Latest reflections on the situation in England

After a highly eventful period during and either side of National Apprenticeship Week, including last week’s tour de force by the East Midlands, the pace unsurprisingly started to slacken a little in Week 216. It was still busy though, with another intriguing crop of new vacancies stretching from Jarrow and Whitehaven in the north to Folkestone and Plymouth in the south. It brought the total number of vacancies in my four February updates to more than 1,800, which is around 75% up on the average, although in fairness I’ve gradually expanded my sources over time.

I’ve also consolidated my data after detecting some additional numbers from earlier this month, as well as correcting a couple of minor discrepancies in last week’s regional figures. There was a slight miscalculation in my Week 215 data, which is very unusual given my obsessively meticulous approach, so I’m now in sackcloth and ashes and determined to eradicate any such errors in future, minor though they were.

Amongst this week’s highlights were a dozen HAs for Data Analytics Engineers with the Ministry of Justice, and these were all the more interesting for being spread around the country. Full details are on the excellent Civil Service Jobs website and the locations are Brighton, Ipswich, Jarrow, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Nottingham, Sheffield, Stafford and Wolverhampton, plus one in Cardiff which I’ve added to my Wales data. The entry requirement is three A Levels or equivalent, with no minimum grades specified, but as is so often the case school and college leavers, whilst eligible to apply, will be competing with older applicants including non-relevant graduates. That said, and as is also often the case, the employer will be seeking to recruit a diverse intake. A passion for data is the key requirement and this has prompted me to check whether there’s an upper age limit, as Brighton is commutable from my local train station. (I’ve just checked and can confirm that there’s no upper age limit, but on reflection I think I’ll just stick to writing my blog.)

Other prominent employers this week were Amey Consulting, mainly in Civil and Rail Engineering at a variety of locations, and Ford Motor Company with eight Digital Technology DA roles in Essex. There was a fair amount of NHS activity around the country too, including Kent and East Sussex where DA roles have come up in Nursing, OT, Physio and Speech Therapy, albeit that they stretched my criteria to the limit in terms of their expectation that candidates should normally have at least a year’s healthcare experience. If you haven’t previously noticed, there are some specific comments about this in relation to NHS vacancies in my Footnote section below. The number of Nursing Associate HAs also continued to rise, although again these often expect experience too and I always take care in deciding whether or not to include them.

I also added two more Remote vacancies and the number of these is gradually creeping up, while hybrid roles are becoming as much the norm as the exception these days. I don’t keep any data on hybrid positions, but it’s clearly a practice that’s now widely adopted by many employers for roles in which home-working is feasible.    

Meanwhile, from a regional perspective the South West juggernaut rolled on unperturbed. What’s particularly noticeable about the South West is that, while Bristol is usually its big centre of activity, other parts of the region tend to step up when Bristol goes quiet. This week it was Devon’s turn to punch above its weight, especially around Exeter where there were half a dozen new HA vacancies with the Met Office amongst others, and Plymouth where Plessey Semiconductors posted six Engineering HAs. Because of this, I’ve picked out one of my Devon photos as this week’s appropriately seasonal featured image. The picture was taken along the spectacular coastline in between Exeter and Plymouth in February 2018.

Finally, I’ve just updated my data report on Environmental Practitioner DAs, which I first published during Green Careers Week. Here’s the new version:

Environmental Practitioner degree apprenticeships 2024 update: who, what and where?     

Headline data (England)

Since 1^st 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 19^th to 25^th February 2024 I recorded:

• 122 new Degree/Professional Apprenticeship vacancies (Levels 6/7) and
• 151 new Higher Apprenticeship vacancies (Levels 4/5)
• giving a total of 273 for the week

In the 216 weeks from 1^st January 2020 to 25^th February 2024 I’ve now recorded:

• 32,423 new Degree/Professional Apprenticeships (Levels 6/7) and
• 24,882 new Higher Apprenticeships (Levels 4/5)
• giving a total of 57,305

The average weekly totals across all 216 weeks have been:

• 150 DAs + 115 HAs = 265 average weekly total 

Latest update on Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

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

• Scotland: 995 vacancies at SQF Levels 10/11
• Wales: 244 vacancies at Levels 6/7 and 191 at Levels 4/5
• Northern Ireland: 171 vacancies at Levels 6/7 and 25 at Levels 4/5

I picked up 16 new vacancies in Scotland this week, including ten with JP Morgan in Edinburgh, plus one each in Wales and Northern Ireland. My most recent Scotland report was posted in December and I intend to publish updates for all three nations in due course. If I have enough time, I might even do another Scotland one when it reaches 1,000 vacancies, which is likely to be in the next couple of weeks.  

Updated analysis by county and region

By county (loosely defined) the 57,305 higher and degree apprenticeships advertised in England since January 2020 have been distributed as follows:

• Greater London (12,894)
• Yorkshire (5,135)
• West Midlands (3,731)
• Greater Manchester (3,196)
• Bristol & Gloucestershire (2,834)
• Hampshire (2,003)
• Berkshire (1,913)
• Surrey (1,312)
• Hertfordshire (1,311)
• Cheshire (1,249)
• Tyne & Wear (1,192)
• Cambridgeshire (1,121)
• Cumbria (1,079)
• Nottinghamshire (1,078)
• Derbyshire (1,076)
• Sussex (1,026)
• Merseyside (982)
• Lancashire (935)
• Essex (896)
• Devon (881)
• Warwickshire (870)
• Suffolk (843)
• Buckinghamshire (788)
• Somerset & South Bristol (756)
• Dorset (728)
• Kent (722)
• Wiltshire (691)
• Leicestershire (689)
• Oxfordshire (669)
• Bedfordshire (645)
• Staffordshire (637)
• County Durham (540)
• Northamptonshire (453)
• Cornwall (416)
• Norfolk (410)
• Lincolnshire (408)
• Worcestershire (387)
• Shropshire (336)
• Isle of Wight (81)
• Northumberland (77)
• Herefordshire (59)
• Rutland (17)
• Remote-working, with no fixed central base (90)
• County not specified (149) 

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 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:

• 12,894   London (1,078,600: 11.95)
•   6,315   South West (645,800: 9.78)
•   7,441   North West (884,600: 8.41)  
•   6,020   West Midlands (720,900: 8.35)
•   8,514   South East (1,040,500: 8.18)
•   5,146   Yorkshire & The Humber (670,800: 7.67)
•   5,246   East of England (685,300: 7.66)
•   3,610   East Midlands (593,700: 6.08)  
•   1,889   North East (313,000: 6.04)
•        90   Remote-working
•      140   Region not specified

• 57,305   Total England (6,633,200: 8.64)

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 32,423 new vacancies spread across 115 occupational areas and 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:

5,486 Accountancy/Tax/Audit Professionals

4,696 Police Constables 

3,255 Digital Technology Solutions: General *see below for details

1,375 Chartered Managers: General Business

1,354 Civil Engineers

1,316 Software Engineers/Developers

1,066 Project Managers: General

   996 Chartered Quantity Surveyors

   920 Data Scientists/Analysts/Engineers

   788 Nurses (609 Adult, 129 Mental Health, 42 Learning Disability, 8 Child) 

   660 Nuclear Engineers  

   633 Electrical & Electronic Engineers 

   588 Design & Development Engineers

   551 Manufacturing Engineers

   464 Supply Chain Professionals

   443 Banking/Financial Services/Investment Professionals

   429 Chartered Surveyors: Project Management / General Practice

   403 Solicitors

   400 Aerospace Engineers

   395 Building Services Engineers

   374 Cyber Security Professionals

   345 Professional Economists

   320 Digital Marketing Professionals

   295 Laboratory Scientists

   293 Sales Professionals

   268 Chartered Managers: Retail Leadership

   252 Environmental Practitioners

   222 Food & Drink Technologists

   214 Healthcare Science Practitioners (45 Biomedical Sciences, 28 Cardiac Physiology, 24 Nuclear Medicine, 23 Radiation Physics, 19 Respiratory & Sleep Physiology, 17 Clinical/Medical Engineering, 17 Radiation Engineering, 13 Audiology, 13 Neurophysiology, 5 Digital Healthcare Science, 5 Medical Physics, 3 Clinical Informatics, 1 Rehabilitation Engineering, 1 Renal Technology)   

   200 Chartered Building Surveyors

   200 Electromechanical/Mechatronics Engineers

   194 Railway & Rail Systems Engineers

   183 Construction Managers

   159 Chartered Managers: Food/Drink Manufacturing & Production

   158 Automation & Control Technical Support Engineers  

   156 Project Controls Professionals

   141 Operating Department Practitioners (NHS)

   118 Radiographers (62 Diagnostic, 56 Therapeutic)

   108 Occupational Therapists

   100 Digital User Experience (UX) Designers   

   100 Materials Science Technologists/Engineers 

     84 Design & Construction Managers / Architectural Technologists

     80 Chemical Engineers

     80 Non-Destructive Testing Engineers

     78 Social Workers

     77 Podiatrists

     76 Chartered Managers: Hotels & Hospitality

     72 Creative Digital Designers

     72 Town Planners

     71 Chartered Managers: Recruitment Professionals

     68 Building Control Surveyors

     58 Packaging Professionals 

     56 Clinical Trials Specialists

     53 Broadcast/Communication/Media Systems Engineers

     51 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

     36 Chartered Geospatial/Land Surveyors

     35 Chartered Managers: Marketing

     35 Weapons Munitions & Explosives Engineers

     34 Chartered Managers: Social Change, Charities & Voluntary Sector 

     31 Journalists 

     30 Physiotherapists

     30 Public Health Practitioners

     29 Architectural Assistants     

     27 Fire Safety/Explosion Engineers

     25 Geotechnical Engineers

     24 Aerospace Software Engineers

     19 Insurance Professionals

     15 Forestry Professionals

     13 Environmental Engineers

     13 Midwives

     13 Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners

     13 Speech & Language Therapists

     12 Dietitians

     12 Theme Park Engineers

     11 Chartered Managers: Sports Business

       9 Agricultural/Horticultural Advisers

       9 Propulsion Engineers

       8 Gas Transmission Engineers

       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

       4 Chartered Managers: Theme Parks

       3 Assistant Archivists

       3 Digital Transformation Engineers

       3 Education Technology Specialists

       3 Orthotists/Prosthetists

       3 Risk & Safety Management Practitioners       

       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 Events Manager

       1 Facilities Manager

       1 Games Programmer

       1 Human Performance Engineer 

       1 Resilience & Emergencies Professional

       1 Robotics Engineer

       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 111 different job titles:

Software Engineer, Software Developer, Software Tester, Cyber Security Specialist, IT Consultant, Network Engineer, Data Scientist, Data Analyst, 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, Credit Trading Technologist, People (HR) Solutions 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, 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, Scientific Computing 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 24,882 new vacancies spread across 153 occupational areas and starting salaries have ranged from £5,002 to £38,469pa. The average is around £17K to £18K, except for Sports Coaches which are usually around £10K or lower. The occupational breakdown is as follows: 

2,037 Sales Executives

1,657 Accounting Technicians

1,590 Data Analysts

1,559 Software Developers 

1,539 Project Management Associates

1,164 Sports Coaches (Children & Young People)   

   881 Nursing Associates

   739 Construction Site Supervisors

   696 Manufacturing Engineering Technicians 

   656 Quantity Surveying Technicians  

   594 Business Analysts 

   594 Network Engineers

   593 Taxation Technicians

   487 Cyber Security Technologists

   470 Commercial Procurement & Supply Practitioners

   430 Software Testers

   420 Public Relations & Communications Assistants

   418 Electrical & Electronic Technician Engineers

   414 Civil/Site Engineering Technicians

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

   339 Investment Operations Specialists

   336 Building Services Engineering Technicians

   325 Buying & Merchandising Assistants

   319 Insurance Practitioners  

   311 Junior Management Consultants

   265 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)

   253 DevOps Engineers

   248 Marketing Executives

   235 Construction Design & Build Technicians

   210 Early Years Lead Practitioners

   200 Policy Practitioners

   196 Associate Ambulance Practitioners

   195 Police Community Support Officers

   194 Regulatory Compliance Officers

   170 Mineral Products Technicians 

   165 Healthcare Science Associates/Technicians (61 Audiology & Hearing Aid Dispensers, 40 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)

   150 People Professionals / HR Specialists

   150 Railway Engineering Technicians

   143 Food Technology Technicians / Food Manufacturing Process Leaders 

   139 Quality Practitioners/Engineers

   131 Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability Practitioners

   127 Nuclear Technicians  

   116 Hospitality Managers

   113 Automotive Engineering/Propulsion Technicians

     91 Actuarial Technicians

     91 Internal Audit Practitioners

     90 Intelligence Analysts   

     83 Journalists

     80 Vehicle Damage Assessors

     75 Recruitment Consultants

     73 Financial Advisers/Paraplanners   

     72 Brewers 

     69 Applications Support Leads

     67 Audiovisual Technicians

     64 Automation & Controls Engineering Technicians

     63 Business Operations Managers   

     57 Revenues & Welfare Benefits Officers

     54 Dairy Technologists

     54 Market Research Executives

     53 Building Information (BIM) Managers 

     53 Learning & Skills Practitioners/Mentors   

     49 Business Improvement Practitioners 

     43 TV/Media Production Co-ordinators   

     41 Ordnance Munitions & Explosives Technicians

     36 Building Energy Management Systems (BEMS) Engineers

     36 Housing/Property/Lettings Managers

     34 Paralegals

     32 Air Traffic Controllers   

     31 Aircraft Engineering Technicians

     31 Engineering Maintenance Technicians

     27 Estate Agency Negotiators

     25 Engineer Surveyors

     23 Countryside Rangers

     22 Land Referencers 

     20 Acoustics Technicians

     18 Digital Accessibility Specialists   

     18 Digital Community Managers

     15 Fibre Cable Engineers

     15 Smart Energy Engineers

     12 Broadcast & Media Systems Technicians

     12 Facilities Managers

     12 Hygiene Specialists

     11 Film/TV Post-Production Technical Operators

     11 Football Coaches

     11 Gymnastics Coaches

     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) 

       9 Town Planning Technicians 

       8 Antisocial Behaviour & Community Safety Officers

       8 Historic Environment Advice Assistants

       8 School Business Professionals     

       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 Digital Learning Designers

       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 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 Governance Officers

       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 Goalkeeping Coach

       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. 

Footnote: How the data has been collected  

Since 1^st 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 NHS vacancies are 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 57,305 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, 25/2/2024