Analysis of Graduate Apprenticeships in Scotland – September 2024 update

Background

This report gives a statistical summary of Level 10 Graduate Apprenticeship (GA) vacancies posted in Scotland during the 27-month period between 1^st June 2022 (when I first started recording them) and 31^st August 2024. The data also includes degree and professional apprenticeship vacancies with UK-wide employers who have posted opportunities at locations in Scotland during the same period. Hence, the aim is to present an overall picture of the range and quantity of graduate level apprenticeships that have been open to students seeking an alternative to full-tine university study.

The tables below show the occupations that have been available and how they’ve been distributed regionally. Degree partners, minimum entry grades and starting salaries are also analysed and I’ve added an extended list of all the employers who have posted multiple vacancies during the period covered.

As demonstrated in the ‘Analysis by minimum entry requirements’ section below, most GAs require four Highers at specific minimum grades, with the most frequently quoted being BBBB. Meanwhile some of the UK-wide employers express their entry requirements in UCAS points and in some cases may require five Highers or study at Advanced Higher level.

My reports also include a summary of the process I use and how it all started, which can be found in the ‘Footnotes’ section at the bottom of the page.

My featured image is a photo I took in Edinburgh a few years ago. I just like the splash of colour in it.

Headline data

During the period from 1^st June 2022 to 31^st August 2024 I’ve now recorded:

1,185 new apprenticeship vacancies in Scotland at SCQF Level 10/11 or equivalent that would be open to students leaving school/college after completing Scottish Highers or similar qualifications.

Analysis by occupation

The 1,185 vacancies are broken down into what I loosely define as ‘occupational areas’, which in some cases differ from official terminology. Since 1^st June 2022 the complete list of occupational areas is given below, and I think it provides a useful insight into what the prominent and emerging careers are in an evolving career landscape.

265 Accountants / Audit Professionals

141 Software Engineers/Developers

104 Design & Manufacturing Engineers

87 Civil Engineers

76 Quantity Surveyors

74 Tax Professionals

65 Business Managers/Consultants

43 Data Scientists

39 IT Business Managers (ITMB)

36 Construction Site Managers

28 Cyber Security Professionals

26 Digital Technology Professionals (general)

23 Construction Project Managers

16 Electrical Engineers

16 General Practice Surveyors

15 Banking & Financial Services Professionals

15 Building Services Design Engineers

14 Business Managers (Hospitality)

11 Building Surveyors

10 Instrumentation Measurement & Control Engineers

9 Retail Leaders

8 Project Managers (general)

6 Architectural / Design & Construction Engineers

6 Combat Systems Engineers

4 Electronic Engineers

4 Estimators

4 Ordnance Munitions & Explosives Engineers

3 Broadcasting & Media Systems Engineers

3 Building Energy Management Systems (BEMS) Engineers

3 Early Learning & Childcare Professionals

3 Project Controls Professionals

3 Supply Chain Professionals

2 Bid & Proposal Writers/Co-ordinators

2 Building Standards Surveyors

2 Business Development / Sales Professionals

2 Construction Site Engineers

2 Digital User Experience (UX) Designers

2 Food Manufacturing & Production Managers

2 Food Technologists

2 Journalists

2 Nuclear Engineers

1 Business Analyst

1 Events Co-ordinator

1 Human Resources Manager

1 Laboratory Scientist (Chemistry)

1 Logistics Support Engineer

1 Net Zero Carbon & Sustainability Engineer

1 Technical Publications Designer

Analysis by town/city

In terms of location, the 1,185 apprenticeships advertised in Scotland during this period have been distributed as follows (with council area in brackets):

456 Glasgow (Glasgow City)
260 Edinburgh (City of Edinburgh)
98 Aberdeen (Aberdeen City)
32 Inverness (Highland)
24 Perth (Perth & Kinross)
22 Livingston (West Lothian)
14 Dundee (Dundee City)
13 Cumbernauld (North Lanarkshire)
13 Glenrothes (Fife)
13 Irvine (North Ayrshire)
13 Paisley (Renfrewshire)
12 Newbridge (City of Edinburgh)
11 Lerwick (Shetland Islands)
11 Motherwell (North Lanarkshire)
11 Nationwide
10 Dunfermline (Fife)
10 Helensburgh (Argyll & Bute)
9 Tweedbank (Scottish Borders)
7 Bellshill (North Lanarkshire)
7 Cambuslang (South Lanarkshire)
6 Stevenston (North Ayrshire)
6 Stirling (Stirling)
5 Bridge of Weir (Renfrewshire)
5 Leven (Fife)
4 Bonnyrigg (Midlothian)
4 Coatbridge (North Lanarkshire)
4 Coulport (Argyll & Bute)
4 Cumnock (East Ayrshire)
4 Dalgety Bay (Fife)
4 Inverkeithing (Fife)
4 Kelso (Scottish Borders)
4 Kirkwall (Orkney Islands)
4 Strathaven (South Lanarkshire)
4 Turriff (Aberdeenshire)
4 Westhill (Aberdeenshire)
3 Currie (City of Edinburgh)
3 Grangemouth (Falkirk)
3 Hamilton (South Lanarkshire)
3 Peterhead (Aberdeenshire)
3 Rosyth (Fife)
3 Uddingston (South Lanarkshire)
2 Auchterarder (Perth & Kinross)
2 Bathgate (West Lothian)
2 Castle Douglas (Dumfries & Galloway)
2 Crieff (Perth & Kinross)
2 Dalkeith (Midlothian)
2 Falkirk (Falkirk)
2 Hunterston (North Ayrshire)
2 Linlithgow (West Lothian)
2 Montrose (Angus)
2 St Andrews (Fife)
2 Tannochide (North Lanarkshire)
2 Thurso (Highland)
1 Arbroath (Angus)
1 Ayr (South Ayrshire)
1 Beith (North Ayrshire)
1 Brechin (Angus)
1 Cupar (Fife)
1 Dingwall (Highland)
1 Dounreay (Highland)
1 Dumbarton (West Dunbartonshire)
1 Earlston (Scottish Borders)
1 Elgin (Moray)
1 Fort William (Highland)
1 Golspie (Highland)
1 Greenock (Inverclyde)
1 Hawick (Scottish Borders)
1 Hillington (Glasgow City)
1 Holytown (North Lanarkshire)
1 Inchinnan (Renfrewshire)
1 Kintore (Aberdeenshire)
1 Kyle of Lochalsh (Highland)
1 Loanhead (Midlothian)
1 Lochgilphead (Argyll & Bute)
1 Milngavie (East Dunbartonshire)
1 Musselburgh (East Lothian)
1 Oban (Argyll & Bute)
1 Portree (Highland)
1 Prestwick (South Ayrshire)
1 Sauchen (Aberdeenshire)
1 South Queensferry (City of Edinburgh)
1 Torness Point (East Lothian)
1 Wick (Highland)
1 Remote-working

Analysis by council area

This list breaks down the same data by council area:

457 Glasgow City
276 City of Edinburgh
98 Aberdeen City
42 Fife
41 Highland
38 North Lanarkshire
28 Perth & Kinross
26 West Lothian
22 North Ayrshire
19 Renfrewshire
17 South Lanarkshire
16 Argyll & Bute
15 Scottish Borders
14 Dundee City
13 Aberdeenshire
11 Shetland Islands
11 Nationwide
7 Midlothian
6 Stirling
5 Falkirk
4 Angus
4 East Ayrshire
4 Orkney Islands
2 Dumfries & Galloway
2 East Lothian
2 South Ayrshire
1 East Dunbartonshire
1 Inverclyde
1 Moray
1 West Dunbartonshire
1 Remote-working
0 Clackmannanshire
0 East Renfrewshire
0 Outer Hebrides

Analysis by university partners

This is a list of universities or other education/training providers who have partnered with employers in the delivery of the apprenticeships listed above, where this was known:

208 Glasgow Caledonian
178 Strathclyde
134 Heriot-Watt
117 Edinburgh Napier
67 Robert Gordon
47 BPP
25 Glasgow
20 West of Scotland
12 Dundee
10 Highlands & Islands
5 Stirling
4 Trinity St David (Swansea)
2 Babington
2 National College for Nuclear (Somerset)
2 Sheffield Hallam
2 Teesside
1 Coventry
1 Cumbria
1 Manchester Metropolitan
1 University College of Estate Management
1 West of England (Bristol)

Analysis by minimum entry requirements

This is a simplified list of stated minimum entry requirements (where known), expressed as either Scottish Higher grades or UCAS points, and the number of apprenticeship vacancies requiring them:

416 BBBB
105 BBCC
102 104 points
73 BBBC
68 120 points
40 ABBB
38 112 points
25 AAAB
22 CCCC
20 96 points
13 BBBBC
13 BBDD
11 AABB
8 BBBBB
5 CCC
4 AAAB/ABBBB
3 BBB
3 BBC
2 CC
1 128 points

Analysis by minimum starting salaries

In this table I’ve listed the aggregated minimum starting salaries for all vacancies for which this information was available. (£29,000+ denotes a minimum starting salary of between £29,000 and £29,999, and so on.)

1 £29,000+
1 £28,000+
4 £27,000+
2 £26,000+
22 £25,000+
43 £24,000+
71 £23,000+
124 £22,000+
184 £21,000+
112 £20,000+
87 £19,000+
106 £18,000+
35 £17,000+
27 £16,000+
21 £15,000+
27 £14,000+
23 £13,000+
5 £12,000+
3 £11,000+
7 £10,000+
4 £9,000+
3 £8,000+

Employers posting multiple vacancies during the period

All of these employers have had five or more vacancies posted during the period covered by this report and are listed in order of volume starting with the highest:

EY
KPMG
Morgan Stanley
Deloitte
J.P.Morgan
RSM
Leonardo
Scottish & Southern Energy
BAE Systems
Graham Group
CGI
Morrisons
Clark Contracts
Arcadis
BAM
Barclays
Grant Thornton
Mazars
Scottish Power
Atkins Realis
McDonalds
Gallagher
Thales Group
Booth Welsh
ID Systems
McLaughlin & Harvey Construction
Accenture
Amey Consulting
Balfour Beatty
BBC
Highland Council
Public Health Scotland
Saffery Champness
Wallace Whittle
Graham & Sibbald
Storm ID
City of Edinburgh Council
Heron Bros
Lloyds Banking Group
Saturn Fluid Engineering
Babcock International
Diageo
Scottish Water
BEAR Scotland
Capgemini
Merck
Raytheon
Scottish Leather Group

Footnotes: how the data has been collected

I originally started recording post-18 apprenticeship vacancies in England early in 2020 and that summer I began publishing weekly statistical updates. Then on 1^st June 2022 I also started recording vacancies in the three other devolved nations with a view to reporting on these once I’d collated enough useful data.

For Scotland I keep a record of all new Graduate Apprenticeship vacancies at SCQF Level 10 (and where appropriate Level 11) that I spot during my regular searches. I also record other UK-wide degree or professional apprenticeships of a similar level that have vacancies in Scotland. In doing so, I’ve built up an evolving occupational and regional analysis.

I largely use information from the Skills Development Scotland (apprenticeships.scot) website, whilst also keeping a close lookout for other relevant vacancies through my normal UK-wide channels. I only include vacancies that school/college-leavers could reasonably apply for.

The big advantage of the apprenticeships.scot website is that the actual number of positions is always provided with every vacancy, which isn’t necessarily the case with UK-wide employers who don’t post on the Scottish site. Hence my data will never be fully reliable because it’s sometimes necessary to make conservative estimates of vacancy numbers. On the other hand, I think the benefit of including the UK-wide employers is that it gives a more realistic impression of the overall landscape.

Going forward

I hope to continue collecting data and may publish a 30-month update in December.

https://alanbullockcareers.com