Latest reflections on the situation in England

For anyone visiting this page direct from the latest CDI newsletter, thanks for doing so and please note that I currently publish weekly updates every Sunday night. The latest was Week 200, while Week 201 is already looking quite prolific (with at least 350 more vacancies to be added) and will be published on the evening of 5th November. They can always be found at https://alanbullockcareers.com/blog/.

The 2024 application cycle gained a lot more momentum this week. In particular several of the big professional services and business advisory firms have now opened their windows, including three of the Big Four (EY, PwC and Deloitte) along with other prominent national or multinational firms like RSM, BDO, Mazars, Grant Thornton and Saffery.

Amongst the other highlights were half a dozen Chartered Manager DAs with British Airways (based near Heathrow Airport) and the first 2024 Solicitor apprenticeships I’ve seen, albeit in characteristically modest numbers. Recruiters such as Mace, MBDA, AWE, QinetiQ and Morrisons also continued to actively promote their 2024 opportunities across a range of disciplines, and some of the other major recruiters are currently inviting prospective applicants to register their interest with a view to launching soon.  

There has also been a significant development in my cumulative occupational listings, resulting from the recent publication of data that revealed the number of apprentices recruited by 100 leading providers in 2023. This has enabled me to make a substantial upward adjustment to some of my figures, especially Accountancy/Tax/Audit/Assurance at Level 6/7 which has consequently taken a substantial leap, overtaking Police Constables as the biggest DA category. At the same time Accounting Technicians has overtaken Software Developers and moved into second place in my HA table. If I’m being completely honest, I think the revised DA listing in particular now provides a more realistic snapshot of the occupational landscape.

Meanwhile, from a regional perspective the upward adjustment has benefitted the big provincial cities with Manchester, Birmingham and Leeds leading the way. In fact, Manchester has been especially prominent this week, boosted further by twenty new vacancies in Investment Operations and Digital Technology Solutions with AJ Bell and a batch of Solicitor DAs with DWF Law. It was therefore an obvious choice for this week’s featured image from my photo collection.   

The increased numbers of Accountancy-related vacancies in my cumulative data reflects something that I’ve always felt to be a characteristic of my ongoing reports, namely that each report has a shelf-life of about seven days! Every week the landscape consolidates or subtly changes which, added to the occasional enhancements I make, means that my latest report always supersedes anything that came before it.      

Latest update on Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

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

• Scotland: 724 vacancies at SQF Levels 10/11
• Wales: 146 vacancies at Levels 6/7 and 152 at Levels 4/5
• Northern Ireland: 177 vacancies at Levels 4 to 7

I intend to publish an 18-month Scotland update at the end of November, and hopefully a Wales one too. I will also create a report for Northern Ireland if and when I reach a point where my NI data has enough validity to justify it.    

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 a very close eye on other national vacancy sources. The data I collected at the start of 2020 included existing vacancies that were open to 2020 school and college leavers, which means that my data now covers three complete annual cycles.

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. Equally, some apprenticeships at Levels 4 to 7 are targeted more at older applicants or graduates. The bottom line is that work-readiness really matters to enable 18/19-year-olds to compete effectively.

Headline data

In England during the latest period from 2^nd to 8^th October 2023 I recorded:

• 1,737 new Degree/Professional Apprenticeship vacancies (Levels 6/7)* and
• 251 new Higher Apprenticeship vacancies (Levels 4/5)
• giving a total of 1,988 for the week (*the exceptionally high number this week reflects the upward adjustment referred to above)

In the 197 weeks from 1^st January 2020 to 8^th October 2023 I’ve now recorded:

• 27,332 new Degree/Professional Apprenticeships (Levels 6/7) and
• 22,212 new Higher Apprenticeships (Levels 4/5)
• giving a total of 49,544

The average weekly totals across all 197 weeks have been:

• 139 DAs + 113 HAs = 252 average weekly total 

Updated analysis by county and region

By county (loosely defined) the 49,544 higher and degree apprenticeships advertised in England since January 2020 have been distributed as follows:

• Greater London (11,562)
• Yorkshire (4,441)
• West Midlands (3,203)
• Greater Manchester (2,832)
• Bristol & Gloucestershire (2,266)
• Hampshire (1,694)
• Berkshire (1,637)
• Hertfordshire (1,225)
• Surrey (1,149)
• Cheshire (1,037)
• Tyne & Wear (977)
• Nottinghamshire (953)
• Derbyshire (944)
• Cambridgeshire (937)
• Sussex (899)
• Merseyside (825)
• Essex (821)
• Suffolk (779)
• Devon (748)
• Lancashire (724)
• Buckinghamshire (690)
• Somerset & South Bristol (664)
• Dorset (656)
• Cumbria (644)
• Kent (642)
• Warwickshire (639)
• Leicestershire (589)
• Staffordshire (588)
• Oxfordshire (588)
• Wiltshire (586)
• Bedfordshire (526)
• County Durham (474)
• Northamptonshire (411)
• Cornwall (397)
• Norfolk (374)
• Worcestershire (370)
• Lincolnshire (344)
• Shropshire (306)
• Northumberland (71)
• Isle of Wight (68)
• Herefordshire (55)
• Rutland (14)
• Remote-working with no central base (75)
• Not specified (120) 

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:

• 11,562   London (1,078,600: 10.72)
•   5,317   South West (645,800: 8.23)
•   5,161   West Midlands (720,900: 7.16)
•   7,367   South East (1,040,500: 7.08)
•   6,062   North West (884,600: 6.85)  
•   4,662   East of England (685,300: 6.80)
•   4,452   Yorkshire & The Humber (670,800: 6.64)
•   3,167   East Midlands (593,700: 5.33)
•   1,599   North East (313,000: 5.11)
•        75   Remote-working
•      120   Not specified

• 49,544   Total England (6,633,200: 7.47)

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/Professional Apprenticeships (Levels 6/7):

In total there have been 27,332 new vacancies spread across 108 occupational areas and minimum starting salaries have ranged from £5,590 to £36,775pa, with the average being somewhere in the middle at around £19K. The occupational breakdown is as follows:

4,590 Accountancy/Tax/Audit/Assurance Professionals

4,489 Police Constables 

2,800 Digital Technology Solutions (General) *see below for details

1,497 Chartered Surveyors (835 Quantity Surveyors, 357 Project Managers, 171 Building Surveyors, 62 Building Control Surveyors, 43 Rural Surveyors, 29 Geospatial Surveyors)

1,306 Chartered Business Managers/Consultants

1,139 Software Engineers/Developers

1,056 Civil Engineers

  779 Project Managers

  762 Nurses (593 Adult, 124 Mental Health, 37 Learning Disability, 8 Child) 

  745 Data Scientists/Analysts/Engineers

  525 Electrical/Electronic Engineers

  454 Design & Development Engineers (Mechanical)

  410 Nuclear Engineers  

  408 Manufacturing Engineers

  384 Supply Chain Leaders

  351 Food & Drink Technologists/Manufacturers

  333 Banking/Financial Services/Investment Professionals

  331 Building Services Engineers

  317 Cyber/Information Security Professionals

  305 Aerospace Engineers

  294 Digital Marketing Professionals

  290 Solicitors

  283 Professional Economists

  262 Sales Professionals

  254 Laboratory Scientists

  209 Retail Leaders

  201 Healthcare Science Practitioners (42 Biomedical Sciences, 27 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) 

  199 Environmental Practitioners

  158 Construction Site Managers

  157 Railway/Rail Systems Engineers

  131 Operating Department Practitioners (NHS)

  116 Automation & Control Engineers   

  103 Electro-Mechanical Engineers

    96 Project Controls Professionals

    93 Occupational Therapists

    90 Digital User Experience (UX) Designers   

    87 Radiographers (51 Diagnostic, 36 Therapeutic)   

    86 Materials Science Technologists/Engineers     

    76 Hotel/Hospitality Chartered Managers 

    75 Non-Destructive Testing Engineers

    67 Podiatrists

    66 Creative Digital Designers    

    61 Chemical Engineers   

    55 Town Planners

    54 Clinical Trials Specialists

    52 Packaging Professionals 

    47 Social Workers 

    45 Broadcast/Communication/Media Systems Engineers

    40 Manufacturing/Production Managers (non-food)

    39 Architectural Technologists (Design & Construction)

    38 Environmental Health Officers

    38 Transport Planners    

    35 Weapons Munitions & Explosives Engineers

    34 Human Resources Professionals  

    32 Recruitment Professionals    

    30 Public Health Practitioners

    27 Physiotherapists

    26 Architectural Assistants

    25 Marketing/Brand Managers

    23 Geotechnical Engineers

    19 Fire Safety Engineers

    18 Insurance Professionals

    18 Journalists

    15 Forestry Professionals

    13 Midwives      

    13 Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners

    10 Dietitians

    10 Chartered Managers (Sports Business)

      9 Chartered Managers (Social Change)

      9 Environmental Engineers

      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

      4 Environmental Engineers

      4 Trading Standards Officers  

      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 Youth Workers

      1 AI Data Specialist

      1 Charity Manager

      1 Community Centre Manager

      1 Community Safety Officer

      1 Events Manager

      1 Facilities Manager

      1 Games Programmer

      1 Health & Safety Practitioner

      1 Human Performance Engineer 

      1 Marine Engineer

      1 Orthotist

      1 Population Health Intelligence Analyst

      1 Prosthetist

      1 Robotics Engineer

      1 Service Designer

      1 Sonographer 

*DAs in Digital Technology Solutions (DTS) 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).

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 106 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, Technology 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, Application 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, Infrastructure Engineer, Sales Engineer, Sales Account Manager, Sales Operations Manager, Sales Data Analyst, 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 22,212 new vacancies spread across 147 occupational areas and minimum starting salaries have ranged from £5,002 to a whopping £38,469pa. The average is around £17K, except for Sports Coaches which are usually around £10K or lower. The occupational breakdown is as follows: 

1,899 Sales Executives

1,493 Accounting Technicians

1,469 Software Developers 

1,459 Data Analysts

1,328 Project Management Associates

1,085 Sports Coaches (Children & Young People)   

  720 Nursing Associates (Adult/Elderly/Mental Health/Learning Disability)

  645 Construction Site Supervisors

  633 Engineering Manufacturing Technicians 

  572 Quantity Surveying Technicians  

  572 Taxation Technicians

  564 Network Engineers

  560 Business Analysts  

  435 Cyber Security Technologists

  408 Software Testers

  404 Commercial Procurement & Supply Practitioners

  401 Public Relations & Communications Assistants

  370 Civil/Site Engineering Technicians

  310 Social Care Practitioners (Adults/Children/Families/Young People)  

  304 Building Services Engineering Technicians

  297 Investment Operations Specialists

  284 Insurance Practitioners  

  281 Electrical/Electronic Engineering Technicians

  271 Buying & Merchandising Assistants

  254 Retail Managers

  249 Technician Scientists

  241 Healthcare Assistant Practitioners (150 Reablement, 69 Multidisciplinary, 10 Diagnostic Radiography, 5 Speech Therapy, 3 Continuing Healthcare, 2 Dietetic Speech & Language, 1 Occupational Therapy, 1 Stroke Rehabilitation)

  230 DevOps Engineers

  226 Marketing Executives

  224 Junior Management Consultants

  197 Construction Design & Build Technicians

  195 Police Community Support Officers

  192 Policy Practitioners

  191 Early Years Lead Practitioners

  173 Regulatory Compliance Officers

  171 Associate Ambulance Practitioners

  148 Healthcare Science Associates/Technicians (58 Hearing Aid Audiology, 31 Medical Engineering, 16 Cardiac Physiology, 14 Genetics, 11 Respiratory & Sleep Physiology, 5 Mammography, 4 Tissue Retrieval, 2 Medical Physics, 2 Phlebotomy, 1 Biochemistry, 1 Biomedicine, 1 Neurophysiology, 1 Nuclear Medicine, 1 Rehabilitation Engineering)

  143 Mineral Products Technicians 

  135 Human Resources Specialists 

  129 Railway Engineering Technicians

  125 Food Technology/Manufacturing Technicians 

  121 Quality Assurance Practitioners

  112 Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability Practitioners 

  109 Hospitality Managers

    95 Nuclear Technicians  

    84 Automotive Engineering/Propulsion Technicians

    83 Internal Audit Practitioners

    80 Intelligence Analysts

    73 Recruitment Consultants

    71 Actuarial Technicians

    66 Brewers 

    65 Financial Paraplanners   

    63 Automation & Controls Engineering Technicians

    63 Journalists   

    62 Vehicle Damage Assessors     

    57 Revenues & Welfare Benefits Officers    

    54 Operations Managers   

    51 Applications Support Leads

    51 Audiovisual Technicians

    51 Learning & Skills Practitioners/Mentors   

    45 Market Research Executives

    43 Dairy Technologists

    41 Business Improvement Practitioners 

    37 TV/Media Production Co-ordinators

    33 Information Managers 

    32 Housing/Property/Lettings Managers

    31 Ordnance Munitions & Explosives Technicians

    30 Air Traffic Controllers

    28 BEMS Controls Engineers (Building Energy Management Systems)

    25 Engineer Surveyors

    24 Estate Agency Negotiators

    24 Paralegals

    21 Countryside Rangers

    20 Land Referencers 

    19 Acoustics Technicians

    16 Digital Accessibility Specialists

    16 Digital Community Managers

    15 Fibre Cable Engineers

    15 Smart Energy Engineers

    12 Broadcast & Media Systems Technicians

    11 Engineering Maintenance Technicians

    11 Facilities Managers

    11 Film/TV Post-Production Technical Operators

    11 Gymnastics Coaches

    11 Hygiene Specialists

    10 Employability Practitioners

    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

      6 Music Teachers

      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 Junior Animators     

      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 Outdoor Education/Adventure Sports Specialist

      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 Hotel Reception Manager

      1 Lighting Designer

      1 Metrology Technician

      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, 8/10/2023