Latest reflections on the situation in England

If anyone was wondering what happened to Week 170, I was abroad and didn’t have time to crunch the data. However, I soon caught up with the backlog and this latest report covers a two-week period.

Considering the time of year there was a decent haul of new vacancies. The highlights included a big batch of PCSO HAs with Thames Valley Police spread across Berkshire, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire, and an unusually high number of Digital DAs. My list of Digital Technology Solutions specialisms, which is the way I try to demonstrate the wide range of functions covered by this generic DA discipline, is now very close to reaching one hundred different job titles and it helps me to get my head around the breadth of roles that exist within the digital sector.

I’ve also made a few small adjustments to my regional and occupational figures to keep them as accurate and as up to date as possible. Amongst other things I always aim to be precise about the way I calculate my regional data, for instance by taking account of areas of Lincolnshire that are part of the Yorkshire & Humber region and areas of North Yorkshire that are officially in the North East. I also do everything possible to differentiate between repeat postings of existing vacancies (which I always aim to exclude) and new vacancies with those larger employers who post on a rolling basis (which I always include). I’m pedantic about these things and try not to miss a trick.   

Another aspect of the occupational data that I personally find helpful in a guidance context is the way it highlights the most prominent kinds of job at these levels, such as the five DA and six HA occupational areas that are into four figures in my cumulative listings. I’m even getting mildly excited in anticipation of Civil Engineering becoming the next occupation to reach a thousand in the DA list, which should happen sometime this month. I think the sense of comparative scale that the figures portray is useful.

Finally, Oxfordshire (and the city of Oxford in particular) was especially busy during the past two weeks. As well as Oxford being the location of 15 of the new PCSO vacancies, there was also a Packaging DA in Wantage, three Manufacturing HAs in Kidlington and Abingdon and a Network Engineering HA in the Biology Department at Oxford University. In the job spec for the latter the uni makes a point of saying that it’s a keen supporter of apprenticeships in partnership with local training providers. Hence, my featured image this week is a photo I took in the grounds of an Oxford college (St John’s) during a visit to the uni a few years ago.        

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland updates

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

• Scotland: 638 vacancies at SQF Levels 10/11
• Wales: 109 vacancies at Levels 6/7 and 144 at Levels 4/5
• Northern Ireland: 112 vacancies at Levels 4 to 7

My most recent Scotland and Wales reports were posted in early-June and all being well I intend to publish a quarterly update for both nations early in September. Scotland in particular is shaping up well and I’m hoping to include an interesting new feature in my next report on the situation north of the border. As for Northern Ireland, I’m still waiting until my data becomes more reliable before I report on it.   

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 two-week =period from 19^th June to 2^nd July 2023 I recorded:

• 267 new Degree & L7 Apprenticeship vacancies and
• 201 new Higher Apprenticeship vacancies
• giving a total of 468 for the two weeks

In the 171 weeks since the start of the first COVID-19 lockdown (23^rd March 2020 to 2^nd July 2023) I’ve now recorded:

• 22,054 new Degree Apprenticeships (Levels 6/7) and
• 19,674 new Higher Apprenticeships (Levels 4/5)
• giving a total of 41,728

The average weekly totals in the 171 weeks since the first lockdown have been:

• 129 DAs + 115 HAs = 244 average weekly total 

Updated analysis by county and region

By county (loosely defined), the 41,728 higher and degree apprenticeships advertised in England since the start of lockdown have been distributed as follows:

• Greater London (10,066)
• Yorkshire (3,616)
• West Midlands (2,558)
• Greater Manchester (2,383)
• Bristol & Gloucestershire (1,824)
• Hampshire (1,450)
• Berkshire (1,303)
• Hertfordshire (1,010)
• Surrey (958)
• Cheshire (861)
• Tyne & Wear (836)
• Derbyshire (829)
• Nottinghamshire (803)
• Sussex (788)
• Cambridgeshire (768)
• Essex (720)
• Merseyside (695)
• Devon (682)
• Somerset & South Bristol (611)
• Warwickshire (583)
• Kent (578)
• Buckinghamshire (572)
• Lancashire (571)
• Suffolk (540)
• Wiltshire (539)
• Leicestershire (511)
• Oxfordshire (495)
• Dorset (484)
• Cumbria (479)
• Staffordshire (471)
• Bedfordshire (443)
• County Durham (420)
• Cornwall (368)
• Northamptonshire (361)
• Norfolk (334)
• Worcestershire (305)
• Lincolnshire (294)
• Shropshire (254)
• Northumberland (69)
• Isle of Wight (59)
• Herefordshire (43)
• Rutland (14)
• Remote-working with no central base (71)
• Not specified (109) 

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:

• 10,066   London (1,078,600: 9.33)
•   4,508   South West (645,800: 6.98)
•   6,203   South East (1,040,500: 5.96)
•   4,214   West Midlands (720,900: 5.85)
•   4,989   North West (884,600: 5.64)
•   3,815   East of England (685,300: 5.57)
•   3,630   Yorkshire & Humber (670,800: 5.41)
•   2,738   East Midlands (593,700: 4.61)
•   1,385   North East (313,000: 4.42)
•        71   Remote-working
•      109   Not specified

• 41,728   Total England (6,633,200: 6.29)

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 22,054 new vacancies spread across 123 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:

3,772 Police Constables 

2,605 Accountancy/Tax/Audit/Assurance Professionals

1,893 Digital Technology Solutions (general) *see below for details

1,126 Chartered Business Managers & Consultants

1,068 Software Engineers/Developers

  964 Civil Engineers

  772 Chartered Quantity Surveyors 

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

  671 Project Managers

  658 Data Scientists/Analysts/Engineers

  462 Electrical/Electronic Engineers

  460 Chartered Building/Property/Valuation Surveyors  

  439 Design & Development Engineer

  389 Nuclear Engineers  

  348 Supply Chain Leaders

  305 Building Services Engineers

  305 Cyber/Information Security Professionals

  293 Food & Drink Technologists/Manufacturers

  282 Manufacturing Engineers

  267 Banking/Financial Services/Investment Professionals

  264 Digital Marketing Professionals

  254 Solicitors

  235 Sales Professionals

  225 Laboratory Scientists

  200 Professional Economists

  188 Environmental Practitioners

  183 Aerospace Engineers

  174 Healthcare Science Practitioners (35 Biomedical Sciences, 22 Nuclear Medicine, 20 Cardiac Physiology, 19 Radiation & Radiotherapy Physics, 14 Radiation & Radiotherapy Engineering, 13 Respiratory & Sleep Physiology, 13 Medical Engineering, 12 Audiology, 12 Neurophysiology, 5 Digital Healthcare Science, 4 Medical Physics Technology, 3 Clinical Informatics, 1 Rehabilitation Engineering, 1 Renal Technology) 

  163 Retail Leaders

  153 Railway/Rail Systems Engineers

  148 Construction Managers

  132 Network Engineers

  123 Operating Department Practitioners (NHS)

  102 Electro-Mechanical/Mechatronics Engineers

    94 Automation & Control Engineers   

    90 Project Controls Professionals

    85 Digital User Experience (UX) Design Professionals   

    84 Occupational Therapists

    73 Materials Science Technologists/Engineers     

    72 Radiographers (43 Diagnostic, 29 Therapeutic)    

    66 Non-Destructive Testing Engineers

    62 Creative Digital Design Professionals

    60 Podiatrists

    59 Building Control Surveyors

    53 Clinical Trials Specialists

    47 Town Planners

    45 Packaging Professionals 

    44 Broadcast/Communication/Media Systems Engineers

    44 Social Workers 

    40 Land Agents (Chartered Rural Surveyors)

    40 Manufacturing/Production Managers (non-food)

    39 Architectural Technologists (Design & Construction)

    39 Chemical Engineers     

    35 Transport Planners    

    34 Business Analysts  

    34 Human Resources Professionals  

    34 Weapons Munitions & Explosives Engineers

    33 Environmental Health Officers

    32 Recruitment Professionals

    26 Architectural Assistants

    26 Geospatial Mapping & Surveying / GIS Professionals

    26 Physiotherapists

    26 Public Health Practitioners

    24 Marketing/Brand Managers

    23 Geotechnical Engineers

    18 Fire Safety Engineers

    18 Insurance Professionals

    18 Journalists

    15 Forestry Professionals

    11 Midwives      

    11 Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners

    10 Dietitians

      9 Business Managers (Social Change)

      9 Propulsion Engineers

      9 Sports Business Managers

      8 Agricultural/Horticultural Advisers

      8 Gas Transmission Engineers

      7 Land Buyers

      7 Speech & Language Therapists

      6 Actuarial Professionals     

      6 Sport Development Officers

      5 Chartered Legal Executives   

      5 Fitness/Leisure Centre Managers

      5 Operations Analysts

      4 Assistant Buyers

      4 Assistant Teachers / Learning Coaches

      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 Health & Safety Practitioner

      1 Human Performance Engineer 

      1 Marine Engineer

      1 Population Health Intelligence Analyst

      1 Prosthetist & Orthotist

      1 Sonographer 

      1 Trading Standards Officer  

      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 Consultant, Software Implementation Consultant, Technical Consultant, Functional Consultant, Business Consultant, Application Management Consultant, Project Manager, Project Co-ordinator, Application Developer, 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, Associate Digital Delivery Manager, Digital Manufacturing Engineer, Electronic Systems Design & Development Engineer, Solution Engineering & Development Specialist, Client Delivery Specialist, Client Success Specialist, Client Consultant, Microsoft Dynamics & Power Applications Consultant, Microsoft 365 Product Specialist, Operations Resilience & Change Specialist, Innovation Foundry Specialist, and Continuous Improvement & Automation Specialist.

That’s some list! Three more were added this week, bringing the total to 97 different job titles.

Higher Apprenticeships (Levels 4/5):

In total there have been 19,674 new vacancies spread across 161 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: 

1,748 Sales Executives

1,339 Data Analysts

1,300 Software Developers 

1,283 Accounting Technicians

1,231 Project Management Associates

1,035 Sports Coaches (Children & Young People)   

  594 Construction Site Supervisors

  592 Nursing Associates (Adult or Mental Health)

  547 Manufacturing Engineering Technicians 

  507 Business Analysts  

  479 Network Engineers

  440 Taxation Technicians

  431 Quantity Surveying Technicians  

  373 Cyber Security Technologists

  355 Software Testers

  354 Commercial Procurement & Supply Practitioners

  345 Public Relations & Communications Assistants

  305 Civil/Site Engineering Technicians

  280 Building Services Engineering Technicians

  270 Electrical/Electronic Engineering Technicians

  258 Buying & Merchandising Assistants

  250 Retail Managers

  240 Children/Youth/Family Practitioners

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

  219 Investment Operations Specialists

  217 DevOps Engineers

  217 Insurance Practitioners  

  210 Marketing Executives

  205 Technician Scientists

  187 Policy Practitioners

  176 Early Years Lead Practitioners

  176 Police Community Support Officers

  172 Construction Design & Build Technicians

  164 Regulatory Compliance Officers

  153 Junior Management Consultants

  150 Associate Ambulance Practitioners

  128 Human Resources Specialists 

  121 Mineral Products Technicians 

  115 Healthcare Science Associates (34 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)

  108 Quality Practitioners

  104 Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability Practitioners 

  103 Food Technology/Manufacturing Technicians 

    95 Nuclear Technicians  

    93 Hospitality Managers

    90 Railway Engineering Technicians

    80 Intelligence Analysts

    79 Automotive Engineering/Propulsion Technicians

    74 Internal Audit Practitioners

    72 Recruitment Consultants

    65 Actuarial Technicians

    64 Financial Paraplanners   

    63 Journalists

    61 Brewers 

    58 Vehicle Damage Assessors     

    55 Automation & Controls Engineering Technicians

    52 Adult Social Care Lead Practitioners       

    51 Operations Managers   

    49 Revenue & Welfare Benefits Officers    

    48 Learning & Skills Practitioners/Mentors

    43 Dairy Technologists

    42 Applications Support Leads

    39 Business Improvement Practitioners 

    39 Market Research Executives

    37 TV/Media Production Co-ordinators

    36 Audiovisual Technicians

    31 Information Managers    

    29 Ordnance Munitions & Explosives Technicians

    28 Housing/Property/Lettings Managers

    25 Engineer Surveyors

    24 Paralegals

    23 Estate Agency Negotiators

    22 BEMS Controls Engineers (Building Energy Management Systems)

    20 Air Traffic Controllers

    20 Countryside Rangers

    20 Land Referencers 

    19 Acoustics Technicians

    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 Employability Practitioners

    10 Engineering Maintenance Technicians

    10 Football Coaches

      9 Counter Fraud Investigators    

      9 Facilities Managers

      9 Naval Architects / Marine Engineering Technicians

      9 Railway/Passenger Transport Operations Managers

      8 Antisocial Behaviour & Community Safety Officers

      8 School Business Professionals     

      7 Computer Games Developers

      7 Dental Technicians

      7 Town Planning Technicians 

      6 Data Protection Practitioners     

      6 Fire Safety Inspectors

      6 Rehabilitation Officers (Visual Impairment) 

      5 Architectural Technicians

      5 Asset Managers

      5 Broadcasting Technical Operators

      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 Junior Animator

      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, 2/7/2023

http://www.alanbullockcareers.com