Latest reflections on the situation in England

This week’s new vacancies, while modest in number, were distributed quite widely around the country. The total only scraped into three figures by the skin of its teeth, but I did have to overlook a big crop of social care vacancies in the West Midlands that I think were just a re-run of a previous batch I’d recorded back in March. That said, the West Midlands was still the busiest region with new vacancies spread from Stoke-on-Trent and Hanley at its northern end to Redditch and Worcester at the southern end

Meanwhile, although DAs were especially quiet with just 29 recorded across the whole country all week, there was an interesting mixture nonetheless. Minor highlights included another Public Health Practitioner in Grays (Essex), a Town Planner in Maidstone, a Geospatial Mapping Specialist and a UX Designer in the hub around Crawley and Gatwick, an Audiologist in Hull, an Occupational Therapist in Blackburn, a Neurophysiologist in Leeds and a brace of both Environmental Practitioners in Worksop and Birmingham and Podiatrists in Huntingdon and London. Once again there was another handful of Civil Engineering and Quantity Surveying DAs too in locations ranging from Avonmouth in the west to Hartlepool in the north east.  

As for this week’s HAs, there was another liberal sprinkling of Sales Executives, Accounts Technicians, Data Analysts, Software Developers and school-based Sports Coaches, as well as an Audioviual (AV) Technician in the pleasant rural setting of Wye in Kent. AV Technicians have been surprisingly prominent during the past twelve months and I’ve also got some nice photos in my collection taken in Wye. But it would have been unfair to overlook the West Midlands for my featured image, as the region accounted for almost a quarter of this week’s vacancy haul. Hence I’ve picked out one of my canal photos taken on the way home from a business trip to Coventry a few years ago.

Unless something unexpected happens in the next couple of weeks, then an interesting and eventful 2023/24 academic year looks like petering out with a bit of a whimper rather than ending with a bang. On the other hand, the main reason I’ve kept this project going for so long is that you never quite know what next week will bring and the careers adviser in me always has that sense of anticipation that there’s another intriguing labour market curiosity or a batch of unexpected new vacancies just around the corner.     

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 1st to 7th July I recorded:

• 29 new Degree/Professional Apprenticeship vacancies (Levels 6/7) and
• 72 new Higher Apprenticeship vacancies (Levels 4/5)
• giving a total of 101 for the week

In the 235 weeks from 1^st January 2020 to 7th July 2024 I’ve now recorded:

• 33,593 new Degree/Professional Apprenticeships (Levels 6/7) and
• 26,696 new Higher Apprenticeships (Levels 4/5)
• giving a total of 60,289

The average weekly totals across all 235 weeks have been:

• 143 DAs + 114 HAs = 257 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: 1,123 vacancies at SQF Levels 10/11
• Wales: 292 vacancies at Levels 6/7 and 199 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 last month and I hope to compile another Wales report at some stage too. Just four more GAs were added in Scotland this week along with one new HA in Wales.

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 33,593 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:

5,522 Accountancy/Tax/Audit Professionals

4,696 Police Constables 

3,312 Digital Technology Solutions: General *see below for details

1,478 Civil Engineers

1,419 Chartered Managers: General Business

1,329 Software Engineers/Developers

1,088 Project Managers: General

1,058 Chartered Quantity Surveyors

   941 Data Scientists/Analysts/Engineers

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

   665 Nuclear Engineers  

   660 Electrical & Electronic Engineers 

   630 Design & Development Engineers

   580 Manufacturing Engineers

   489 Supply Chain Professionals

   459 Building Services Design Engineers

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

   449 Banking/Financial Services/Investment Professionals   

   429 Solicitors

   402 Cyber Security Professionals

   400 Aerospace Engineers

   347 Professional Economists

   345 Digital Marketing Professionals

   334 Chartered Managers: Retail Leadership

   321 Laboratory Scientists

   315 Sales Professionals

   268 Healthcare Science Practitioners (63 Biomedical Sciences, 50 Radiotherapy Physics / Radiation Engineering, 32 Cardiac Physiology, 30 Nuclear Medicine, 24 Audiology, 22 Respiratory & Sleep Physiology, 21 Medical Engineering, 16 Neurophysiology, 5 Digital Healthcare Science, 3 Clinical Informatics, 1 Rehabilitation Engineering, 1 Renal Technology) 

   263 Environmental Practitioners

   235 Food Technologists

   218 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

   163 Operating Department Practitioners (NHS)

   162 Project Controls Professionals  

   129 Occupational Therapists

   120 Radiographers (64 Diagnostic, 56 Therapeutic)

   111 Materials Science Technologists/Engineers 

   104 Digital User Experience (UX) Designers 

     94 Social Workers

     92 Podiatrists

     88 Design & Construction Managers / Architectural Technologists

     83 Creative Digital Designers

     82 Chemical/Plant Engineers

     80 Non-Destructive Testing Engineers

     77 Chartered Managers: Hotels & Hospitality

     75 Town Planners

     72 Chartered Managers: Recruitment Specialists

     70 Building Control Surveyors

     61 Clinical Trials Specialists

     60 Environmental Health Officers

     59 Packaging Professionals 

     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 Geospatial Mapping Specialists & Land Surveyors

     39 Physiotherapists     

     36 Ordnance Munitions & Explosives Engineers

     36 Public Health Practitioners

     35 Chartered Managers: Social Change, Charities & Voluntary Sector 

     33 Architectural Assistants 

     33 Fire Safety Engineers

     31 Journalists 

     25 Aerospace Software Engineers

     24 Chartered Managers: Sports Business & Development

     22 Insurance Professionals

     22 Midwives

     20 Speech & Language Therapists

     15 Forestry Professionals

     13 Chartered Surveyors: Land Buyers

     13 Environmental Engineers

     12 Dietitians

     12 Theme Park Engineers

       9 Agricultural/Horticultural Advisers

       9 Propulsion Engineers

       9 Trading Standards Officers  

       9 Youth Workers

       8 Gas Transmission Engineers

       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, Applications 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 26,696 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 between £8 and £13K. The occupational breakdown is as follows:

2,211 Sales Executives

1,716 Accounting Technicians

1,655 Data Analysts

1,626 Software Developers 

1,597 Project Management Associates

1,343 Sports Coaches (Children & Young People)   

1,010 Nursing Associates

   803 Construction Site Supervisors

   751 Manufacturing Engineering Technicians 

   701 Quantity Surveying Technicians

   635 Network Engineers

   620 Business Analysts 

   608 Taxation Technicians

   491 Commercial Procurement & Supply Practitioners

   478 Cyber Security Technologists

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

   445 Civil/Site Engineering Technicians

   443 Software Testers

   432 Electrical & Electronic Technician Engineers  

   431 Public Relations & Communications Assistants

   371 Building Services Engineering Technicians

   364 Investment Operations Specialists

   342 Insurance Practitioners  

   329 Buying & Merchandising Assistants

   312 Junior Management Consultants

   275 Technician Scientists

   274 Retail Managers

   272 Marketing Executives

   271 DevOps Engineers

   267 Healthcare Associate Practitioners (150 Reablement, 69 Multidisciplinary, 14 Radiography, 9 Mammography, 6 Podiatry, 5 Speech Therapy, 3 Continuing Healthcare, 3 Intensive Care, 2 Dietetic Speech & Language,  2 Rehabilitation, 1 Critical Care, 1 Maternity, 1 Occupational Therapy, 1 Pre-Treatment Radiotherapy)

   262 Construction Design & Build / Architectural Technicians

   240 Associate Ambulance Practitioners / Paramedics

   219 Early Years Lead Practitioners

   209 Regulatory Compliance Officers

   202 Policy Practitioners

   195 Police Community Support Officers

   185 Healthcare Science Associates/Technicians (64 Audiology & Hearing Aid Dispensing, 44 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 People Professionals / HR Specialists

   160 Railway Engineering Technicians  

   147 Food Production Technicians & Process Leaders

   145 Quality Assurance Practitioners/Engineers

   143 Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability Practitioners

   129 Nuclear Technicians

   127 Air Traffic Controllers  

   125 Propulsion Technicians (Automotive/Aerospace)

   118 Hospitality Managers

   111 Intelligence Analysts

     99 Vehicle Damage Assessors

     97 Internal Audit Practitioners

     92 Actuarial Technicians    

     90 Journalists

     88 Audiovisual Technicians

     79 Applications Support Leads

     78 Financial Advisers/Paraplanners   

     76 Brewers      

     75 Recruitment Consultants

     74 Automation & Controls Engineering Technicians

     66 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   

     48 Building Energy Management Systems (BEMS) Engineers

     46 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

     29 Estate Agency Sales Negotiators

     25 Engineer Surveyors

     22 Land Referencers 

     20 Acoustics Technicians

     20 Digital Accessibility Specialists   

     18 Data Protection & Information Governance Officers

     18 Digital Community Managers

     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 Data Engineers

       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 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 60,289 higher and degree apprenticeships advertised in England since January 2020 have been distributed as follows:

• Greater London (13,371)
• Yorkshire (5,382)
• West Midlands (3,854)
• Greater Manchester (3,331)
• Bristol & Gloucestershire (2,946)
• Hampshire (2,159)
• Berkshire (1,980)
• Surrey (1,390)
• Hertfordshire (1,383)
• Cheshire (1,297)
• Tyne & Wear (1,274)
• Cambridgeshire (1,170)
• Nottinghamshire (1,136)
• Derbyshire (1,125)
• Cumbria (1,116)
• Sussex (1,097)
• Merseyside (1,020)
• Lancashire (988)
• Essex (971)
• Devon (928)
• Warwickshire (919)
• Suffolk (879)
• Buckinghamshire (853)
• Somerset & South Bristol (818)
• Kent (791)
• Dorset (757)
• Leicestershire (737)
• Oxfordshire (735)
• Wiltshire (732)
• Bedfordshire (711)
• Staffordshire (690)
• County Durham (570)
• Northamptonshire (489)
• Lincolnshire (442)
• Cornwall (434)
• Norfolk (433)
• Worcestershire (420)
• Shropshire (380)
• 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:

• 13,371   London (1,078,600: 12.40)
•   6,624   South West (645,800: 10.26)
•   6,383   West Midlands (720,900: 8.85)
•   7,752   North West (884,600: 8.76) 
•   9,087   South East (1,040,500: 8.73)
•   5,542   East of England (685,300: 8.09)
•   5,403   Yorkshire & The Humber (670,800: 8.05)
•   3,865   East Midlands (593,700: 6.51)  
•   2,023   North East (313,000: 6.46)
•      105   Remote or flexible
•      134   Unspecified region

• 60,289   Total England (6,633,200: 9.09)

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 alive for a bit longer. I’ll be taking a break from posting updates during some of the summer vacation period, but all being well I’ll resume with the latest data at the start of A Level results week.     

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. I only record vacancies that are posted by or on behalf of specific, named employers.

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 60,289 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, 7/7/2024

https://alanbullockcareers.com