Latest reflections on the situation in England
Well, that was a funny old week. It was a bit quiet, but a few unexpected gems kept popping up to keep things lively. In no particular order these included:
- 10 Design & Development Engineers in Derby
- 8 Design & Development Engineers with Ford in Laindon (Essex)
- 3 NHS Operating Department Practitioners in East Grinstead
- 4 Creative Digital Designers in Feltham
- 2 Social Workers in Exeter
- 5 Manufacturing Engineering Technicians in Redruth
- 12 Insurance Practitioners with Ageas split between Eastleigh in Hampshire and Brockworth in Gloucestershire
- 4 Manufacturing Engineers also in Brockworth (more of which in a minute)
- 1 Journalist in Manchester
- 1 Countryside Ranger in Devon
- 1 Speech Therapist in Walsall and
- 9 Project Management Associates, of which 5 were at the prolific Aztec West business park near the Almondsbury M4/M5 Interchange just north of Bristol and the other 4 were in Luton, Nottingham and Dukinfield (Greater Manchester).
With places like Shrewsbury, Wallsend, Redditch, Coltishall, Calow, Littlehampton, Broadstairs and both Beeston and Watnall (on the fringes of Nottingham) also putting in an appearance, it was one of those weeks that was always fascinating, if a little slow.
From a regional perspective the East Midlands, South East and East were all quite active, but yet again the South West was the busiest and it continues to be the most productive region outside Greater London when measured per head of population. And although I often cite the endlessly busy North Bristol hub as being the key factor in this, other parts of the region keep stepping up too and Brockworth in particular came up with the goods this week. It’s situated near the M5/A417 intersection, to the east of Gloucester and south of Cheltenham, and it used to be a sleepy little village with just a pub and cricket ground by the crossroads. The reason I know this is that I lived in Cheltenham as a boy and in about 1963 I once took a spectacular catch on the boundary on that very cricket ground while playing for my Dad’s team, West Country Breweries. You’ll have to take my word for it, but this week’s featured image is a photo I captured on the nearby hills above Brockworth on an atmospheric evening several years ago, looking across towards the Severn Valley.
One other significant development this week was that the RAF reposted 50 vacancies for Air Traffic and Weapons Controller HAs. I had already recorded these a couple of months ago, so I couldn’t add them to my occupational data. However, on this occasion the vacancies included specific details of locations where previously I had used the training locations for this, so I’ve revised my regional data accordingly (to the detriment of Shropshire and Northumberland, sadly).
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 8th to 14th April 2024 I recorded:
- 66 new Degree/Professional Apprenticeship vacancies (Levels 6/7) and
- 56 new Higher Apprenticeship vacancies (Levels 4/5)
- giving a total of 122 for the week
In the 223 weeks from 1st January 2020 to 14th April 2024 I’ve now recorded:
- 32,942 new Degree/Professional Apprenticeships (Levels 6/7) and
- 25,664 new Higher Apprenticeships (Levels 4/5)
- giving a total of 58,606
The average weekly totals across all 223 weeks have been:
- 148 DAs + 115 HAs = 263 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: 1,064 vacancies at SQF Levels 10/11
- Wales: 249 vacancies at Levels 6/7 and 193 at Levels 4/5
- Northern Ireland: 172 vacancies at Levels 6/7 and 31 at Levels 4/5
My most recent quarterly Scotland report was published in March and updated last week. I also hope to publish an annual Wales report in June and something on Northern Ireland too.
Updated occupational analysis
Every week I update my occupational analysis, breaking the England 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 32,942 new vacancies spread across 112 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:
5,500 Accountancy/Tax/Audit Professionals
4,696 Police Constables
3,292 Digital Technology Solutions: General *see below for details
1,440 Civil Engineers
1,397 Chartered Managers: General Business
1,325 Software Engineers/Developers
1,078 Project Managers: General
1,017 Chartered Quantity Surveyors
935 Data Scientists/Analysts/Engineers
809 Nurses (620 Adult, 133 Mental Health, 45 Learning Disability, 11 Child)
665 Nuclear Engineers
650 Electrical & Electronic Engineers
615 Design & Development Engineers
567 Manufacturing Engineers
481 Supply Chain Professionals
443 Banking/Financial Services/Investment Professionals
439 Building Services Design Engineers
435 Chartered Surveyors: Project Management / General Practice
422 Solicitors
400 Aerospace Engineers
376 Cyber Security Professionals
347 Professional Economists
331 Digital Marketing Professionals
305 Laboratory Scientists
301 Sales Professionals
268 Chartered Managers: Retail Leadership
256 Environmental Practitioners
240 Healthcare Science Practitioners (62 Biomedical Sciences, 30 Cardiac Physiology, 25 Nuclear Medicine, 25 Radiation Physics, 19 Respiratory & Sleep Physiology, 17 Clinical/Medical Engineering, 17 Radiation Engineering, 15 Audiology, 14 Neurophysiology, 5 Digital Healthcare Science, 5 Medical Physics, 3 Clinical Informatics, 1 Diagnostic Radiology, 1 Rehabilitation Engineering, 1 Renal Technology)
223 Food & Drink Technologists
208 Electromechanical/Mechatronics Engineers
206 Chartered Building Surveyors
195 Railway & Rail Systems Engineers
184 Construction Managers
164 Control Technical Support & Control Systems Engineers
163 Chartered Managers: Food/Drink Manufacturing & Production
162 Project Controls Professionals
147 Operating Department Practitioners (NHS)
120 Occupational Therapists
118 Radiographers (62 Diagnostic, 56 Therapeutic)
103 Materials Science Technologists/Engineers
101 Digital User Experience (UX) Designers
86 Podiatrists
84 Design & Construction Managers / Architectural Technologists
84 Social Workers
82 Chemical Engineers
80 Non-Destructive Testing Engineers
78 Creative Digital Designers / Graphic Designers
76 Chartered Managers: Hotels & Hospitality
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
52 Chartered Rural Surveyors (Land Agents)
48 Marine Engineers
46 Environmental Health Officers
44 Human Resources & People Professionals
42 Chartered Managers: Manufacturing/Production (non-food)
40 Social Researchers
40 Transport Planners
36 Chartered Geospatial/Land Surveyors
36 Chartered Managers: Marketing
35 Physiotherapists
35 Weapons Munitions & Explosives Engineers
34 Chartered Managers: Social Change, Charities & Voluntary Sector
31 Journalists
30 Architectural Assistants
30 Fire Safety Engineers
30 Public Health Practitioners
25 Aerospace Software Engineers
21 Insurance Professionals
19 Speech & Language Therapists
15 Forestry Professionals
13 Environmental Engineers
13 Midwives
12 Dietitians
12 Theme Park Engineers
11 Chartered Managers: Sports Business
9 Agricultural/Horticultural Advisers
9 Chartered Surveyors: Land Buyers
9 Propulsion Engineers
8 Gas Transmission Engineers
7 Chartered Managers: Buying & Procurement
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 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 117 different job titles, which I’ve subdivided into themed groups to make it a bit more digestible:
- Software Engineer, Software Developer, Software Tester
- Data Scientist, Data Analyst, Global Data Analyst, Data Product Specialist, Sales Data Analyst, Data Engineer, Data Architect
- Network Architect, Enterprise Architect, Digital Solutions Architect, Technology Architect
- IT Consultant, Solutions Consultant, Software Consultant, Software Implementation Consultant, Technical Consultant, Technology Consultant, Functional Consultant, Business Consultant, Dynamics Consultant, Security Consultant, Client Consultant, Application Management Consultant, Microsoft Dynamics & Power Applications Consultant, AI Technical Sales Adviser
- Network Engineer, DevOps Engineer, Solutions Engineer, Digital Solutions Engineer, Digital Engineer, Digital & Technology Engineer, Digital Manufacturing Engineer, Hardware Engineer, Systems Engineer, Business Systems Engineer, Automation Engineer, Controls Engineer, IT Engineer, IT Support Engineer, Technical Support Engineer, Service Desk Engineer, Cloud Engineer, Quality Assurance Engineer, Infrastructure Engineer, Telecommunications Engineer, Sales Engineer, Electronic Systems Design & Development Engineer
- Digital Developer, Application Developer, Business Systems Developer, Business Intelligence (BI) Developer, Automation Developer, Automation Test Developer, Full Stack Developer, Prototype Developer, WordPress Developer
- Innovation Technologist, Legal Technologist, Credit Trading Technologist, People (HR) Solutions Technologist
- Business Analyst, Business Technology Analyst, Cyber Security Analyst, 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, Network Strategy Analyst, Global Mobility Analyst, Content Analyst, Security Operations Analyst, Process Mining Analyst, SAP Analyst
- Technology Manager, Junior Product Manager, Sales Account Manager, Sales Operations Manager, Platform Manager, Service Manager, Engineering Information Manager, Associate Digital Delivery Manager, Project Manager, Project Co-ordinator, IT Support & Helpdesk Administrator
- Infrastructure Specialist, FinTech Specialist, DevOps/NetOps Specialist, Client Success Specialist, Digital Project Delivery Support Specialist, 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, Technology Operations & Service Delivery Specialist, Solution Engineering & Development Specialist, Client Delivery Specialist, Microsoft 365 Product Specialist, IT Governance & Applications Support Specialist, Operations Resilience & Change Specialist, Innovation Foundry Specialist, Continuous Improvement & Automation Specialist
- IT/Computing Technician, Second Line Support Technician
- User Experience Researcher, Content Strategist, Digital Social Media Executive, Public Health Intelligence Officer
Higher Apprenticeships (Levels 4/5):
In total there have been 25,664 new vacancies spread across 154 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:
2,107 Sales Executives
1,674 Accounting Technicians
1,615 Data Analysts
1,579 Project Management Associates
1,571 Software Developers
1,198 Sports Coaches (Children & Young People)
909 Nursing Associates
771 Construction Site Supervisors
712 Manufacturing Engineering Technicians
670 Quantity Surveying Technicians
614 Network Engineers
608 Business Analysts
599 Taxation Technicians
492 Cyber Security Technologists
479 Commercial Procurement & Supply Practitioners
437 Social Care Practitioners (Adults/Children/Families/Young People)
434 Software Testers
429 Electrical & Electronic Technician Engineers
425 Civil/Site Engineering Technicians
420 Public Relations & Communications Assistants
361 Investment Operations Specialists
355 Building Services Engineering Technicians
338 Insurance Practitioners
325 Buying & Merchandising Assistants
311 Junior Management Consultants
271 Retail Managers
266 Technician Scientists
263 DevOps Engineers
260 Healthcare Associate Practitioners (150 Reablement, 69 Multidisciplinary, 12 Diagnostic Imaging, 7 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)
254 Marketing Executives
240 Construction Design & Build Technicians
232 Associate Ambulance Practitioners
212 Early Years Lead Practitioners
200 Policy Practitioners
198 Regulatory Compliance Officers
195 Police Community Support Officers
170 Mineral Products Technicians
167 Healthcare Science Associates/Technicians (61 Audiology & Hearing Aid Dispensers, 42 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)
159 Railway Engineering Technicians
155 People Professionals / HR Specialists
147 Food Production Technicians & Process Leaders
140 Quality Practitioners/Engineers
137 Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability Practitioners
127 Nuclear Technicians
121 Automotive Engineering/Propulsion Technicians
117 Air Traffic / Weapons Controllers
117 Hospitality Managers
93 Internal Audit Practitioners
91 Actuarial Technicians
90 Intelligence Analysts
90 Journalists
88 Vehicle Damage Assessors
75 Audiovisual Technicians
75 Financial Advisers/Paraplanners
75 Recruitment Consultants
74 Brewers
72 Applications Support Leads
69 Automation & Controls Engineering Technicians
64 Business Operations Managers
57 Market Research Executives
57 Revenues & Welfare Benefits Officers
54 Dairy Technologists
54 Information Managers
53 Learning & Skills Practitioners/Mentors
49 Business Improvement Practitioners
45 Building Energy Management Systems (BEMS) Engineers
43 TV/Media Production Co-ordinators
41 Ordnance Munitions & Explosives Technicians
38 Housing/Property/Lettings Managers
37 Engineering Maintenance Technicians
36 Paralegals
31 Aircraft Engineering Technicians
27 Estate Agency Negotiators
25 Engineer Surveyors
24 Countryside Rangers
22 Land Referencers
20 Acoustics Technicians
20 Digital Accessibility Specialists
18 Digital Community Managers
15 Facilities Managers
15 Fibre Cable Engineers
15 Smart Energy Engineers
12 Broadcast & Media Systems Technicians
12 Data Protection & Information Governance Officers
12 Football Coaches
12 Hygiene Specialists
11 Film/TV Post-Production Technical Operators
11 Gymnastics Coaches
10 Aviation Operations Managers
10 Employability Practitioners
10 Historic Environment Advice / Assistant Archaeologists
9 Antisocial Behaviour & Community Safety Officers
9 Counter Fraud Investigators
9 Marine Engineering Technicians
9 Railway/Passenger Transport Operations Managers
9 Rehabilitation Officers (Visual Impairment)
9 Town Planning Technicians
8 Dental Technicians
8 School Business Professionals
7 Asset Managers
7 Computer Games Developers
7 Digital Product Managers
7 Fire Safety Inspectors
7 Port Marine Operations Officers
6 Music Teachers
5 Architectural Technicians
5 Broadcasting Technical Operators
5 Digital Learning Designers
5 Early Intervention Practitioners
5 Outdoor Learning Specialists
5 Unified Communications Troubleshooters
5 Visual Merchandisers
4 Aircraft Certifying Technicians
4 Governance Officers
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 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 Goalkeeping Coach
1 Health Informatics Specialist
1 Health Play Specialist
1 Horticultural / Landscape Design Practitioner
1 Hotel Reception Manager
1 Lighting Designer
1 Metrology Technician
1 Proposals Co-ordinator
1 Small Vessel Chief Engineer
1 Tennis Coach
1 Wedding Accessories Designer
1 Wedding Venue Co-ordinator
1 Youth Justice Practitioner
Updated analysis by county and region
By county (loosely defined) the 58,606 higher and degree apprenticeships advertised in England since January 2020 have been distributed as follows:
- Greater London (13,137)
- Yorkshire (5,253)
- West Midlands (3,773)
- Greater Manchester (3,255)
- Bristol & Gloucestershire (2,879)
- Hampshire (2,053)
- Berkshire (1,937)
- Hertfordshire (1,339)
- Surrey (1,336)
- Cheshire (1,274)
- Tyne & Wear (1,224)
- Cambridgeshire (1,140)
- Nottinghamshire (1,105)
- Derbyshire (1,099)
- Cumbria (1,092)
- Sussex (1,051)
- Merseyside (997)
- Lancashire (944)
- Essex (936)
- Devon (906)
- Warwickshire (890)
- Suffolk (851)
- Buckinghamshire (812)
- Somerset & South Bristol (775)
- Kent (763)
- Dorset (741)
- Leicestershire (702)
- Wiltshire (700)
- Oxfordshire (694)
- Bedfordshire (666)
- Staffordshire (653)
- County Durham (553)
- Northamptonshire (468)
- Lincolnshire (426)
- Cornwall (424)
- Norfolk (420)
- Worcestershire (392)
- Shropshire (379)
- Northumberland (85)
- Isle of Wight (82)
- Herefordshire (58)
- Rutland (18)
- Remote-working or flexible location (103)
- County not specified (221)
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:
- 13,137 London (1,078,600: 12.18)
- 6,434 South West (645,800: 9.96)
- 6,193 West Midlands (720,900: 8.59)
- 7,562 North West (884,600: 8.55)
- 8,728 South East (1,040,500: 8.39)
- 5,266 Yorkshire & The Humber (670,800: 7.85)
- 5,350 East of England (685,300: 7.81)
- 3,748 East Midlands (593,700: 6.31)
- 1,945 North East (313,000: 6.21)
- 103 Remote or flexible
- 140 Region not specified
- 58,606 Total England (6,633,200: 8.84)
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.
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 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, and where you live is a factor as well. To a certain extent there’s probably a mismatch between students’ aspirations and the actual occupations available too, 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 58,606 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, 14/4/2024