Latest reflections on the situation in England

August got even quieter this week. HAs were reasonably steady but DAs were sparse, as is often the case at this time of year. Any school or college leavers who switched their attention to degree apprenticeships after Results Day won’t have had much to choose from and will probably need to wait patiently, at least until vacancies start to increase again in mid-September like they usually do. Having said that, some of the bigger early careers recruiters are already inviting potential applicants to register interest in their 2024 programmes, with the Rate My Apprenticeship site being one of the sources.

The one occupation that was quite busy in Week 190 was Nursing Associate HAs. However, these usually follow a similar pattern to most other NHS vacancies, in that I always read the person spec carefully to judge whether a recent school or college leaver could realistically make a competitive application. This week some new NHS apprenticeship vacancies passed this test, but others didn’t and had to be excluded. As usual a background in Health, Health & Social Care or Healthcare Science will often give applicants an edge because of the quality and relevance of the insights and experiences such students gain.     

Most of the Nursing Associate vacancies were with the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust, spread across various locations in Lancashire and Cumbria. This prompted me to choose the Morecambe Bay sunset photo as my featured image, with special thanks to Dave Noonan on Pixabay (aka Northern_Punkie – Pixabay).  

There was another highlight this week, but it was a repeat of some HA vacancies first posted a few weeks ago in Commercial Procurement & Supply with the Department of Work & Pensions at locations across the north of England. I mention it because the starting salary is the highest I’ve ever recorded at £38,469. Relevant experience is preferred but not essential, so the original vacancies did get included in my data.   

Latest update on Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

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

• Scotland: 662 vacancies at SQF Levels 10/11
• Wales: 135 vacancies at Levels 6/7 and 150 at Levels 4/5
• Northern Ireland: 122 vacancies at Levels 4 to 7

It’s my intention to continue posting quarterly reports for Scotland and Wales, with the next updates due in early-September.

Background

Since 1^st January 2020* I’ve kept a record of new degree and higher 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 and NHS Jobs. (*NB The data I collected at the start of 2020 included bulk vacancies already posted by key employers that were open to 2020 school and college leavers.)      

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 gaining up to a year’s temporary experience.    

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 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 very 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 14^th to 20^th August 2023 I recorded:

• 22 new Degree & L7 Apprenticeship vacancies and
• 75 new Higher Apprenticeship vacancies
• giving a total of 97 for the week

In the 190 weeks from 1^st January 2020 to 20^th August 2023 I’ve now recorded:

• 25,046 new Degree Apprenticeships (Levels 6/7) and
• 21,530 new Higher Apprenticeships (Levels 4/5)
• giving a total of 46,576

The average weekly totals across all 190 weeks have been:

• 132 DAs + 113 HAs = 245 average weekly total 

Updated analysis by county and region

By county (loosely defined) the 46,576 higher and degree apprenticeships advertised in England since January 2020 have been distributed as follows:

• Greater London (11,007)
• Yorkshire (4,192)
• West Midlands (2,947)
• Greater Manchester (2,570)
• Bristol & Gloucestershire (2,112)
• Hampshire (1,577)
• Berkshire (1,499)
• Surrey (1,109)
• Hertfordshire (1,095)
• Cheshire (990)
• Tyne & Wear (919)
• Derbyshire (910)
• Nottinghamshire (872)
• Sussex (843)
• Cambridgeshire (831)
• Essex (795)
• Merseyside (752)
• Suffolk (717)
• Devon (712)
• Lancashire (695)
• Somerset & South Bristol (656)
• Cumbria (636)
• Warwickshire (634)
• Kent (622)
• Buckinghamshire (619)
• Wiltshire (567)
• Leicestershire (563)
• Dorset (559)
• Staffordshire (558)
• Oxfordshire (549)
• Bedfordshire (501)
• County Durham (465)
• Northamptonshire (400)
• Cornwall (378)
• Worcestershire (354)
• Norfolk (347)
• Lincolnshire (325)
• Shropshire (302)
• Northumberland (69)
• Isle of Wight (68)
• Herefordshire (55)
• Rutland (14)
• Remote-working with no central base (74)
• Not specified (117) 

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 January 2020 per 1,000 of that population and the regions are then ‘ranked’ accordingly:

• 11,007   London (1,078,600: 10.20)
•   4,984   South West (645,800: 7.72)
•   4,856   West Midlands (720,900: 6.74)
•   6,886   South East (1,040,500: 6.62)
•   5,641   North West (884,600: 6.38)  
•   4,286   East of England (685,300: 6.25)
•   4,194   Yorkshire & The Humber (670,800: 6.25)
•   3,003   East Midlands (593,700: 5.06)
•   1,526   North East (313,000: 4.88)
•        74   Remote-working
•      119   Not specified

• 46,576   Total England (6,633,200: 7.02)

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 January 2020 is given below for both degree and higher apprenticeships.

Degree Apprenticeships (Levels 6/7):

In total there have been 25,046 new vacancies spread across 105 occupational areas and minimum starting salaries have ranged from £5,590 to £36,775pa, with the average being somewhere in the middle (around £19K). The occupational breakdown is as follows:

4,461 Police Constables 

2,937 Accountancy/Tax/Audit/Assurance Professionals

2,554 Digital Technology Solutions (General) *see below for details

1,462 Chartered Surveyors (825 Quantity Surveyors, 335 Property/Valuation Surveyors, 168 Building Surveyors, 62 Building Control Surveyors, 43 Rural Surveyors, 29 Geospatial Surveyors)

1,267 Chartered Business Managers/Consultants

1,111 Software Engineers/Developers

1,054 Civil Engineers

  772 Project Managers

  743 Nurses (576 Adult, 123 Mental Health, 36 Learning Disability, 8 Child) 

  730 Data Scientists/Analysts

  520 Electrical/Electronic Engineers

  459 Design & Development Engineers

  408 Nuclear Engineers  

  404 Manufacturing Engineers

  380 Supply Chain Leaders

  329 Building Services Engineers

  329 Food & Drink Technologists/Manufacturers

  317 Cyber/Information Security Professionals

  303 Aerospace Engineers

  291 Digital Marketing Professionals

  283 Professional Economists

  282 Banking/Financial Services/Investment Professionals

  275 Solicitors

  261 Sales Professionals

  250 Laboratory Scientists

  200 Healthcare Science Practitioners (42 Biomedical Sciences, 26 Cardiac Physiology, 23 Nuclear Medicine, 22 Radiotherapy Physics, 18 Respiratory & Sleep Physiology, 16 Radiation Engineering, 13 Audiology, 13 Medical Engineering, 12 Neurophysiology, 5 Digital Healthcare Science, 5 Medical Physics, 3 Clinical Informatics, 1 Rehabilitation Engineering, 1 Renal Technology) 

  197 Environmental Practitioners

  185 Retail Leaders

  157 Railway/Rail Systems Engineers

  151 Construction Managers

  127 Operating Department Practitioners (NHS)

  116 Automation & Control Engineers   

  103 Electro-Mechanical Engineers

    90 Project Controls Professionals

    86 Digital User Experience (UX) Designers   

    85 Materials Science Technologists/Engineers     

    85 Occupational Therapists

    76 Hotel/Hospitality Chartered Managers 

    76 Radiographers (46 Diagnostic, 30 Therapeutic)   

    75 Non-Destructive Testing Engineers

    64 Creative Digital Designers    

    62 Podiatrists

    61 Chemical Engineers   

    55 Town Planners

    54 Clinical Trials Specialists

    52 Packaging Professionals 

    45 Broadcast/Communication/Media Systems Engineers

    44 Social Workers 

    40 Manufacturing/Production Managers (non-food)

    39 Architectural Technologists (Design & Construction)

    38 Environmental Health Officers

    37 Transport Planners    

    35 Weapons Munitions & Explosives Engineers

    34 Human Resources Professionals  

    32 Recruitment Professionals    

    27 Physiotherapists

    27 Public Health Practitioners

    26 Architectural Assistants

    24 Marketing/Brand Managers

    23 Geotechnical Engineers

    19 Fire Safety Engineers

    18 Insurance Professionals

    18 Journalists

    15 Forestry Professionals

    11 Midwives      

    11 Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners

    10 Dietitians

    10 Chartered Managers (Sports Business)

      9 Chartered 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 Chartered Legal Executives   

      6 Sport Development Officers

      5 Fitness/Leisure Centre Managers

      5 Operations Analysts

      4 Assistant Buyers

      4 Assistant Teachers / Learning Coaches

      4 Building Information Modelling (BIM) Specialists

      3 Assistant Archivists

      3 Digital Transformation Engineers

      3 Education Technology Specialists

      3 TV Production Managers

      2 Licensed Conveyancers

      2 Lighting Designers

      2 Pensions Professionals

      2 Tax Technologists

      2 Youth Workers

      1 AI Data Specialist

      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 Service Designer

      1 Sonographer 

      1 Trading Standards Officer  

*DAs in Digital Technology Solutions open up a wide range of roles. Some vacancies specify the role, while others are flexible and open-ended. The three most frequently specified roles have been Software Engineer/Developer, Data Analyst and Cyber Security Specialist and I’ve recorded these as three separate occupations in my DA listings above (Data Analysts being merged in with Data Scientists for the purposes of my reports). Meanwhile, those DAs listed as Digital Technology Solutions (General) are either flexible/open-ended or they lead to other specific roles. The following is a list of all the DTS roles I’ve recorded since 2020 and it now encompasses 102 different job titles:

Software Engineer, Software Developer, Software Tester, Cyber Security Specialist, Data Analyst, IT Consultant, 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, Dynamics Consultant, Security Consultant, Application Management Consultant, Project Manager, Project Co-ordinator, Digital Project Delivery Support, 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, Operations Support Analyst, Support Desk Analyst, IT Support Analyst, IT Service Desk 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, AI Technical Sales Adviser, 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, 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, IT Governance & Applications Support Specialist, Operations Resilience & Change Specialist, Innovation Foundry Specialist, and Continuous Improvement & Automation Specialist.

Higher Apprenticeships (Levels 4/5):

In total there have been 21,530 new vacancies spread across 147 occupational areas and minimum starting salaries have ranged from £5,002 to a whopping £38,469pa (the average being around £17K, except for Sports Coaches which are usually around £10K or lower). The occupational breakdown is as follows: 

1,869 Sales Executives

1,450 Software Developers 

1,431 Data Analysts

1,417 Accounting Technicians

1,310 Project Management Associates

1,056 Sports Coaches (Children & Young People)   

  645 Nursing Associates (Adult/Elderly/Mental Health)

  634 Construction Site Supervisors

  624 Engineering Manufacturing Technicians 

  563 Quantity Surveying Technicians  

  550 Network Engineers

  543 Business Analysts  

  464 Taxation Technicians

  426 Cyber Security Technologists

  402 Commercial Procurement & Supply Practitioners

  399 Software Testers

  396 Public Relations & Communications Assistants

  368 Civil/Site Engineering Technicians

  301 Building Services Engineering Technicians

  283 Insurance Practitioners  

  281 Electrical/Electronic Engineering Technicians

  276 Investment Operations Specialists

  269 Buying & Merchandising Assistants

  253 Children/Youth/Family Practitioners

  252 Retail Managers

  246 Technician Scientists

  239 Healthcare Assistant Practitioners (150 Reablement, 69 Multidisciplinary, 10 Diagnostic Radiography, 5 Speech Therapy, 3 Continuing Healthcare, 1 Occupational Therapy, 1 Stroke Rehabilitation)

  226 DevOps Engineers

  224 Marketing Executives

  195 Police Community Support Officers

  192 Construction Design & Build Technicians

  190 Policy Practitioners

  185 Early Years Lead Practitioners

  173 Junior Management Consultants

  169 Regulatory Compliance Officers

  159 Associate Ambulance Practitioners

  144 Healthcare Science Associates/Technicians (56 Hearing Aid Audiology, 31 Medical Engineering, 15 Cardiac Physiology, 14 Genetics, 11 Respiratory & Sleep Physiology, 5 Mammography, 3 Tissue Retrieval, 2 Medical Physics, 2 Phlebotomy, 1 Biochemistry, 1 Biomedicine, 1 Neurophysiology, 1 Nuclear Medicine, 1 Rehabilitation Engineering)

  143 Mineral Products Technicians 

  133 Human Resources Specialists 

  129 Railway Engineering Technicians

  116 Food Technology/Manufacturing Technicians 

  112 Quality Assurance Practitioners

  111 Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability Practitioners 

  105 Hospitality Managers

    95 Nuclear Technicians  

    81 Automotive Engineering/Propulsion Technicians

    80 Intelligence Analysts

    80 Internal Audit Practitioners

    72 Recruitment Consultants

    71 Actuarial Technicians

    65 Financial Paraplanners   

    64 Brewers 

    63 Journalists

    61 Automation & Controls Engineering Technicians

    61 Vehicle Damage Assessors     

    56 Revenues & Welfare Benefits Officers    

    54 Operations Managers   

    52 Adult Social Care Lead Practitioners       

    50 Learning & Skills Practitioners/Mentors   

    46 Applications Support Leads

    46 Audiovisual Technicians

    43 Dairy Technologists

    42 Market Research Executives

    40 Business Improvement Practitioners 

    37 TV/Media Production Co-ordinators

    32 Housing/Property/Lettings Managers

    31 Information Managers    

    29 Ordnance Munitions & Explosives Technicians

    26 BEMS Controls Engineers (Building Energy Management Systems)

    25 Engineer Surveyors

    24 Paralegals

    23 Estate Agency Negotiators

    21 Countryside Rangers

    20 Air Traffic Controllers

    20 Land Referencers 

    19 Acoustics Technicians

    15 Digital Accessibility Specialists

    15 Fibre Cable Engineers

    15 Smart Energy Engineers

    13 Digital Community Managers

    12 Broadcast & Media Systems Technicians

    11 Film/TV Post-Production Technical Operators

    11 Gymnastics Coaches

    11 Hygiene Specialists

    10 Employability Practitioners

    10 Engineering Maintenance Technicians

    10 Facilities Managers

    10 Football Coaches

      9 Counter Fraud Investigators    

      9 Naval Architects / Marine Engineering Technicians

      9 Railway/Passenger Transport Operations Managers

      8 Antisocial Behaviour & Community Safety Officers

      8 Data Protection Officers     

      8 School Business Professionals     

      8 Town Planning Technicians 

      7 Computer Games Developers

      7 Dental Technicians

      7 Port Marine Operations Officers

      7 Rehabilitation Officers (Visual Impairment) 

      6 Fire Safety Inspectors

      5 Architectural Technicians

      5 Asset Managers

      5 Broadcasting Technical Operators

      5 Early Intervention Practitioners

      5 Unified Communications Troubleshooters

      5 Visual Merchandisers

      4 Aircraft Certifying Technicians      

      4 Padel Coaches

      4 Space Engineering Technicians

      4 Tax Technology Technicians

      3 Building Information Modelling (BIM) Technicians

      3 Culinary Chefs

      3 Fashion & Textiles Technologists

      3 Historic Site Advisers

      3 Music Teachers

      3 Payroll Associates

      3 Pensions Administrators

      3 Sports Development Officers   

      3 Utilities Technicians

      3 Visual Effects Artists

      2 Arboriculturists      

      2 Auctioneers

      2 Chaplains

      2 Cricket Coaches

      2 Energy Specialists

      2 Music Recording Technicians

      2 Trampoline Coach & Rebound Therapists

      2 Travel Executives

      2 Water Recycling Engineers

      1 Chemical Process Technician

      1 Clinical Coder

      1 Cultural Heritage Conservation Technician

      1 Customs & Foreign Exchange Expert

      1 Digital Learning Designer

      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, 20/8/2023

http://www.alanbullockcareers.com