Latest reflections on the situation in England

In the end Week 233 turned out to be something of a paradox. Reaching 60,000 vacancies in England is a milestone worthy of some mild celebration and I’ll be cracking open a bottle of 0% Shiraz tonight. But otherwise it was a rather damp squib of a week in which the total number of new DA and HA vacancies I recorded in England didn’t even reach 100, which is quite rare. Whether this is the sign of a possible slowdown or just a blip remains to be seen.  

Nonetheless there were some minor highlights, my personal favourites being a Counter Fraud Investigator HA in Ipswich and an NHS Data Scientist DA in Truro. There were a couple of small gems in North Wales and County Londonderry too, which are briefly mentioned in my section below on the other devolved nations.

Meanwhile, the Construction sector accounted for exactly 25% of the week’s new vacancies and, when I reflect back on the four years in which I’ve been building up my data, the strong and consistent performance by this sector has been a major feature. In particular Civil Engineering, Quantity Surveying and Building Services Engineering have performed strongly at both DA and HA level, while Site Supervisor HAs are also consistently prominent. In addition, Surveying professionals in general are a major player in my DA rankings and I often wonder if Surveying gets the exposure it warrants as a possible option for sixth form and college leavers.

Yet again there was also a liberal sprinkling of healthcare vacancies across a random range of specialisms that included HAs in Hearing Aid Audiology, Genetics Technology, Mammography, Radiology and Pre-Treatment Radiotherapy alongside DAs in Biomedical Science, Podiatry, Diagnostic Radiography and Physiotherapy, the latter in the picturesque Gloucestershire setting of Bourton-on-the-Water. However, there’s another paradox at play when it comes to healthcare professions. On the one hand they’re well-represented in my DA listings, with Nursing quite near the top and others liberally spread as you read down the list. But the actual numbers are relatively low in relation to potential demand and, as I frequently mention, the NHS vacancies I do include often stretch my criteria to the limit in terms of being a genuine option for a school or college-leaver without some substantial work, voluntary or care experience. In that respect it’s certainly not a level playing field when it comes to deciding between full time uni or a degree apprenticeship.  

In fact, reflecting on the 60,000 vacancies in general reinforces my conviction that sixth form and college leavers are not faced with a simple choice between going to uni or getting an apprenticeship, as is sometimes implied in the media. The numbers simply don’t stack up and there are all sorts of other factors, subtleties and grey areas involved too, as briefly covered in my Footnotes section below. And as my Careers Writers Association colleague Chris Webb sometimes mentions in his brilliant ‘The Week in #Careers’ newsletters, it’s not simply a binary choice between uni and apprenticeships either. The range of options and factors involved are more complex than that, which is one of the many reasons why qualified career development professionals have such a vital role to play. I would say that wouldn’t I, but it’s true.           

Whilst in the reflective frame of mind brought on by the 60,000 vacancies milestone, I thought it might also be worth mentioning one of the private clients I’ve worked with this year who has successfully applied for degree apprenticeships during a gap year in which she’s also been working part-time, volunteering and re-sitting an A-level. In her particular case, applying in her gap year rather than in Year 13 has probably been very much to her advantage and it’s another factor that students and advisers might want to weigh up when considering post-18 options.       

Finally. as there were no outstanding hotspots this week, I’ve selected one of my more generic photos for my featured image as the sun sets on 60,000 vacancies.

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 17^th to 23^rd June I recorded:

• 40 new Degree/Professional Apprenticeship vacancies (Levels 6/7) and
• 52 new Higher Apprenticeship vacancies (Levels 4/5)
• giving a total of 92 for the week

In the 233 weeks from 1^st January 2020 to 23^rd June 2024 I’ve now recorded:

• 33,521 new Degree/Professional Apprenticeships (Levels 6/7) and
• 26,542 new Higher Apprenticeships (Levels 4/5)
• giving a total of 60,063

The average weekly totals across all 233 weeks have been:

• 144 DAs + 114 HAs = 258 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: 1,109 vacancies at SQF Levels 10/11
• Wales: 292 vacancies at Levels 6/7 and 198 at Levels 4/5
• Northern Ireland: 173 vacancies at Levels 6/7 and 41 at Levels 4/5

My latest two-year Scotland report was published on my blog earlier this month, while this week I just added one more GA in Scotland, plus one HA in Civil Engineering with Hochtief Construction in the small North Wales coastal community of Penrhyndeudraeth and an HA in Digital Marketing at the Seamus Heaney Centre in the village of Bellaghy in County Londonderry, both of them on quite attractive starting salaries too. I still hope to compile another Wales report at some stage and to write something up on Northern Ireland as well, although in both cases my data still isn’t quite as reliable as I would like.

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 33,521 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:

5,520 Accountancy/Tax/Audit Professionals

4,696 Police Constables 

3,309 Digital Technology Solutions: General *see below for details

1,473 Civil Engineers

1,416 Chartered Managers: General Business

1,329 Software Engineers/Developers

1,088 Project Managers: General

1,051 Chartered Quantity Surveyors

   939 Data Scientists/Analysts/Engineers

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

   665 Nuclear Engineers  

   655 Electrical & Electronic Engineers 

   629 Design & Development Engineers

   579 Manufacturing Engineers

   489 Supply Chain Professionals

   458 Building Services Design Engineers

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

   449 Banking/Financial Services/Investment Professionals   

   429 Solicitors

   401 Cyber Security Professionals

   400 Aerospace Engineers

   347 Professional Economists

   343 Digital Marketing Professionals

   334 Chartered Managers: Retail Leadership

   318 Laboratory Scientists

   314 Sales Professionals

   265 Healthcare Science Practitioners (63 Biomedical Sciences, 32 Cardiac Physiology, 31 Radiation Physics, 30 Nuclear Medicine, 23 Audiology, 22 Respiratory & Sleep Physiology, 21 Medical Engineering, 17 Radiation Engineering, 15 Neurophysiology, 5 Digital Healthcare Science, 3 Clinical Informatics, 1 Diagnostic Radiology, 1 Rehabilitation Engineering, 1 Renal Technology) 

   261 Environmental Practitioners

   235 Food Technologists

   217 Electromechanical Engineers

   215 Chartered Building Surveyors

   197 Railway & Rail Systems Engineers

   186 Construction Site Managers

   167 Food/Drink Manufacturing & Production Managers  

   165 Control Technical Support & Control Systems Engineers  

   162 Project Controls Professionals

   159 Operating Department Practitioners (NHS)

   127 Occupational Therapists

   120 Radiographers (64 Diagnostic, 56 Therapeutic)

   109 Materials Science Technologists/Engineers 

   103 Digital User Experience (UX) Designers 

     94 Social Workers

     90 Podiatrists

     84 Design & Construction Managers / Architectural Technologists

     83 Creative Digital Designers

     82 Chemical/Plant Engineers

     80 Non-Destructive Testing Engineers

     77 Chartered Managers: Hotels & Hospitality

     74 Town Planners

     72 Chartered Managers: Recruitment

     70 Building Control Surveyors

     61 Clinical Trials Specialists

     59 Packaging Professionals 

     57 Environmental Health Officers

     54 Chartered Rural Surveyors (Land Agents)

     53 Broadcast/Communication/Media Systems Engineers

     48 Marine/Submarine Engineers

     45 Social Researchers

     44 Human Resources & People Professionals

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

     40 Marketing/Brand Managers

     40 Transport Planners

     39 Physiotherapists     

     38 Geospatial/Land Surveyors

     36 Ordnance Munitions & Explosives Engineers

     34 Chartered Managers: Social Change, Charities & Voluntary Sector 

     34 Public Health Practitioners

     33 Architectural Assistants 

     33 Fire Safety Engineers

     31 Journalists 

     25 Aerospace Software Engineers

     23 Chartered Managers: Sports Business & Development

     22 Insurance Professionals

     22 Midwives

     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

       9 Youth Workers

       8 Gas Transmission Engineers

       8 Trading Standards Officers  

       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 26,542 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:

2,183 Sales Executives

1,699 Accounting Technicians

1,640 Data Analysts

1,611 Software Developers 

1,596 Project Management Associates

1,331 Sports Coaches (Children & Young People)   

1,007 Nursing Associates

   802 Construction Site Supervisors

   743 Manufacturing Engineering Technicians 

   699 Quantity Surveying Technicians

   632 Network Engineers

   619 Business Analysts 

   608 Taxation Technicians

   489 Commercial Procurement & Supply Practitioners

   478 Cyber Security Technologists

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

   443 Software Testers

   441 Civil/Site Engineering Technicians

   430 Electrical & Electronic Technician Engineers  

   429 Public Relations & Communications Assistants

   369 Building Services Engineering Technicians

   364 Investment Operations Specialists

   342 Insurance Practitioners  

   328 Buying & Merchandising Assistants

   312 Junior Management Consultants

   275 Technician Scientists

   274 Retail Managers

   272 Marketing Executives

   270 DevOps Engineers

   266 Healthcare Associate Practitioners (150 Reablement, 69 Multidisciplinary, 13 Diagnostic Imaging / Radiology, 9 Mammography, 6 Podiatry, 5 Speech Therapy, 3 Continuing Healthcare, 3 Intensive Care, 2 Dietetic Speech & Language,  2 Rehabilitation, 1 Critical Care, 1 Maternity Support, 1 Occupational Therapy, 1 Pre-Treatment Radiotherapy)

   261 Construction Design & Build / Architectural Technicians

   240 Associate Ambulance Practitioners / Paramedics

   219 Early Years Lead Practitioners

   208 Regulatory Compliance Officers

   202 Policy Practitioners

   195 Police Community Support Officers

   183 Healthcare Science Associates/Technicians (64 Audiology & Hearing Aid Dispensing, 42 Medical Engineering, 36 Respiratory Physiology, 23 Genetics Technology, 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 

   160 Railway Engineering Technicians

   159 People Professionals / HR Specialists

   147 Food Production Technicians & Process Leaders

   145 Quality Assurance Practitioners/Engineers

   142 Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability Practitioners

   129 Nuclear Technicians

   125 Propulsion Technicians (Automotive/Aerospace)

   118 Hospitality Managers

   117 Air Traffic Controllers (mainly RAF) 

   111 Intelligence Analysts

     98 Vehicle Damage Assessors

     96 Internal Audit Practitioners

     92 Actuarial Technicians    

     90 Journalists

     86 Audiovisual Technicians

     78 Applications Support Leads

     78 Financial Advisers/Paraplanners   

     76 Brewers      

     75 Recruitment Consultants

     73 Automation & Controls Engineering Technicians

     65 Business Operations Managers 

     60 Market Research Executives

     60 Revenues & Welfare Benefits Officers

     55 Information Managers 

     54 Business Improvement Practitioners

     54 Dairy Technologists

     54 Learning & Skills Practitioners/Mentors   

     45 Building Energy Management Systems (BEMS) Engineers

     45 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

     32 Countryside Rangers

     28 Estate Agency Sales Negotiators

     25 Engineer Surveyors

     22 Land Referencers 

     20 Acoustics Technicians

     20 Digital Accessibility Specialists   

     18 Digital Community Managers

     16 Data Protection Officers

     15 Facilities Managers

     15 Fibre Cable Engineers

     15 Smart Energy Engineers

     13 Football Coaches

     13 Gymnastics 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 Historic Environment Advice / Archaeological Assistants

     10 Aviation Operations Managers

     10 Counter Fraud Investigators

     10 Employability Practitioners

     10 Town Planning Technicians 

       9 Antisocial Behaviour & Community Safety Officers

       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 Culinary Chefs

       4 Music Recording Technicians

       4 Padel Coaches

       4 Space Engineering Technicians

       4 Tax Technology Technicians

       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 60,063 higher and degree apprenticeships advertised in England since January 2020 have been distributed as follows:

• Greater London (13,341)
• Yorkshire (5,364)
• West Midlands (3,838)
• Greater Manchester (3,321)
• Bristol & Gloucestershire (2,941)
• Hampshire (2,135)
• Berkshire (1,975)
• Surrey (1,382)
• Hertfordshire (1,373)
• Cheshire (1,294)
• Tyne & Wear (1,264)
• Cambridgeshire (1,168)
• Nottinghamshire (1,132)
• Derbyshire (1,122)
• Cumbria (1,116)
• Sussex (1,084)
• Merseyside (1,019)
• Lancashire (983)
• Essex (968)
• Devon (926)
• Warwickshire (917)
• Suffolk (879)
• Buckinghamshire (850)
• Somerset & South Bristol (815)
• Kent (789)
• Dorset (756)
• Leicestershire (735)
• Oxfordshire (731)
• Wiltshire (730)
• Bedfordshire (707)
• Staffordshire (680)
• County Durham (567)
• Northamptonshire (482)
• Lincolnshire (440)
• Norfolk (433)
• Cornwall (432)
• Worcestershire (415)
• Shropshire (379)
• Northumberland (87)
• Isle of Wight (82)
• Herefordshire (66)
• 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:

• 13,341   London (1,078,600: 12.37)
•   6,609   South West (645,800: 10.23)
•   6,349   West Midlands (720,900: 8.81)
•   7,733   North West (884,600: 8.74) 
•   9,028   South East (1,040,500: 8.68)
•   5,523   East of England (685,300: 8.06)
•   5,383   Yorkshire & The Humber (670,800: 8.02)
•   3,848   East Midlands (593,700: 6.48)  
•   2,010   North East (313,000: 6.42)
•      105   Remote or flexible
•      134   Unspecified region

• 60,063   Total England (6,633,200: 9.05)

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

Although it can’t go on for ever, I hope to keep the project going in the coming weeks and maybe months in one form or another.    

Footnote: How the data has been collected plus some general observations   

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 60,063 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, 23/6/2024

https://alanbullockcareers.com