Latest reflections on the situation in England
National Apprenticeship Week certainly delivered the goods. In another fascinating and very eventful week I recorded 533 new vacancies and there were some intriguing occupational and regional developments too.
The emphatic winner from an occupational perspective was Surveying, with 99 new vacancies accounting for almost 20% of this week’s entire haul and comprising 53 Quantity Surveyors & Technicians, 41 Project Management & General Practice Surveyors, 4 Building Surveyors and a Rural Surveyor. If you add on the 38 Civil Engineers/Technicians, 15 Building Services Engineers/Technicians, 5 Construction Managers, 5 Design & Construction Managers, 3 Information Managers (infrastructure projects), a Design & Build Technician and a BEMS Technician, it was a spectacular week all round for the Construction sector. My radar has also picked up some general chatter about an expected resurgence in the sector during 2024 alongside significant technological innovation.
In terms of employers the Valuation Office Agency, Kier Group, Vistry Group, Mott MacDonald, Barratt Homes, Cushman & Wakefield, Savills, J N Bentley, Eddison’s Commercials, N G Bailey Group and London Quadrant Housing Group (in that order) were the main contributors to the glut of new Surveying vacancies which stretched across England from Newcastle and Skirsgill (Cumbria) in the north to Folkestone and St Austell in the south.
In fact it’s been another fascinating week from a regional point of view too. Firstly, the South West juggernaut just keeps on rolling. Not only was Bristol & Gloucestershire buoyant yet again, especially at its epicentre of Filton (including 15 new Nuclear Engineering DA vacancies with the MOD Submarine Delivery Agency), but things were also busy in Wiltshire, Dorset, Devon and Somerset as well as Cornwall getting in on the act again too. I’ve picked Wiltshire as the backdrop for my featured image after 20 Social Care HAs came up in Westbury, prompting me to delve into my photographic archives for a picture of the famous White Horse that I took on a hill-walking expedition one afternoon after I’d spent the morning giving talks at Wiltshire College.
But that wasn’t the only interesting regional development, because recently I’ve also been noticing what I perceive to be a slight increase in activity in the North East. The gap between the North East and East Midlands has been narrowing and this week, albeit by the slimmest of margins and with the usual caveat that my data will always have flaws and limitations, the two regions changed places for the first time in four years. My prediction is that there will now be an ongoing battle between the North East and East Midlands to try and avoid tenure of the regional wooden spoon. I don’t mean to make light of this though, as I think the regional variations in my data do show that young people in different parts of the country don’t necessarily have a level playing field when it comes to the availability of apprenticeship opportunities at Level 4 and above. In fairness to the East Midlands, however, I’ll be reviewing Rolls-Royce’s approximate numbers in the coming week, which will probably tip the balance back in its favour with Derby being the company’s major hub.
Meanwhile, things were quite busy in Yorkshire & the Humber too, with 68 new vacancies spread across the region from Scunthorpe, Brigg, Goole and Hull up the coast to Scarborough and with Leeds and Sheffield both being busy as well. An added bonus, for both Yorkshire & The Humber and the North East, came in the form of 8 Electrical Power Engineer HAs with Northern Powergrid. Greater London was its usual busy self too, with prominent employers including Transport for London and Network Rail, while in Bedfordshire TUI posted 10 Chartered Manager DAS in Luton and there were 5 new Data Science DAs with the Government Statistical Service in London, Bristol, Manchester, Salford and York which can be found on the Civil Service Jobs site.
Last but not least, a special gem in a highly eventful week was the first ‘Small Vessel Chief Engineer’ HA I’ve ever seen. It’s with a harbour towage company in Liverpool that provides the tugs that guide big ships in and out of port and the role can lead either to the maintenance and operation of the main engine and multiple on-board systems, or to being captain of the vessels themselves. Fascinating!
Headline data (England)
Since 1st January 2020 I’ve been continuously tracking new vacancies that would be suitable for Level 3 school/college leavers to apply for during their final year of full-time education or within a year of leaving. During the latest one-week period from 5th to 11th February 2024 I recorded:
- 325 new Degree/Professional Apprenticeship vacancies (Levels 6/7) and
- 208 new Higher Apprenticeship vacancies (Levels 4/5)
- giving a total of 533 for the week
In the 214 weeks from 1st January 2020 to 11th February 2024 I’ve now recorded:
- 31,983 new Degree/Professional Apprenticeships (Levels 6/7) and
- 24,533 new Higher Apprenticeships (Levels 4/5)
- giving a total of 56,516
The average weekly totals across all 214 weeks have been:
- 149 DAs + 115 HAs = 264 average weekly total
Latest update on Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
Having also tracked new vacancies in the three other devolved nations since 1st June 2022, my latest running totals are as follows:
- Scotland: 968 vacancies at SQF Levels 10/11
- Wales: 243 vacancies at Levels 6/7 and 191 at Levels 4/5
- Northern Ireland: 167 vacancies at Levels 6/7 and 25 at Levels 4/5
There was some significant activity in Scotland and Wales this week, including this year’s offer by the Welsh Apprenticeship Alliance with 8 DAs and 10 HAs in Civil Engineering and Quantity Surveying. I also picked up 15 new vacancies in Scotland, of which 5 were in Inverness, 5 in Glasgow, 2 in Motherwell and I each in Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Perth.
My most recent Scotland report was posted in December and I intend to publish two-year Scotland and Wales updates at the beginning of June, with a Northern Ireland supplement too if my NI data is sufficiently reliable.
Updated analysis by county and region
By county (loosely defined) the 56,516 higher and degree apprenticeships advertised in England since January 2020 have been distributed as follows:
- Greater London (12,733)
- Yorkshire (5,080)
- West Midlands (3,667)
- Greater Manchester (3,155)
- Bristol & Gloucestershire (2,796)
- Hampshire (1,981)
- Berkshire (1,902)
- Surrey (1,307)
- Hertfordshire (1,305)
- Cheshire (1,236)
- Tyne & Wear (1,155)
- Cambridgeshire (1,108)
- Cumbria (1,071)
- Nottinghamshire (1,063)
- Derbyshire (1,023)
- Sussex (1,019)
- Merseyside (979)
- Lancashire (932)
- Essex (880)
- Devon (855)
- Warwickshire (846)
- Suffolk (838)
- Buckinghamshire (782)
- Somerset & South Bristol (750)
- Dorset (724)
- Kent (701)
- Wiltshire (685)
- Leicestershire (677)
- Oxfordshire (658)
- Bedfordshire (642)
- Staffordshire (629)
- County Durham (534)
- Northamptonshire (446)
- Cornwall (413)
- Norfolk (409)
- Worcestershire (385)
- Lincolnshire (380)
- Shropshire (332)
- Northumberland (77)
- Isle of Wight (77)
- Herefordshire (59)
- Rutland (17)
- Remote-working with no central base (79)
- County not specified (129)
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:
- 12,733 London (1,078,600: 11.81)
- 6,201 South West (645,800: 9.60)
- 7,404 North West (884,600: 8.37)
- 5,918 West Midlands (720,900: 8.21)
- 8,427 South East (1,040,500: 8.10)
- 5,097 Yorkshire & The Humber (670,800: 7.60)
- 5,182 East of England (685,300: 7.56)
- 1,849 North East (313,000: 5.91)
- 3,506 East Midlands (593,700: 5.91)
- 79 Remote-working
- 120 Region not specified
- 56,516 Total England (6,633,200: 8.52)
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. In fact, if we took Greater London out of the equation, then currently the western side of the country seems to be better served than the eastern side. I’m keeping an eye on this to see if there’s any real substance in my observation and whether indeed there’s more of an east/west divide than a north/south divide.
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 31,983 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:
5,413 Accountancy/Tax/Audit Professionals
4,696 Police Constables
3,212 Digital Technology Solutions: General *see below for details
1,366 Chartered Managers: General Business
1,328 Civil Engineers
1,292 Software Engineers/Developers
1,056 Project Managers (integrated)
980 Chartered Quantity Surveyors
909 Data Scientists/Analysts/Engineers
772 Nurses (603 Adult, 124 Mental Health, 37 Learning Disability, 8 Child)
661 Nuclear Engineers
624 Electrical & Electronic Engineers
583 Design & Development Engineers
527 Manufacturing Engineers
457 Supply Chain Leaders
443 Banking/Financial Services/Investment Professionals
428 Chartered Surveyors: Project Management / General Practice
403 Solicitors
393 Aerospace Engineers
392 Building Services Engineers
374 Cyber Security Professionals
345 Professional Economists
320 Digital Marketing Professionals
290 Laboratory Scientists
290 Sales Professionals
248 Chartered Managers: Retail Leadership
225 Environmental Practitioners
222 Food & Drink Technologists
211 Healthcare Science Practitioners (45 Biomedical Sciences, 28 Cardiac Physiology, 24 Nuclear Medicine, 23 Radiation Physics, 18 Respiratory & Sleep Physiology, 17 Radiation Engineering, 15 Clinical/Medical Engineering, 13 Audiology, 13 Neurophysiology, 5 Digital Healthcare Science, 5 Medical Physics, 3 Clinical Informatics, 1 Rehabilitation Engineering, 1 Renal Technology)
196 Chartered Building Surveyors
195 Electromechanical/Mechatronics Engineers
186 Railway & Rail Systems Engineers
182 Construction Managers
158 Chartered Managers: Food/Drink Manufacturing & Production
156 Project Controls Professionals
146 Automation & Control Technical Support Engineers
139 Operating Department Practitioners (NHS)
118 Radiographers (62 Diagnostic, 56 Therapeutic)
101 Occupational Therapists
98 Digital User Experience (UX) Designers
96 Materials Science Technologists/Engineers
78 Non-Destructive Testing Engineers
78 Social Workers
76 Chartered Managers: Hotels & Hospitality
75 Chemical Engineers
75 Podiatrists
72 Creative Digital Designers
71 Chartered Managers: Recruitment Professionals
71 Design & Construction Managers/ Architectural Technologists / BIM Specialists
71 Town Planners
68 Building Control Surveyors
58 Packaging Professionals
55 Clinical Trials Specialists
53 Broadcast/Communication/Media Systems Engineers
50 Chartered Rural Surveyors (Land Agents)
48 Marine/Submarine Engineers
44 Human Resources & People Professionals
42 Chartered Managers: Manufacturing/Production (non-food)
42 Environmental Health Officers
40 Transport Planners
37 Social Researchers
35 Chartered Geospatial/Land Surveyors
35 Weapons Munitions & Explosives Engineers
34 Chartered Managers: Marketing & Brand Management
34 Chartered Managers: Social Change, Charities & Voluntary Sector
31 Journalists
30 Public Health Practitioners
29 Architectural Assistants
29 Physiotherapists
25 Fire Safety/Explosion Engineers
25 Geotechnical Engineers
24 Aerospace Software Engineers
18 Insurance Professionals
15 Forestry Professionals
13 Environmental Engineers
13 Midwives
13 Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners
12 Dietitians
11 Chartered Managers: Sports Business
9 Agricultural/Horticultural Advisers
9 Propulsion Engineers
8 Gas Transmission Engineers
8 Speech & Language Therapists
7 Chartered Managers: Buying & Procurement
7 Land Buyers
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 Health & Safety Practitioners
2 Licensed Conveyancers
2 Lighting Designers
2 Pensions Professionals
2 Sonographers
2 Youth Workers
1 AI Data Specialist
1 Community Centre Manager
1 Events Manager
1 Facilities Manager
1 Games Programmer
1 Human Performance Engineer
1 Robotics Engineer
1 Resilience & Emergencies Professional
1 Service Designer
1 Space Systems Engineer
*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 / 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 24,533 new vacancies spread across 153 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:
2,014 Sales Executives
1,640 Accounting Technicians
1,570 Data Analysts
1,552 Software Developers
1,511 Project Management Associates
1,156 Sports Coaches (Children & Young People)
870 Nursing Associates
716 Construction Site Supervisors
677 Manufacturing Engineering Technicians
650 Quantity Surveying Technicians
591 Business Analysts
586 Network Engineers
583 Taxation Technicians
487 Cyber Security Technologists
463 Commercial Procurement & Supply Practitioners
429 Software Testers
419 Public Relations & Communications Assistants
417 Electrical & Electronic Technician Engineers
410 Civil/Site Engineering Technicians
353 Social Care Practitioners (Adults/Children/Families/Young People)
330 Building Services Engineering Technicians
327 Investment Operations Specialists
325 Buying & Merchandising Assistants
319 Insurance Practitioners
281 Junior Management Consultants
264 Retail Managers
264 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)
250 DevOps Engineers
246 Marketing Executives
230 Construction Design & Build Technicians
209 Early Years Lead Practitioners
200 Policy Practitioners
196 Associate Ambulance Practitioners
195 Police Community Support Officers
194 Regulatory Compliance Officers
170 Mineral Products Technicians
159 Healthcare Science Associates/Technicians (61 Audiology & Hearing Aid Dispensers, 34 Medical Engineering, 20 Cardiac & Respiratory Physiology, 15 Genetics Technology, 13 Respiratory & Sleep Physiology, 4 Clinical Chemistry, 4 Tissue Retrieval, 2 Medical Physics, 2 Phlebotomy, 1 Biomedicine, 1 Neurophysiology, 1 Nuclear Medicine, 1 Rehabilitation Engineering)
149 Railway Engineering Technicians
146 Human Resources / People Specialists
139 Quality Practitioners/Engineers
131 Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability Practitioners
125 Food Technology/Manufacturing Technicians
124 Nuclear Technicians
115 Hospitality Managers
101 Automotive Engineering/Propulsion Technicians
90 Actuarial Technicians
90 Intelligence Analysts
90 Internal Audit Practitioners
83 Journalists
75 Recruitment Consultants
75 Vehicle Damage Assessors
72 Brewers
70 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
52 Market Research Executives
49 Business Improvement Practitioners
49 Dairy Technologists
46 Information Managers (infrastructure projects)
43 TV/Media Production Co-ordinators
41 Ordnance Munitions & Explosives Technicians
36 Housing/Property/Lettings Managers
35 BEMS Controls Engineers (Building Energy Management Systems)
34 Paralegals
32 Air Traffic Controllers
31 Aircraft Engineering Technicians
30 Engineering Maintenance Technicians
27 Estate Agency Negotiators
25 Engineer Surveyors
23 Countryside Rangers
22 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 Aviation Operations Managers
10 Data Protection Officers
10 Employability Practitioners
9 Counter Fraud Investigators
9 Marine Engineering Technicians
9 Railway/Passenger Transport Operations Managers
9 Rehabilitation Officers (Visual Impairment)
8 Antisocial Behaviour & Community Safety Officers
8 Historic Environment Advice Assistants
8 School Business Professionals
8 Town Planning Technicians
7 Computer Games Developers
7 Dental Technicians
7 Digital Product Managers
7 Fire Safety Inspectors
7 Port Marine Operations Officers
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 Digital Learning Designers
4 Padel Coaches
4 Space Engineering Technicians
4 Tax Technology Technicians
3 Arboriculturists
3 Building Information Modelling (BIM) Technicians
3 Culinary Chefs
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 Lifting Equipment Operations Engineers
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 Small Vessel Chief Engineer
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.
Footnotes: How the data has been collected
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 very close tabs 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 twelve 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 in my listings 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 wonderful 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 or 7, but as ‘Higher’ if it starts at Level 4 with an option to progress to Level 6 as opposed to an expectation.
Although my data is not stored electronically, I do have a written record of all 56,516 vacancies with details of the employer, occupation, location(s), minimum starting salary (if known) and, in the case of DAs, minimum entry grades and degree provider. As a guidance practitioner myself it’s been an incredibly illuminating and informative process, transforming my own perceptions about the labour market.
© Alan Bullock Careers, 11/2/2024
Alan Bullock Careers 