281 higher and degree apprenticeships advertised in England since the start of lockdown have been distributed as follows:

• Greater London (9,884)
• Yorkshire (3,541)
• West Midlands (2,518)
• Greater Manchester (2,261)
• Bristol & Gloucestershire (1,755)
• Hampshire (1,376)
• Berkshire (1,228)
• Hertfordshire (967)
• Surrey (919)
• Cheshire (822)
• Derbyshire (804)
• Nottinghamshire (789)
• Tyne & Wear (778)
• Sussex (742)
• Cambridgeshire (730)
• Merseyside (682)
• Essex (674)
• Devon (641)
• Somerset & South Bristol (583)
• Lancashire (566)
• Warwickshire (560)
• Wiltshire (523)
• Suffolk (522)
• Kent (522)
• Buckinghamshire (520)
• Cumbria (476)
• Leicestershire (475)
• Dorset (466)
• Staffordshire (465)
• Oxfordshire (457)
• County Durham (417)
• Bedfordshire (415)
• Northamptonshire (355)
• Cornwall (351)
• Norfolk (329)
• Worcestershire (294)
• Lincolnshire (277)
• Shropshire (244)
• Northumberland (56)
• Isle of Wight (55)
• Herefordshire (41)
• Rutland (13)
• Remote-working with no central base (70)
• Not specified (118) 

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 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 latest ONS data 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:

•   9,884   London (1,078,600: 9.16)
•   4,338   South West (645,800: 6.72)
•   4,121   West Midlands (720,900: 5.72)
•   5,785   South East (1,040,500: 5.56)
•   4,804   North West (884,600: 5.43)
•   3,652   East of England (685,300: 5.33)
•   3,553   Yorkshire & Humber (670,800: 5.30)
•   2,648   East Midlands (593,700: 4.46)
•   1,308   North East (313,000: 4.18)
•        70   Remote-working
•      118   Not specified
• 40,281   Total England (6,633,200: 6.07)

Whilst my data is always going to have flaws in it, I think the above comparisons give a fair reflection of the regional differences that exist. The South West’s prominence is perhaps surprising, with Bristol being a particularly busy hub.         

Updated occupational analysis

Every week I update my occupational analysis, breaking the vacancies down into what I loosely define as ‘occupational areas’. In some cases these differ from the official apprenticeship standards terminology. For each occupational area the total number of vacancies since March 2020 is given below for both degree and higher apprenticeships.

Degree Apprenticeships (Levels 6/7):

In total there have been 21,060 new vacancies spread across 122 occupational areas and minimum starting salaries have ranged from £5,590 to £35,150pa, with the average being somewhere in the middle (around £19K). The occupational breakdown is as follows:

3,205 Police Constables 

2,448 Accountancy/Tax/Audit Professionals

1,848 Digital Technology Solutions (general) *see below for details

1,108 Chartered Business Managers

1,065 Software Engineers/Developers

  948 Civil Engineers

  764 Chartered Quantity Surveyors 

  716 Nurses (554 Adult, 122 Mental Health, 33 Learning Disability, 7 Child) 

  661 Project Managers

  654 Data Scientists/Analysts/Engineers

  458 Electrical/Electronic Engineers

  456 Chartered Building/Property/Valuation Surveyors  

  435 Design & Development Engineers

  384 Nuclear Engineers  

  342 Supply Chain Leaders

  301 Cyber Security Professionals

  292 Food & Drink Technologists/Manufacturers

  290 Building Services Engineers

  278 Manufacturing Engineers

  267 Banking/Financial Services/Investment Professionals

  260 Digital Marketing Professionals

  254 Solicitors

  232 Sales Professionals

  211 Laboratory Scientists

  200 Professional Economists

  181 Aerospace Engineers

  178 Environmental Practitioners

  163 Retail Leaders

  153 Railway/Rail Systems Engineers

  148 Construction Managers

  143 Healthcare Science Practitioners (20 Nuclear Medicine, 19 Cardiac Physiology, 16 Radiation & Radiotherapy Physics, 15 Biomedical Sciences, 14 Radiation & Radiotherapy Engineering, 12 Audiology, 12 Medical Engineering, 11 Respiratory & Sleep Physiology, 10 Neurophysiology, 5 Digital Healthcare Science, 4 Medical Physics Technology, 3 Clinical Informatics, 1 Rehabilitation Engineering, 1 Renal Technology) 

  132 Network Engineers

  120 Operating Department Practitioners (NHS)

  102 Electro-Mechanical/Mechatronics Engineers

    94 Automation & Control Engineers   

    90 Project Controls Professionals

    82 Digital User Experience (UX) Design Professionals   

    81 Occupational Therapists

    72 Radiographers (43 Diagnostic, 29 Therapeutic)    

    68 Materials Science Technologists/Engineers     

    66 Non-Destructive Testing Engineers

    60 Creative Digital Design Professionals

    58 Podiatrists

    54 Building Control Surveyors

    53 Clinical Trials Specialists

    46 Town Planners

    44 Broadcast/Communication/Media Systems Engineers

    44 Social Workers 

    43 Packaging Professionals 

    40 Manufacturing/Production Managers (non-food)

    39 Chartered Rural Surveyors / Land Agents

    39 Chemical Engineers     

    37 Design & Construction Professionals

    35 Transport Planners    

    34 Business Analysts  

    34 Human Resources Professionals  

    34 Weapons Munitions & Explosives Engineers

    32 Recruitment Professionals

    31 Environmental Health Officers

    26 Architectural Assistants

    25 Physiotherapists

    24 Marketing/Brand Managers

    23 Geotechnical Engineers

    23 GIS / Geospatial Mapping & Surveying Professionals

    20 Public Health Practitioners

    18 Insurance Professionals

    18 Journalists

    17 Fire Safety Engineers

    15 Forestry Professionals

    11 Midwives      

    10 Dietitians

      9 Business Managers (Social Change)

      9 Propulsion Engineers

      8 Agricultural/Horticultural Advisers

      8 Gas Transmission Engineers

      7 Land Buyers

      7 Speech & Language Therapists

      6 Actuarial Professionals     

      6 Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners

      6 Sport Development Officers

      5 Chartered Legal Executives   

      5 Operations Analysts

      4 Assistant Buyers

      4 Assistant Teachers / Learning Coaches

      4 Fitness/Leisure Centre Managers

      4 Sports Business Managers

      3 Building Information Modelling (BIM) Specialists

      3 Digital Transformation Engineers

      3 Education Technology Specialists

      3 TV Production Managers

      2 Licensed Conveyancers

      2 Lighting Designers

      2 Pensions Professionals

      2 Tax Technologists

      1 Charity Manager

      1 Community Centre Manager

      1 Events Manager

      1 Facilities Manager

      1 Games Programmer

      1 Human Performance Engineer 

      1 Marine Engineer

      1 Population Health Intelligence Analyst

      1 Prosthetist & Orthotist

      1 Sonographer 

      1 Youth Worker    

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

IT Consultant, Software Engineer, Data Analyst, Cyber Security Specialist, Software Developer, Software Tester, Network Engineer, Data Scientist, Global Data Analyst, Data Product Specialist, Data Architect, Network Architect, Enterprise Architect, Digital Solutions Architect, Technology Architect, Solutions Consultant, Software Implementation Consultant, Software Consultant, Technical Consultant, Functional Consultant, Business Consultant, Project Manager, Project Co-ordinator, Business Intelligence (BI) Developer, Business Systems Developer, Automation Developer, Automation Test Developer, Full Stack Developer, Digital Developer, Prototype Developer, Technology Manager, Legal Technologist, 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, Digital Social Media Executive, Junior Product Manager, Infrastructure Specialist, FinTech Specialist, DevOps Engineer, Solutions Engineer, Digital Solutions Engineer, Hardware Engineer, Systems Engineer, Business Systems Engineer, Automation Engineer, IT Support Engineer, Technical 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, Control Systems 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 and Continuous Improvement & Automation Specialist.

That’s some list (currently 93 different job titles).

Higher Apprenticeships (Levels 4/5):

In total there have been 19,221 new vacancies spread across 160 occupational areas and minimum starting salaries have ranged from £5,002 to £35,000pa (the average being around £17K, except for Sports Coaches which are usually around £10K or lower). The occupational breakdown is as follows: 

1,715 Sales Executives

1,312 Data Analysts

1,290 Software Developers 

1,261 Accounting Technicians

1,221 Project Management Associates

1,008 Sports Coaches (Children & Young People)   

  590 Construction Site Supervisors

  578 Nursing Associates (Adult or Mental Health)

  530 Manufacturing Engineering Technicians 

  503 Business Analysts  

  448 Network Engineers

  432 Taxation Technicians

  420 Quantity Surveying Technicians  

  365 Cyber Security Technologists

  354 Software Testers

  350 Commercial Procurement & Supply Practitioners

  338 Public Relations & Communications Assistants

  294 Civil/Site Engineering Technicians

  274 Building Services Engineering Technicians

  270 Electrical/Electronic Engineering Technicians

  257 Buying & Merchandising Assistants

  250 Retail Managers

  239 Children/Youth/Family Practitioners

  227 Healthcare Associate Practitioners (150 Reablement, 59 Multidisciplinary, 10 Diagnostic Radiography, 5 Speech Therapy, 2 Continuing Healthcare, 1 Occupational Therapy)

  216 DevOps Engineers

  215 Investment Operations Specialists

  210 Insurance Practitioners  

  201 Marketing Executives

  201 Technician Scientists

  186 Policy Practitioners

  167 Early Years Lead Practitioners

  162 Construction Design & Build Technicians

  162 Regulatory Compliance Officers

  151 Junior Management Consultants

  144 Associate Ambulance Practitioners

  128 Human Resources Specialists 

  116 Mineral Products Technicians 

  114 Police Community Support Officers

  113 Healthcare Science Associates (32 Audiology & Hearing Aid Dispensers, 31 Medical Engineering Technicians, 22 Cardiac, Respiratory & Sleep Physiology, 12 Genetics Technicians, 5 Mammography, 3 Tissue Retrieval, 2 Medical Physics, 2 Phlebotomy, 1 Biochemistry, 1 Biomedicine, 1 Neurophysiology, 1 Rehabilitation Engineering)

  104 Quality Practitioners

  101 Food Technology/Manufacturing Technicians 

  100 Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability Practitioners 

    95 Nuclear Technicians  

    90 Hospitality Managers

    90 Railway Engineering Technicians

    77 Automotive Engineering/Propulsion Technicians

    72 Recruitment Consultants

    70 Intelligence Analysts

    70 Internal Audit Practitioners

    64 Actuarial Technicians

    64 Financial Paraplanners   

    62 Journalists

    59 Brewers 

    57 Vehicle Damage Assessors     

    52 Adult Social Care Lead Practitioners       

    52 Automation & Controls Technicians

    50 Operations Managers   

    48 Revenue & Welfare Benefits Officers    

    47 Learning & Skills Practitioners/Mentors

    43 Dairy Technologists

    41 Applications Support Leads

    37 Business Improvement Practitioners 

    37 TV/Media Production Co-ordinators

    36 Market Research Executives

    31 Information Managers    

    29 Ordnance Munitions & Explosives Technicians

    28 Housing/Property/Lettings Managers

    27 Audiovisual Technicians

    25 Engineer Surveyors

    24 Paralegals

    23 Estate Agency Negotiators

    22 BEMS Controls Engineers (Building Energy Management Systems)

    20 Countryside Rangers

    19 Acoustics Technicians

    18 Land Referencers 

    15 Fibre Cable Engineers

    15 Smart Energy Engineers

    13 Digital Accessibility Specialists

    12 Broadcast & Media Systems Technicians

    12 Digital Community Managers

    11 Film/TV Post-Production Technical Operators

    11 Hygiene Specialists

    10 Air Traffic Controllers

    10 Employability Practitioners

    10 Football Coaches

      9 Counter Fraud Investigators    

      9 Engineering Maintenance Technicians

      9 Facilities Managers

      9 Naval Architects / Marine Engineering Technicians

      9 Railway/Passenger Transport Operations Managers

      7 Antisocial Behaviour & Community Safety Officers

      7 Computer Games Developers

      7 Dental Technicians

      7 School Business Professionals     

      7 Town Planning Technicians 

      6 Fire Safety Inspectors

      6 Rehabilitation Officers (Visual Impairment) 

      5 Architectural Technicians

      5 Asset Managers

      5 Broadcasting Technical Operators

      5 Data Protection Practitioners     

      5 Visual Merchandisers

      4 Aircraft Certifying Technicians

      4 Gymnastics/Trampoline Coaches & Rebound Therapists

      4 Padel Coaches

      4 Space Engineering Technicians

      4 Tax Technology Technicians

      4 Unified Communications Trouble Shooters

      3 Culinary Chefs

      3 Early Intervention Practitioners

      3 Fashion & Textiles Technologists

      3 Historic Site Advisers

      3 Music Teachers

      3 Payroll Associates

      3 Pensions Administrators

      3 Port Marine Operations Officers

      3 Sports Development Officers   

      3 Utilities Technicians

      2 Arboriculturists      

      2 Auctioneers

      2 Building Information Modelling (BIM) Technicians

      2 Chaplains

      2 Energy Specialists

      2 Music Recording Technicians

      2 Travel Executives

      2 Visual Effects Artists

      2 Water Recycling Engineers

      1 Chemical Process Technician

      1 Clinical Coder

      1 Cricket Coach

      1 Cultural Heritage Conservation Technician

      1 Customs & Foreign Exchange Expert

      1 Fitness Club Manager

      1 Fitness Instructor

      1 Health Informatics Specialist

      1 Horticultural / Landscape Design Practitioner

      1 Lighting Designer

      1 Metrology Technician

      1 Outdoor Learning Specialist

      1 Process Leader

      1 Proposals Co-ordinator

      1 Tennis Coach

      1 Wedding Accessories Designer

      1 Wedding Venue Co-ordinator

Going forward

All being well I will continue posting weekly or fortnightly updates, usually on Sunday nights or Monday mornings.   

© Alan Bullock Careers, 4/6/2023

http://www.alanbullockcareers.com