Latest reflections on the situation in England

Following on from last week’s little treasure trove of intriguing occupations and locations, Week 226 threw up a few more surprises and fascinating quirks, with healthcare roles especially prominent. The highlights included:

• 15 Mental Health Nursing DAs split between Worcester, Bromsgrove and Hereford, which provided a nice boost for overall numbers in this relatively quiet part of the West Midlands region and was the inspiration for my choice of featured image, a photo I took by the canal in Worcester exactly ten years ago
• 24 Nursing Associate HAs in Bristol (Adult or Child) and Weston-super-Mare (Adult)
• 8 Nursing Associate HAs (Mental Health) in Derbyshire
• 7 Sales Professional DAs in Bradford and Frimley 
• 4 Clinical Trials Specialist DAs in Farnborough
• 4 Supply Chain Leader DAs in my old stamping-ground of Market Drayton in Shropshire (where I’m proud to say I made headlines for my comedy performance as a robber in Babes in the Wood in 1975)
• 3 Governance Officer HAs in Manchester, London and Sevenoaks, following up last week’s theme about this being an expanding profession that can provide a well-paid alternative for would-be lawyers   
• 3 Healthcare Science Practitioner DAs specialising in Neurophysiology (in Oxford), Cardiac Physiology (in Chichester) and Respiratory & Sleep Physiology (in Taunton)
• 2 Midwifery DAs in West Birmingham
• 2 Town Planning DAs in Liverpool
• 2 Port Marine Operations Officer HAs in Southampton
• 2 HAs for a Network Engineer and Internal Audit Practitioner in Morpeth, which is noteworthy because opportunities in Northumberland only come up at a rate of around 20 per year
• A Fire & Explosives Engineer DA in the village of Gilsland in Cumbria, itself just a stone’s throw away from the Northumberland border and with Hadrian’s Wall close by
• A Solicitor DA in Eastleigh
• And a Publishing HA with Pan Macmillan in London  

As is often the case, the Nursing and Nursing Associate apprenticeships expect or prefer to see some appropriate experience. However, I always include them if there’s evidence that current or recent school/college leavers with suitable skills and insights could make a competitive application, especially those with a relevant T Level or an equivalent Level 3 vocational qualification.

Continuing the healthcare theme, there was a steady trickle of other new NHS vacancies this week too including more Operating Department Practitioners and Occupational Therapists, a Podiatrist, a Mammographer, and a cohort of new Nursing DAs based at QA Hospital in Portsmouth. The NHS Jobs website continues to provide a very important supplement to the government Find an Apprenticeship site for sourcing these vacancies.  

Recently I’ve had to make a few visits to QA Hospital myself and locally we hear a lot about the intense pressure they’re under. Nonetheless, during my latest visit in April I overheard a nurse saying to a patient that she loved her job and feels very privileged to work there, which was heartening to hear during these difficult times.  

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 29^th April to 5^th May I recorded:

• 79 new Degree/Professional Apprenticeship vacancies (Levels 6/7) and
• 105 new Higher Apprenticeship vacancies (Levels 4/5)
• giving a total of 184 for the week

In the 226 weeks from 1^st January 2020 to 5^th May 2024 I’ve now recorded:

• 33,157 new Degree/Professional Apprenticeships (Levels 6/7) and
• 25,991 new Higher Apprenticeships (Levels 4/5)
• giving a total of 59,148

The average weekly totals across all 226 weeks have been:

• 147 DAs + 115 HAs = 262 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: 1,074 vacancies at SQF Levels 10/11
• Wales: 253 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 I also hope to publish an annual Wales report next month 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 33,157 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:

5,511 Accountancy/Tax/Audit Professionals

4,696 Police Constables 

3,297 Digital Technology Solutions: General *see below for details

1,452 Civil Engineers

1,406 Chartered Managers: General Business

1,325 Software Engineers/Developers

1,081 Project Managers: General

1,030 Chartered Quantity Surveyors

   938 Data Scientists/Analysts/Engineers

   835 Nurses (625 Adult, 150 Mental Health, 49 Learning Disability, 11 Child) 

   665 Nuclear Engineers  

   652 Electrical & Electronic Engineers 

   621 Design & Development Engineers

   574 Manufacturing Engineers

   485 Supply Chain Professionals

   445 Building Services Design Engineers

   443 Banking/Financial Services/Investment Professionals

   439 Chartered Surveyors: Project Management / Real Estate / General Practice

   423 Solicitors  

   400 Aerospace Engineers

   378 Cyber Security Professionals

   347 Professional Economists

   334 Digital Marketing Professionals

   308 Sales Professionals

   306 Laboratory Scientists

   268 Chartered Managers: Retail Leadership

   259 Environmental Practitioners

   247 Healthcare Science Practitioners (62 Biomedical Sciences, 31 Cardiac Physiology, 26 Nuclear Medicine, 26 Radiotherapy Physics, 20 Respiratory & Sleep Physiology,19 Clinical/Medical Engineering, 17 Radiation Engineering, 15 Audiology, 15 Neurophysiology, 5 Digital Healthcare Science, 5 Medical Physics, 3 Clinical Informatics, 1 Diagnostic Radiology, 1 Rehabilitation Engineering, 1 Renal Technology) 

   223 Food Technologists

   212 Chartered Building Surveyors

   211 Electromechanical Engineers

   197 Railway & Rail Systems Engineers

   186 Construction Site Managers

   167 Food/Drink Manufacturing & Production Managers  

   164 Control Technical Support & Control Systems Engineers  

   162 Project Controls Professionals

   155 Operating Department Practitioners (NHS)

   125 Occupational Therapists

   119 Radiographers (63 Diagnostic, 56 Therapeutic)

   105 Materials Science Technologists/Engineers 

   101 Digital User Experience (UX) Designers 

     94 Social Workers

     88 Podiatrists

     84 Design & Construction Managers / Architectural Technologists

     82 Chemical/Plant Engineers

     80 Non-Destructive Testing Engineers

     79 Creative Digital Designers

     77 Chartered Managers: Hotels & Hospitality

     74 Town Planners

     71 Chartered Managers: Recruitment

     68 Building Control Surveyors

     60 Clinical Trials Specialists

     59 Packaging Professionals      

     53 Broadcast/Communication/Media Systems Engineers

     52 Chartered Rural Surveyors (Land Agents)

     51 Environmental Health Officers

     48 Marine Engineers

     44 Human Resources & People Professionals

     44 Social Researchers

     42 Chartered Managers: Manufacturing & Production (non-food)

     40 Transport Planners

     37 Chartered Geospatial/Land Surveyors

     37 Marketing Managers

     36 Ordnance Munitions & Explosives Engineers

     35 Physiotherapists     

     34 Chartered Managers: Social Change, Charities & Voluntary Sector 

     32 Fire Safety Engineers

     31 Architectural Assistants 

     31 Journalists 

     30 Public Health Practitioners

     25 Aerospace Software Engineers

     21 Insurance Professionals

     19 Speech & Language Therapists

     18 Midwives

     15 Forestry Professionals

     13 Environmental Engineers

     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

       8 Youth Workers

       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

       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 118 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, Global Equities 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 25,991 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: 

2,139 Sales Executives

1,682 Accounting Technicians

1,625 Data Analysts

1,586 Software Developers 

1,583 Project Management Associates

1,241 Sports Coaches (Children & Young People)   

   982 Nursing Associates

   780 Construction Site Supervisors

   727 Manufacturing Engineering Technicians 

   678 Quantity Surveying Technicians

   622 Network Engineers

   608 Business Analysts 

   604 Taxation Technicians

   494 Cyber Security Technologists

   483 Commercial Procurement & Supply Practitioners

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

   438 Software Testers

   434 Civil/Site Engineering Technicians

   429 Electrical & Electronic Technician Engineers  

   421 Public Relations & Communications Assistants

   364 Building Services Engineering Technicians

   361 Investment Operations Specialists

   342 Insurance Practitioners  

   325 Buying & Merchandising Assistants

   311 Junior Management Consultants

   271 Retail Managers  

   267 Technician Scientists

   266 DevOps Engineers

   261 Healthcare Associate Practitioners (150 Reablement, 69 Multidisciplinary, 12 Diagnostic Imaging, 8 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)

   256 Marketing Executives

   245 Construction Design & Build / Architectural Technicians

   232 Associate Ambulance Practitioners

   215 Early Years Lead Practitioners

   200 Policy Practitioners

   200 Regulatory Compliance Officers

   195 Police Community Support Officers

   170 Mineral Products Technicians 

   168 Healthcare Science Associates/Technicians (61 Audiology & Hearing Aid Dispensing, 42 Medical Engineering, 20 Cardiac & Respiratory Physiology, 15 Genetics Technology, 14 Sleep & Respiratory 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

   156 People Professionals / HR Specialists

   147 Food Production Technicians & Process Leaders

   143 Quality Assurance Practitioners/Engineers

   137 Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability Practitioners

   127 Nuclear Technicians

   121 Automotive Engineering/Propulsion Technicians

   117 Air Traffic Controllers (mainly RAF)   

   117 Hospitality Managers

     94 Internal Audit Practitioners

     92 Vehicle Damage Assessors

     91 Actuarial Technicians    

     90 Intelligence Analysts

     90 Journalists

     75 Audiovisual Technicians

     75 Financial Advisers/Paraplanners   

     75 Recruitment Consultants

     74 Applications Support Leads

     74 Brewers     

     70 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   

     52 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

     30 Countryside Rangers

     28 Estate Agency Sales Negotiators

     25 Engineer Surveyors

     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

     13 Data Protection & Information Governance Officers

     12 Broadcast & Media Systems Technicians

     12 Football Coaches

     12 Hygiene Specialists

     12 Passenger Transport Operations Managers

     11 Film/TV Post-Production Technical Operators

     11 Gymnastics Coaches

     10 Aviation Operations Managers

     10 Employability Practitioners

     10 Governance Officers

     10 Historic Environment Advice Assistants

     10 Town Planning Technicians 

       9 Antisocial Behaviour & Community Safety Officers

       9 Counter Fraud Investigators

       9 Marine Engineering Technicians

       9 Port Marine Operations Officers       

       9 Rehabilitation Officers (Visual Impairment) 

       8 Dental Technicians

       8 School Business Professionals

       7 Asset Managers

       7 Computer Games Developers

       7 Digital Product Managers

       7 Early Intervention Practitioners

       7 Fire Safety Inspectors

       6 Music Teachers

       5 Broadcasting Technical Operators

       5 Digital Learning Designers

       5 Outdoor Learning Specialists

       5 Unified Communications Troubleshooters

       5 Visual Merchandisers

       4 Aircraft Certifying Technicians

       4 Arboriculturists / Tree Officers

       4 Padel Coaches

       4 Space Engineering Technicians

       4 Tax Technology Technicians

       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 Horticultural/Landscaping Technicians

       2 Lifting Equipment Operations Engineers  

       2 Publishing Professionals

       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 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 59,148 higher and degree apprenticeships advertised in England since January 2020 have been distributed as follows:

• Greater London (13,211)
• Yorkshire (5,295)
• West Midlands (3,785)
• Greater Manchester (3,276)
• Bristol & Gloucestershire (2,911)
• Hampshire (2,086)
• Berkshire (1,945)
• Hertfordshire (1,355)
• Surrey (1,352)
• Cheshire (1,281)
• Tyne & Wear (1,241)
• Cambridgeshire (1,145)
• Nottinghamshire (1,118)
• Derbyshire (1,111)
• Cumbria (1,108)
• Sussex (1,063)
• Merseyside (1,012)
• Lancashire (969)
• Essex (941)
• Devon (911)
• Warwickshire (898)
• Suffolk (854)
• Buckinghamshire (819)
• Somerset & South Bristol (794)
• Kent (773)
• Dorset (746)
• Leicestershire (724)
• Oxfordshire (713)
• Wiltshire (704)
• Bedfordshire (686)
• Staffordshire (657)
• County Durham (553)
• Northamptonshire (475)
• Lincolnshire (434)
• Cornwall (424)
• Norfolk (423)
• Worcestershire (407)
• Shropshire (373)
• Northumberland (84)
• Isle of Wight (82)
• Herefordshire (64)
• Rutland (19)
• Remote-working or flexible location (105)
• Region specified but not county (87)
• Unspecified region (134)

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:

• 13,211   London (1,078,600: 12.25)
•   6,499   South West (645,800: 10.06)
•   6,238   West Midlands (720,900: 8.65)
•   7,646   North West (884,600: 8.64) 
•  8,833   South East (1,040,500: 8.49)
•   5,317   Yorkshire & The Humber (670,800: 7.93)
•   5,404   East of England (685,300: 7.89)
•   3,797   East Midlands (593,700: 6.40)  
•   1,964   North East (313,000: 6.27)
•      105   Remote or flexible
•      134   Unspecified region

• 59,148   Total England (6,633,200: 8.92)

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.

• NB The Teesside area of North Yorkshire is in the North East region (not Yorkshire & The Humber) and North East Lincolnshire is in the Yorkshire & The Humber region (not East Midlands).
• The 87 vacancies for which the region was specified but not the county were in West Midlands (48), East Midlands (24), South West (9) and Yorkshire & The Humber (6).  

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, 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 59,148 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, 6/5/2024

https://alanbullockcareers.com