Latest reflections on the situation in England

Sales Executives, Marketing Executives and Software Developers were the most prominent occupations this week, while regionally Staffordshire and Berkshire were the busiest counties outside London. During the past fortnight Stockton-on-Tees has also popped up several times with a selection of vacancies posted by the local borough council.    

While there was a steady flow of new HAs throughout the week it was a bit quieter for new DAs, especially after filtering out existing vacancies that were just being reposted. One highlight that did stand out though was a further six Healthcare Science Practitioner DAs in Respiratory & Sleep Physiology, Nuclear Medicine, Radiation Physics, Medical Engineering and two in Audiology at locations ranging from Newcastle to Lymington. Audiology in particular seems to be something of a growth area, albeit modest in total numbers, and as an occasional user of my local hearing centre I’ve made it the theme of this week’s featured image. It’s a bit different from my usual fare.

One other development this week saw Nursing Associate DAs reach exactly 1,000. I do find it intriguing to observe how the various healthcare occupations are evolving in terms of vacancy numbers.

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 26^th May to 2^nd June I recorded:

• 38 new Degree/Professional Apprenticeship vacancies (Levels 6/7) and
• 100 new Higher Apprenticeship vacancies (Levels 4/5)
• giving a total of 138 for the week

In the 230 weeks from 1^st January 2020 to 2^nd June 2024 I’ve now recorded:

• 33,332 new Degree/Professional Apprenticeships (Levels 6/7) and
• 26,269 new Higher Apprenticeships (Levels 4/5)
• giving a total of 59,601

The average weekly totals across all 230 weeks have been:

• 145 DAs + 114 HAs = 259 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: 1,100 vacancies at SQF Levels 10/11
• Wales: 289 vacancies at Levels 6/7 and 197 at Levels 4/5
• Northern Ireland: 173 vacancies at Levels 6/7 and 34 at Levels 4/5

I hope to publish a two-year Scotland update shortly and a Wales update if and when time permits.   

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 33,332 new vacancies spread across 111 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:

5,516 Accountancy/Tax/Audit Professionals

4,696 Police Constables 

3,307 Digital Technology Solutions: General *see below for details

1,458 Civil Engineers

1,413 Chartered Managers: General Business

1,326 Software Engineers/Developers

1,084 Project Managers: General

1,041 Chartered Quantity Surveyors

   938 Data Scientists/Analysts/Engineers

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

   665 Nuclear Engineers  

   653 Electrical & Electronic Engineers 

   625 Design & Development Engineers

   577 Manufacturing Engineers

   488 Supply Chain Professionals

   449 Banking/Financial Services/Investment Professionals

   449 Building Services Design Engineers

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

   426 Solicitors  

   400 Aerospace Engineers

   400 Cyber Security Professionals

   347 Professional Economists

   340 Digital Marketing Professionals

   313 Laboratory Scientists

   312 Sales Professionals

   268 Chartered Managers: Retail Leadership

   261 Healthcare Science Practitioners (62 Biomedical Sciences, 31 Cardiac Physiology, 31 Radiation Physics, 29 Nuclear Medicine, 23 Audiology, 21 Medical Engineering, 21 Respiratory & Sleep Physiology, 17 Radiation Engineering, 15 Neurophysiology, 5 Digital Healthcare Science, 3 Clinical Informatics, 1 Diagnostic Radiology, 1 Rehabilitation Engineering, 1 Renal Technology) 

   259 Environmental Practitioners

   223 Food Technologists

   214 Electromechanical Engineers

   213 Chartered Building Surveyors

   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

   159 Operating Department Practitioners (NHS)

   127 Occupational Therapists

   119 Radiographers (63 Diagnostic, 56 Therapeutic)

   109 Materials Science Technologists/Engineers 

   102 Digital User Experience (UX) Designers 

     94 Social Workers

     89 Podiatrists

     84 Design & Construction Managers / Architectural Technologists

     82 Chemical/Plant Engineers

     80 Creative Digital Designers

     80 Non-Destructive Testing Engineers

     77 Chartered Managers: Hotels & Hospitality

     74 Town Planners

     71 Chartered Managers: Recruitment

     68 Building Control Surveyors

     61 Clinical Trials Specialists

     59 Packaging Professionals 

     56 Environmental Health Officers

     53 Broadcast/Communication/Media Systems Engineers

     53 Chartered Rural Surveyors (Land Agents)

     48 Marine/Submarine Engineers

     45 Social Researchers

     44 Human Resources & People Professionals

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

     40 Transport Planners

     38 Marketing/Brand Managers

     37 Chartered Geospatial/Land Surveyors

     37 Physiotherapists     

     36 Ordnance Munitions & Explosives Engineers

     34 Chartered Managers: Social Change, Charities & Voluntary Sector 

     33 Architectural Assistants 

     33 Fire Safety Engineers

     33 Public Health Practitioners

     31 Journalists 

     25 Aerospace Software Engineers

     22 Insurance Professionals

     22 Midwives

     20 Chartered Managers: Sports Business & Development

     20 Speech & Language Therapists

     15 Forestry Professionals

     13 Environmental Engineers

     12 Dietitians

     12 Theme Park Engineers

       9 Agricultural/Horticultural Advisers

       9 Chartered Surveyors: Land Buyers

       9 Propulsion Engineers

       8 Gas Transmission Engineers

       8 Trading Standards Officers  

       8 Youth Workers

       7 Chartered Managers: Buying & Procurement

       6 Actuarial Professionals     

       6 Chartered Legal Executives   

       5 Chartered Managers: Fitness & Leisure Centres

       5 Operations Analysts

       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 120 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, Controls Engineer, Control Systems Engineer, Automation 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
• Digital Development Officer, Public Health Intelligence Officer
• IT/Computing Technician, Second Line Support Technician
• User Experience Researcher, Content Strategist, Digital Social Media Executive

Higher Apprenticeships (Levels 4/5):

In total there have been 26,269 new vacancies spread across 155 occupational areas and starting salaries have ranged from £5,002 to £40,300pa. The average is around £17K to £18K, except for Sports Coaches which are usually around £10K or lower. The occupational breakdown is as follows:

2,175 Sales Executives

1,688 Accounting Technicians

1,632 Data Analysts

1,608 Software Developers 

1,593 Project Management Associates

1,271 Sports Coaches (Children & Young People)   

1,000 Nursing Associates

   791 Construction Site Supervisors

   736 Manufacturing Engineering Technicians 

   686 Quantity Surveying Technicians

   627 Network Engineers

   608 Business Analysts 

   606 Taxation Technicians

   485 Commercial Procurement & Supply Practitioners

   478 Cyber Security Technologists

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

   443 Software Testers

   440 Civil/Site Engineering Technicians

   430 Electrical & Electronic Technician Engineers  

   426 Public Relations & Communications Assistants

   364 Building Services Engineering Technicians

   364 Investment Operations Specialists

   342 Insurance Practitioners  

   325 Buying & Merchandising Assistants

   311 Junior Management Consultants

   271 Retail Managers

   270 Marketing Executives

   270 Technician Scientists

   268 DevOps Engineers

   262 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 Critical Care, 1 Maternity Support, 1 Occupational Therapy, 1 Stroke Rehabilitation)

   250 Construction Design & Build / Architectural Technicians

   240 Associate Ambulance Practitioners / Paramedics

   216 Early Years Lead Practitioners

   205 Regulatory Compliance Officers

   202 Policy Practitioners

   195 Police Community Support Officers

   176 Healthcare Science Associates/Technicians (61 Audiology & Hearing Aid Dispensing, 42 Medical Engineering, 21 Genetics Technology, 20 Cardiac & Respiratory Physiology, 14 Sleep & Respiratory Physiology, 4 Clinical Chemistry, 4 Tissue Retrieval, 2 Medical Physics, 2 Phlebotomy, 2 Rehabilitation Engineering, 1 Biomedicine, 1 Neurophysiology, 1 Nuclear Medicine, 1 Orthoptics)

   175 Mineral Products Technicians 

   159 Railway Engineering Technicians

   158 People Professionals / HR Specialists

   147 Food Production Technicians & Process Leaders

   145 Quality Assurance Practitioners/Engineers

   139 Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability Practitioners

   129 Nuclear Technicians

   122 Propulsion Technicians (Automotive/Aerospace)

   117 Air Traffic Controllers (mainly RAF)   

   117 Hospitality Managers

     96 Vehicle Damage Assessors

     94 Internal Audit Practitioners

     92 Actuarial Technicians    

     91 Intelligence Analysts

     90 Journalists

     77 Applications Support Leads

     76 Audiovisual Technicians

     76 Financial Advisers/Paraplanners   

     75 Brewers      

     75 Recruitment Consultants

     71 Automation & Controls Engineering Technicians

     65 Business Operations Managers 

     60 Revenues & Welfare Benefits Officers

     57 Market Research Executives

     55 Information Managers 

     54 Dairy Technologists

     54 Learning & Skills Practitioners/Mentors   

     53 Business Improvement Practitioners

     45 Building Energy Management Systems (BEMS) Engineers

     43 Engineering Maintenance Technicians

     43 TV/Media Production Co-ordinators

     41 Housing/Property/Lettings Managers

     41 Ordnance Munitions & Explosives Technicians

     36 Paralegals

     33 Aircraft Engineering Technicians

     31 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 Data Protection Officers

     15 Facilities Managers

     15 Fibre Cable Engineers

     15 Smart Energy Engineers

     13 Football Coaches

     12 Broadcast & Media Systems Technicians

     12 Hygiene Specialists

     12 Passenger Transport Operations Managers

     11 Film/TV Post-Production Technical Operators

     11 Governance Officers

     11 Gymnastics Coaches

     11 Historic Environment Advice / Archaeological Assistants

     10 Aviation Operations Managers

     10 Employability Practitioners

     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 Digital Learning Designers

       6 Music Teachers

       6 Outdoor Learning Specialists

       5 Broadcasting Technical Operators

       5 Unified Communications Troubleshooters

       5 Visual Merchandisers

       4 Aircraft Certifying Technicians

       4 Arboriculturists / Tree Officers

       4 Music Recording Technicians

       4 Padel Coaches

       4 Space Engineering Technicians

       4 Tax Technology Technicians

       3 Culinary Chefs

       3 Fashion & Textiles Technologists

       3 Junior Animators     

       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 Health Play Specialist      

       2 Horticultural/Landscaping Technicians

       2 Lifting Equipment Operations Engineers  

       2 Marine Pilots

       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 Data Engineer

       1 Fitness Club Manager

       1 Fitness Instructor

       1 Goalkeeping Coach

       1 Health Informatics Specialist

       1 Hotel Reception Manager

       1 Lighting Designer

       1 Metrology Technician

       1 Proposals Co-ordinator      

       1 Scientific Instrument Maker

       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 59,601 higher and degree apprenticeships advertised in England since January 2020 have been distributed as follows:

• Greater London (13,277)
• Yorkshire (5,328)
• West Midlands (3,821)
• Greater Manchester (3,301)
• Bristol & Gloucestershire (2,925)
• Hampshire (2,101)
• Berkshire (1,964)
• Surrey (1,371)
• Hertfordshire (1,364)
• Cheshire (1,289)
• Tyne & Wear (1,248)
• Cambridgeshire (1,158)
• Nottinghamshire (1,128)
• Derbyshire (1,115)
• Cumbria (1,112)
• Sussex (1,074)
• Merseyside (1,017)
• Lancashire (978)
• Essex (956)
• Devon (915)
• Warwickshire (905)
• Suffolk (871)
• Buckinghamshire (831)
• Somerset & South Bristol (799)
• Kent (781)
• Dorset (749)
• Leicestershire (729)
• Oxfordshire (726)
• Wiltshire (708)
• Bedfordshire (694)
• Staffordshire (673)
• County Durham (560)
• Northamptonshire (478)
• Lincolnshire (439)
• Norfolk (429)
• Cornwall (424)
• Worcestershire (410)
• Shropshire (377)
• Northumberland (85)
• 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:

• 13,277   London (1,078,600: 12.31)
•   6,529   South West (645,800: 10.11)
•   6,304   West Midlands (720,900: 8.74)
•   7,697   North West (884,600: 8.70) 
•   8,930   South East (1,040,500: 8.58)
•   5,472   East of England (685,300: 7.98)
•   5,352   Yorkshire & The Humber (670,800: 7.98)
•   3,821   East Midlands (593,700: 6.44)  
•   1,980   North East (313,000: 6.33)
•      105   Remote or flexible
•      134   Unspecified region

• 59,601   Total England (6,633,200: 8.99)

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. However, for medical reasons my reports may be less frequent during the next few weeks.   

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 59,601 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, 2/6/2024

https://alanbullockcareers.com