Annual analysis of Level 10 Graduate Apprenticeships in Scotland

Reflections on the past 12 months

This report gives a statistical summary of Level 10 or equivalent apprenticeship vacancies in Scotland posted during the 12-month period between 1^st June 2022 (when I first started recording them) and 31^st May 2023. With a total of 610 vacancies recorded, it offers an insight into the kinds of occupations that are available and how they’re distributed regionally.

I find the regional spread particularly interesting, with 23 out of Scotland’s 32 council areas now represented. Unsurprisingly Glasgow and Edinburgh still dominate, but it’s been fascinating to observe all the other areas on the map gradually joining the party. As for the occupational spread, I will let the data tell its own story below.

I’ve also been chatting with CareerGuidanceCharts.com about presenting some of the headline data in a graphic format and here’s how it’s currently looking:

Background

I originally started recording post-18 apprenticeships vacancies, but only in England, when the country first locked down during the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. That summer I began publishing weekly statistical updates and have been doing so consistently ever since. Then on 1^st June 2022 I also started recording vacancies in the other three home nations with a view to reporting on them too once I’d collated enough useful data.

For Scotland I keep a record of all new Graduate Apprenticeship vacancies at SCQF Level 10 (and where appropriate Level 11) that I spot during my regular searches, along with other UK-wide apprenticeships of an equivalent level that have vacancies in Scotland. In doing so, I’ve started to build up an evolving occupational and regional analysis. I only include vacancies that would be open to school/college-leavers with Scottish Higher or equivalent qualifications. I largely use information from the Skills Development Scotland (apprenticeships.scot) website whilst also keeping a close lookout for relevant vacancies through my normal UK-wide channels.

I should emphasise that my data will never be fully reliable because for UK-wide employers it’s often necessary to make educated and conservative estimates of vacancy numbers, whereas the data I’ve collated from the excellent apprenticeships.scot site should be quite accurate. In particular, the data includes apprenticeships with the big national or global accountancy and professional services firms who have offices in Scotland. Their UK-wide vacancies are advertised centrally, but they don’t usually appear on the Skills Development Scotland site and are much more difficult to report on with precise accuracy. Their numbers may therefore be slightly under or overestimated in my overall data.

Headline data

In the 12-month period from 1^st June 2022 to 31^st May 2023 I recorded:

610 new apprenticeship vacancies in Scotland at SCQF Level 10/11 or equivalent that would be open to students leaving school/college after completing Scottish Highers or equivalent qualifications.

Analysis by occupation

I’ve broken the new vacancies down into what I loosely define as ‘occupational areas’, which in some cases differ from official terminology. Since 1^st June 2022 the complete list of occupational areas represented is given below. In my view, this provides an interesting insight into what the emerging occupations are in a changing career landscape.

126 Accountants / Audit Professionals

81 Software Engineers/Developers

62 Tax Professionals

50 Civil Engineers

42 Design & Manufacturing Engineers

36 Business/Operations Managers

36 Construction Project/Site Managers

34 Quantity Surveyors

27 Data Scientists/Analysts

18 IT Business Managers (ITMB)

17 IT/Digital Technology Professionals (general)

16 Cyber Security Professionals

14 Chartered Building/Property Surveyors

11 Retail Leaders

8 Electrical Power Engineers

4 Architectural / Design & Construction Engineers

4 Instrumentation Measurement & Control Engineers

3 Banking & Financial Services Professionals

3 Project Managers

2 Building Energy Management Systems (BEMS) Engineers

2 Building Services Engineers

2 Food Manufacturing Managers

2 Media Systems Engineers

2 Multiskilled Engineers

2 Nuclear Engineers

2 Supply Chain Professionals

1 Business Development (Sales/Marketing) Manager

1 Digital User Experience (UX) Designer

1 Early Years Practitioner

1 Internal Auditor

Analysis by town/city

In terms of location, the 610 apprenticeships advertised in Scotland during this period have been distributed as follows (with council area in brackets):

249 Glasgow (Glasgow City)
139 Edinburgh (City of Edinburgh)
60 Aberdeen (Aberdeen City)
12 Inverness (Highland)
12 Irvine (North Ayrshire)
12 Perth (Perth & Kinross)
11 Livingston (West Lothian)
8 Motherwell (North Lanarkshire)
7 Cumbernauld (North Lanarkshire)
6 Bellshill (North Lanarkshire)
5 Dundee (Dundee City)
5 Lerwick (Shetland Islands)
5 Stirling (Stirling)
5 Tweedbank (Scottish Borders)
4 Coatbridge (North Lanarkshire)
4 Glenrothes (Fife)
4 Inverkeithing (Fife)
4 Leven (Fife)
3 Bridge of Weir (Renfrewshire)
3 Helensburgh (Argyll & Bute)
3 Rosyth (Fife)
3 Uddingston (South Lanarkshire)
2 Castle Douglas (Dumfries & Galloway)
2 Currie (City of Edinburgh)
2 Dalgety Bay (Fife)
2 Dalkeith (Midlothian)
2 Dunfermline (Fife)
2 Falkirk (Falkirk)
2 Grangemouth (Falkirk)
2 Kelso (Scottish Borders)
2 Linlithgow (West Lothian)
2 Newbridge (City of Edinburgh)
2 St Andrews (Fife)
2 Turriff (Aberdeenshire)
2 Westhill (Aberdeenshire)
1 Arbroath (Angus)
1 Auchterarder (Perth & Kinross)
1 Ayr (South Ayrshire)
1 Bathgate (West Lothian)
1 Beith (North Ayrshire)
1 Brechin (Angus)
1 Cambuslang (South Lanarkshire)
1 Crieff (Perth & Kinross)
1 Dingwall (Highland)
1 Dounreay (Highland)
1 Fort William (Highland)
1 Golspie (Highland)
1 Holytown (North Lanarkshire)
1 Kirkwall (Orkney Islands)
1 Loanhead (Midlothian)
1 Lochgilphead (Argyll & Bute)
1 Montrose (Angus)
1 Paisley (Renfrewshire)
1 Wick (Highland)
1 Remote-working

Analysis by council area

This list puts the same data into a regional perspective:

249 Glasgow City
143 City of Edinburgh
60 Aberdeen City
26 North Lanarkshire
21 Fife
17 Highland
14 Perth & Kinross
14 West Lothian
13 North Ayrshire
7 Scottish Borders
5 Dundee City
5 Shetland Islands
5 Stirling
4 Aberdeenshire
4 Argyll & Bute
4 Falkirk
4 Renfrewshire
4 South Lanarkshire
3 Angus
3 Midlothian
2 Dumfries & Galloway
1 Orkney Islands
1 South Ayrshire
1 Remote-working
0 Clackmannanshire
0 East Ayrshire
0 East Dunbartonshire
0 East Lothian
0 East Renfrewshire
0 Inverclyde
0 Moray
0 Outer Hebrides
0 West Dunbartonshire

Analysis by university partners

This is a list of universities or other education/training providers who have partnered with employers in the delivery of the apprenticeships listed above, where this was known:

98 Glasgow Caledonian
94 Strathclyde
82 Heriot-Watt
47 Edinburgh Napier
30 Robert Gordon
20 Glasgow
19 BPP
8 Dundee
5 Highlands & Islands
4 Stirling
3 West of Scotland
2 Babington
2 National College for Nuclear (Somerset)
2 Sheffield Hallam
1 Coventry
1 University College of Estate Management
1 West of England (Bristol)

Analysis by minimum entry requirements

This is a simplified list of stated minimum entry requirements (where known), expressed as either Scottish Higher grades or UCAS points, and the number of apprenticeship vacancies requiring them:

234 BBBB
61 112 points
49 104 points
39 BBCC
33 120 points
28 BBBC
19 AAAB
17 ABBB
12 CCCC
12 96 points
7 BB
5 BBBBC
3 AAAB/ABBBB
3 AABB
3 BBB
3 BBC
1 CCC
1 128 points

Analysis by minimum starting salaries

In this table I’ve listed the aggregated minimum starting salaries for all vacancies for which this information was available. (£20,000+ denotes a minimum starting salary of between £20,000 and £20,999 and so on.)