Latest reflections on the situation in England
The first four weeks of 2024 have been highly productive as far as my data is concerned. Every week has thrown up surprises and I’ve added over 1,700 DA and HA vacancies this year already.
Week 212 produced some more unexpected and significant developments across much of the country and even the three quietest counties in England (Herefordshire, Northumberland and Rutland) all got themselves on the scoresheet. Meanwhile, the bigger developments included the following:
- 200 new PCDA (Police Constable) vacancies were posted in West Yorkshire;
- Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) made me especially happy by revealing precise numbers for most of their DA programmes, enabling me to top up my original conservative estimates and thereby substantially benefitting the counties of Warwickshire and West Midlands in the process;
- KPMG also posted more exact numbers, mostly in Audit plus a dozen in Tax, enabling me to upwardly adjust their figures too, although in their case I’ve been careful about how to interpret the published figures.
The largest occupational gains were in the Police, Accountancy/Audit/Tax, Design & Development Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Data Science & Analytics, Electrical & Electronic Technicians, Control Technical Support Engineering, Quantity Surveying, Supply Chain Leadership and Civil Engineering.
There were some interesting geographical hotspots too, with Greater London for once being outperformed by almost every other region. While the biggest gains were in Warwickshire and West Midlands, the counties of Nottinghamshire, Cambridgeshire and Merseyside were also prominent and some of the smaller counties punched above their weight as well. One of these was Dorset, with Atlas Elektronik posting 13 new vacancies at Winfrith alongside a Hospitality Manager at a Bournemouth hotel and a Podiatrist in Dorchester.
There were several other little cameos too, including:
- Dunelm in Leicester, Nottingham, Horsham, Basingstoke and Dartford
- Caterpillar in Peterborough
- Severn Trent in the East and West Midlands
- UK Research & Innovation in Oxfordshire and Cheshire
- Scottish Power in Birkenhead
- MHR in Nottinghamshire
- Balfour Beatty, plus some additional vacancies with Tarmac and National Grid, all scattered around numerous locations (including the Rutland vacancy – a Civil Engineering Technician HA with Tarmac in Oakham)
- And last but certainly not least a Finance DA with Historic Royal Palaces at Hampton Court and a Town Planning DA with the Peak District National Park Authority in Bakewell.
Now that I’ve been able to factor in the actual number of DA vacancies for this year at JLR, it has put the overall West Midlands regional data into a more favourable light and for the first time it has overtaken the South East region (i.e. the south east excluding Greater London). This in turn has conjured up another intriguing development in that, if my figures are to be believed, then outside Greater London there isn’t so much a north/south divide as an east/west divide. If you take a look at the cumulative regional figures below, you’ll see that per head of population the regions down the western side of England are all ahead of the regions down the eastern side. Whether this really holds any significance from an economic perspective I’m not sure, especially given my usual caveats about the limitations and flaws in my data. But maybe it provides a talking point in terms of levelling up and connectivity. On the other hand, things could change again next week!
As for this week’s featured image, I decided to go for one of the three quietest counties mentioned earlier. I’ve got photos of each in my collection, but I picked out Rutland because my picture of the Great Tower by Rutland Water was taken at precisely this time of year after one of my business trips to the East Midlands, so it’s got a bit of chilly winter ambience about it.
Latest update on Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
Having also tracked vacancies in the three other devolved nations since 1st June 2022, my latest running totals are as follows:
- Scotland: 949 vacancies at SQF Levels 10/11
- Wales: 232 vacancies at Levels 6/7 and 180 at Levels 4/5
- Northern Ireland: 163 vacancies at Levels 6/7 and 25 at Levels 4/5
There was activity in all of the three nations this week, especially Scotland where I added 43 new vacancies to the total. My most recent Scotland report was posted a couple of months ago and I intend to publish two-year updates for Scotland, Wales and possibly Northern Ireland at the beginning of June.
Background (only updated occasionally)
Since 1st January 2020 I’ve kept a record of 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.
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 in their final year of school/college or after gaining up to 12 months’ temporary experience.
I use the term ‘work-ready’ because academic qualifications alone are never enough to compete successfully for a higher or degree apprenticeship. A UCAS points score of 112 is the most frequently quoted minimum entry requirement for DAs (sometimes more and often less), but 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 precise numbers and locations. For that reason and others my reports always come with flaws, caveats and some editorial licence. However, I think the analyses I’ve built up paint a unique, intriguing and representative picture of what’s out there in a changing post-18 career landscape, as well as conveying a fairly realistic sense of comparative scale from both an occupational and regional perspective.
As a general observation I think it’s fair to say that there will never be enough degree apprenticeships to meet the potential demand, while there are also distinct regional variations. To a certain extent there’s probably a mismatch between students’ aspirations and the actual occupations available as well, which occasionally leads to reports of some of the less popular vacancies being hard to fill. In addition, only about 25% of overall apprenticeship vacancies are taken up by under-19s, which partly explains why my cumulative data falls well short of any official data based on apprenticeship starts. Meanwhile, a significant proportion of those Level 3 students who do take up apprenticeships will start on Level 3 programmes rather than progressing directly to Level 4 or above. The prominence of STEM occupations is also very noticeable.
One further significant observation is that NHS and other healthcare roles have become increasingly prominent in my data over time, thanks especially to the NHS Jobs website. However, these vacancies often stretch my criteria to the limit in terms of the maturity and experience they look for. Occasionally school/college leavers are actually mentioned in the person spec, but more often they’re aimed at people with at least a few months’ experience or more. However, I’ve worked with a lot of young students in the past, especially those on Level 3 courses in the health and social care field and/or those with significant work/voluntary experience or caring responsibilities, who would be capable of making a very competitive application for such roles. Hence, I do include these vacancies if I think a mature 18/19-year-old would be considered, especially within a year of leaving school or college.
Finally, there’s sometimes an element of doubt about whether to include a vacancy under Degree or Higher. My approach to this is to count a vacancy as ‘Degree’ if it starts at Level 4 and moves seamlessly on to Level 6, but as ‘Higher’ if it starts at Level 4 with an option to progress to Level 6 as opposed to an expectation.
Headline data
In England during the latest period from 22nd to 28th January 2024 I recorded:
- 633 new Degree/Professional Apprenticeship vacancies (Levels 6/7) and
- 184 new Higher Apprenticeship vacancies (Levels 4/5)
- giving a total of 817 for the week
In the 212 weeks from 1st January 2020 to 28th January 2024 I’ve now recorded:
- 31,393 new Degree/Professional Apprenticeships (Levels 6/7) and
- 24,083 new Higher Apprenticeships (Levels 4/5)
- giving a total of 55,476
The average weekly totals across all 212 weeks have been:
- 148 DAs + 114 HAs = 262 average weekly total
Updated analysis by county and region
By county (loosely defined) the 55,476 higher and degree apprenticeships advertised in England since January 2020 have been distributed as follows:
- Greater London (12,537)
- Yorkshire (4,979)
- West Midlands (3,617)
- Greater Manchester (3,132)
- Bristol & Gloucestershire (2,701)
- Hampshire (1,933)
- Berkshire (1,875)
- Hertfordshire (1,296)
- Surrey (1,291)
- Cheshire (1,191)
- Tyne & Wear (1,134)
- Cambridgeshire (1,081)
- Cumbria (1,055)
- Nottinghamshire (1,046)
- Sussex (1,008)
- Derbyshire (1,001)
- Merseyside (969)
- Lancashire (919)
- Essex (874)
- Suffolk (832)
- Devon (826)
- Warwickshire (805)
- Buckinghamshire (767)
- Somerset & South Bristol (731)
- Dorset (707)
- Kent (695)
- Leicestershire (673)
- Oxfordshire (649)
- Wiltshire (647)
- Staffordshire (626)
- Bedfordshire (618)
- County Durham (503)
- Northamptonshire (438)
- Norfolk (408)
- Cornwall (407)
- Worcestershire (384)
- Lincolnshire (376)
- Shropshire (325)
- Isle of Wight (74)
- Northumberland (73)
- Herefordshire (59)
- Rutland (16)
- Remote-working with no central base (78)
- 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:
- 12,537 London (1,078,600: 11.62)
- 6,019 South West (645,800: 9.32)
- 7,266 North West (884,600: 8.21)
- 5,816 West Midlands (720,900: 8.07)
- 8,292 South East (1,040,500: 7.97)
- 5,109 East of England (685,300: 7.46)
- 4,994 Yorkshire & The Humber (670,800: 7.44)
- 3,453 East Midlands (593,700: 5.82)
- 1,792 North East (313,000: 5.73)
- 78 Remote-working
- 120 Not specified
- 55,476 Total England (6,633,200: 8.36)
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 31,393 new vacancies spread across 113 occupational areas and minimum starting salaries have ranged from £5,590 to £36,822pa, with the average being somewhere in the middle at around £19K to £20K. The occupational breakdown is as follows:
5,379 Accountancy/Tax/Audit Professionals
4,696 Police Constables
3,146 Digital Technology Solutions: General *see below for details
1,346 Chartered Managers: General Business
1,269 Software Engineers/Developers
1,259 Civil Engineers
1,036 Project Managers (integrated)
931 Chartered Quantity Surveyors
889 Data Scientists/Analysts/Engineers
762 Nurses (593 Adult, 124 Mental Health, 37 Learning Disability, 8 Child)
641 Nuclear Engineers
614 Electrical & Electronic Engineers
609 Design & Development Engineers
526 Manufacturing Engineers
443 Supply Chain Leaders
440 Banking/Financial Services/Investment Professionals
383 Chartered Surveyors: Project Management
383 Solicitors
381 Aerospace Engineers
369 Building Services Engineers
362 Cyber Security Professionals
341 Professional Economists
318 Digital Marketing Professionals
285 Sales Professionals
284 Laboratory Scientists
248 Chartered Managers: Retail Leadership
222 Food & Drink Technologists
219 Environmental Practitioners
206 Healthcare Science Practitioners (44 Biomedical Sciences, 27 Cardiac Physiology, 24 Nuclear Medicine, 23 Radiation Physics, 18 Respiratory & Sleep Physiology, 17 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)
192 Electro-Mechanical Engineers
189 Chartered Building Surveyors
177 Construction Managers
173 Railway & Rail Systems Engineers
158 Chartered Managers: Food/Drink Manufacturing & Production
155 Project Controls Professionals
138 Operating Department Practitioners (NHS)
118 Radiographers (62 Diagnostic, 56 Therapeutic)
116 Automation & Control Engineers
100 Occupational Therapists
97 Digital User Experience (UX) Designers
95 Materials Science Technologists/Engineers
76 Chartered Managers: Hotels & Hospitality
76 Non-Destructive Testing Engineers
73 Podiatrists
72 Chemical Engineers
72 Creative Digital Designers
71 Chartered Managers: Recruitment Professionals
71 Town Planners
68 Building Control Surveyors
68 Social Workers
64 Design & Construction Managers/ Architectural Technologists / BIM Specialists
58 Packaging Professionals
55 Clinical Trials Specialists
53 Broadcast/Communication/Media Systems Engineers
49 Chartered Rural Surveyors (Land Agents)
44 Human Resources & People Professionals
42 Chartered Managers: Manufacturing/Production (non-food)
41 Environmental Health Officers
40 Transport Planners
37 Social Researchers
35 Weapons Munitions & Explosives Engineers
34 Chartered Managers: Social Change, Charities & Voluntary Sector
33 Chartered Geospatial/Land Surveyors
32 Marketing & Brand Managers
31 Journalists
30 Public Health Practitioners
29 Architectural Assistants
29 Control & Technical Support Engineers
29 Physiotherapists
24 Aerospace Software Engineers
24 Fire Safety Engineers
24 Geotechnical Engineers
18 Insurance Professionals
15 Forestry Professionals
13 Environmental Engineers
13 Midwives
13 Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners
12 Dietitians
11 Chartered Managers: Sports Business
9 Propulsion Engineers
8 Agricultural/Horticultural Advisers
8 Gas Transmission Engineers
7 Chartered Managers: Buying & Procurement
7 Land Buyers
7 Speech & Language Therapists
6 Actuarial Professionals
6 Chartered Legal Executives
6 Sport Development Officers
5 Chartered Managers: Fitness & Leisure Centres
5 Operations Analysts
5 Trading Standards Officers
4 Assistant Teachers / Learning Coaches
3 Assistant Archivists
3 Digital Transformation Engineers
3 Education Technology Specialists
3 Orthotists/Prosthetists
3 TV Production Managers
2 Licensed Conveyancers
2 Lighting Designers
2 Pensions Professionals
2 Sonographers
2 Youth Workers
1 AI Data Specialist
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 Population Health Intelligence Analyst
1 Robotics Engineer
1 Service Designer
*DAs in Digital Technology Solutions (DTS) open up a wide range of roles. Some vacancies specify the role, while others are flexible. 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 and Data Engineers for the purposes of my reports). Meanwhile, those DAs listed as Digital Technology Solutions (general) are either flexible 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 109 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 / NetOps 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, Telecommunications 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, Rail Signal 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 24,083 new vacancies spread across 150 occupational areas and minimum starting salaries have ranged from £5,002 to an unbelievably astronomical £48,369pa. However, the average is around £17K to £18K, except for Sports Coaches which are usually around £10K or lower. The occupational breakdown is as follows:
1,986 Sales Executives
1,599 Accounting Technicians
1,551 Data Analysts
1,538 Software Developers
1,476 Project Management Associates
1,149 Sports Coaches (Children & Young People)
859 Nursing Associates
713 Construction Site Supervisors
689 Manufacturing Engineering Technicians
631 Quantity Surveying Technicians
586 Network Engineers
582 Business Analysts
580 Taxation Technicians
467 Cyber Security Technologists
454 Commercial Procurement & Supply Practitioners
426 Software Testers
414 Public Relations & Communications Assistants
402 Civil/Site Engineering Technicians
381 Electrical & Electronic Technician Engineers
331 Social Care Practitioners (Adults/Children/Families/Young People)
325 Buying & Merchandising Assistants
323 Investment Operations Specialists
318 Building Services Engineering Technicians
316 Insurance Practitioners
269 Junior Management Consultants
264 Retail Managers
262 Technician Scientists
259 Healthcare Assistant Practitioners (150 Reablement, 69 Multidisciplinary, 12 Diagnostic Imaging, 6 Mammography, 6 Podiatry, 5 Speech Therapy, 3 Continuing Healthcare, 3 Intensive Care, 2 Dietetic Speech & Language, 1 Maternity Support Worker, 1 Occupational Therapy, 1 Stroke Rehabilitation)
249 DevOps Engineers
239 Marketing Executives
229 Construction Design & Build Technicians
200 Policy Practitioners
196 Associate Ambulance Practitioners
195 Police Community Support Officers
194 Early Years Lead Practitioners
192 Regulatory Compliance Officers
157 Mineral Products Technicians
152 Healthcare Science Associates/Technicians (60 Audiology & Hearing Aid Dispensers, 32 Medical Engineering, 20 Cardiac & Respiratory Physiology, 15 Genetics Technology, 12 Respiratory & Sleep Physiology, 4 Tissue Retrieval, 2 Medical Physics, 2 Phlebotomy, 1 Biochemistry, 1 Biomedicine, 1 Neurophysiology, 1 Nuclear Medicine, 1 Rehabilitation Engineering)
144 Human Resources Specialists
143 Railway Engineering Technicians
134 Quality Assurance Practitioners
130 Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability Practitioners
125 Food Technology/Manufacturing Technicians
123 Nuclear Technicians
115 Hospitality Managers
100 Automotive Engineering/Propulsion Technicians
90 Actuarial Technicians
90 Internal Audit Practitioners
83 Journalists
80 Intelligence Analysts
75 Recruitment Consultants
72 Brewers
72 Vehicle Damage Assessors
68 Financial Advisers/Paraplanners
64 Automation & Controls Engineering Technicians
63 Audiovisual Technicians
62 Applications Support Leads
59 Business Operations Managers
57 Revenues & Welfare Benefits Officers
53 Learning & Skills Practitioners/Mentors
51 Market Research Executives
49 Dairy Technologists
48 Business Improvement Practitioners
43 Information Managers (infrastructure projects)
43 TV/Media Production Co-ordinators
36 Housing/Property/Lettings Managers
34 BEMS Controls Engineers (Building Energy Management Systems)
34 Paralegals
31 Ordnance Munitions & Explosives Technicians
30 Air Traffic Controllers
30 Engineering Maintenance Technicians
27 Estate Agency Negotiators
25 Engineer Surveyors
23 Countryside Rangers
21 Land Referencers
20 Acoustics Technicians
18 Digital Community Managers
17 Digital Accessibility Specialists
15 Fibre Cable Engineers
15 Smart Energy Engineers
12 Broadcast & Media Systems Technicians
12 Facilities Managers
11 Film/TV Post-Production Technical Operators
11 Football Coaches
11 Gymnastics Coaches
11 Hygiene Specialists
10 Data Protection Officers
10 Employability Practitioners
9 Counter Fraud Investigators
9 Naval Architects / Marine Engineering Technicians
9 Railway/Passenger Transport Operations Managers
8 Antisocial Behaviour & Community Safety Officers
8 Rehabilitation Officers (Visual Impairment)
8 School Business Professionals
8 Town Planning Technicians
7 Computer Games Developers
7 Dental Technicians
7 Digital Product Managers
7 Fire Safety Inspectors
7 Historic Environment Advice Assistants
7 Port Marine Operations Officers
6 Aeronautical Engineering Technicians
6 Asset Managers
6 Music Teachers
5 Architectural Technicians
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 Arboriculturists
3 Building Information Modelling (BIM) Technicians
3 Culinary Chefs
3 Digital Learning Specialists
3 Fashion & Textiles Technologists
3 Junior Animators
3 Music Recording Technicians
3 Outdoor Learning Specialists
3 Payroll Associates
3 Pensions Administrators
3 Sports Development Officers
3 Utilities Technicians
3 Visual Effects Artists
2 Auctioneers
2 Chaplains
2 Cricket Coaches
2 Energy Specialists
2 Trampoline Coaches & Rebound Therapists
2 Travel Executives
2 Water Recycling Engineers
1 Chemical Process Technician
1 Conveyancing Technician
1 Cultural Heritage Conservation Technician
1 Customs & Foreign Exchange Expert
1 Fitness Club Manager
1 Fitness Instructor
1 Governance Officer
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’ll continue posting weekly or fortnightly updates, usually on Sunday nights or Monday mornings.
© Alan Bullock Careers, 28/1/2024