Latest reflections on the situation in England

Firstly there were eleven new entries this week to my evolving 2025 employer list, which features in the next section of this report. More of the big annual recruiters will join the fray in October, but the following are the latest additions to the list:

• Hazlewoods in Cheltenham and Bristol
• MHA Baker Tilly in Kendal, Leicester, Maidstone, Preston, Manchester, Liverpool, Lancaster, Birmingham, Peterborough and Maidenhead
• Crowe in Maidstone, Cheltenham, Oldbury, Manchester, Reading and London
• Mercer & Hole in St Albans, Milton Keynes and Rickmansworth
• Hanson Quarry Products and Heidelberg Materials in a diverse range of locations in North Yorkshire, Staffordshire, Leicestershire, Warwickshire, Cambridgeshire, Greater London, South Gloucestershire and Devon
• Balfour Beatty mainly in the East Sussex village of Ringmer and also in Warwick
• PwC with the first few of their 2025 HA Consulting vacancies opening up in Leeds, Manchester and Birmingham
• Coca Cola Europacific Partners in Uxbridge  
• Bristows in London
• Weightmans in Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham, Newcastle, Leicester and London
• GE Aerospace with additional numbers in Bishops Cleeve near Cheltenham   

Secondly, two developments took place in the past ten days that warrant a mention:

Apprenticeship levy reforms

At the Labour Party conference the PM formally announced the government’s intention to reform the apprenticeship levy into a new growth and skills levy, up to 50% of which can be spent on apprenticeship payments. The Department for Education subsequently confirmed that measures will include moving some Level 7 apprenticeships outside the scope of levy funding.

Change was already on the cards last year under the previous government, with the apprenticeship budget at breaking point and levy spending on Level 6 and 7 apprenticeships and on apprentices aged 25+ having soared, in contrast to a decline in Level 2 funding and in apprenticeship spending on young people aged 16-19.

But as my cumulative data demonstrates, Level 7 Accountancy/Tax/Audit and Solicitor apprenticeships are especially prominent options for sixth form and college-leavers, and there could be implications if employers were unable to fund these through the levy. And although it’s beyond the scope of my blog there are wider implications too, particularly as Level 7 senior leader apprenticeships are most widely used in the public sector, especially the NHS.

I’ve also heard the phrase “will they be coming for Level 6 next?”, so I’ll be keeping a close eye on developments to see how it all plays out.  

ISG collapse

Construction giant ISG, which went into administration on 20^th September, was the sixth biggest construction firm in the UK and held 69 government contracts worth over £1billion, with past projects also including the 2012 Olympic Velodrome.

In recent years ISG recruited modest numbers of DAs and HAs, but the bigger issue is the knock-on effects the collapse might have on the construction sector in general and especially all the firms in ISG’s supply chains.  

As my cumulative data shows, construction sector occupations also feature very prominently near the top end of the DA and HA listings. At the same time, profit margins for big construction and infrastructure projects are generally very tight, while the sector also continues to experience labour and skills shortages. What does this mean for DAs and HAs in the sector? Hopefully not a lot, but alongside the levy issue it’s a reminder that we shouldn’t assume that things will stay the same.

Finally this week’s featured image is a photo I took in my old hometown of Cheltenham, which was a prominent location in the latest crop of new vacancies, although Ringmer gave it a good run for its money as did Rochester and Maidstone in Kent amongst others.

Employers who have started accepting applications for September 2025

The following employers have opened their application windows for degree, professional or higher apprenticeship positions commencing in (or around) September 2025.

I can’t guarantee that it’s a fully inclusive list, but it does include everything I’ve picked up on my radar so far. At the same time, I don’t include employers who at present are just asking prospective applicants to register their interest. Meanwhile, some will have had early closing dates, which can be as early as September 2024, so one or two on the list will have closed already while at the other extreme some will stay open for a few months.

Once employers have closed for applications, I will still keep them on the list because my objective is to create an overview of who all the annual recruiters are, broken down broadly by occupational area. One further point to mention is that some of the listed employers may only have one vacancy in one location while others may have multiple vacancies in multiple locations.  

Here’s the updated list:

• Accountancy, Tax & Professional Services – Cooper Parry, Crowe, EY, Hazlewoods, Mercer & Hole, MHA, Moore Kingston Smith, RSM, RPG, Saffery
• Actuarial Technician – WTW
• Air Traffic Control: – RAF
• Banking & Investment – Goldman Sachs
• Construction & Building Services – AWE, Balfour Beatty, Mace
• Consulting – EY, PwC, RSM
• Corporate Management & Finance – Morrisons
• Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability – Balfour Beatty
• Data Science & Analytics – Balfour Beatty
• Digital & Technology – Compliance 365, Cranswick, EY, Goldman Sachs, MI5 & MI6, WTW
• Engineering (Aerospace/Electrical/Manufacturing/Mechanical) – AWE, GE Aerospace
• Environmental Practitioner – Mace
• Facilities Management – AWE
• Food Production Management – Morrisons
• Forestry – Savills
• HR – Balfour Beatty
• Intelligence Analyst – RAF, Royal Navy
• Laboratory Scientist/Technician: – AWE
• Law (Solicitor/Paralegal) – Bristows, Burges Salmon, Cripps, DWF Law, Forsters, RPC, Weightmans, White & Case
• Logistics & Supply Chain – Coca Cola, GE Aerospace, Morrisons
• Mineral Products Technician – Hanson, Heidelberg
• Medical Doctor – ESNEFT
• Project Management & Control – AWE, Balfour Beatty, Mace
• Quality Assurance – AWE, Mace
• Quantity Surveying – Balfour Beatty
• Surveying (General Practice) & Property Management – Balfour Beatty, Mace, Savills
• Town Planning – Savills

Headline data (England)

Since 1^st January 2020 I’ve been continuously tracking new vacancies that would be appropriate 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 period from 23^rd to 29^th September I recorded:

• 71 new Degree/Professional Apprenticeship vacancies (Levels 6/7) and
• 95 new Higher Apprenticeship vacancies (Levels 4/5)
• plus 110 HAs picked up retrospectively, giving a total of 276 for the week

In the 247 weeks from 1^st January 2020 to 29^th September 2024 I’ve now recorded:

• 34,524 new Degree/Professional Apprenticeships (Levels 6/7) and
• 27,912 new Higher Apprenticeships (Levels 4/5)
• giving a total of 62,436

The average weekly totals across all 247 weeks have been:

• 140 DAs + 113 HAs = 253 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: 1,194 vacancies at SQF Levels 10/11
• Wales: 319 vacancies at Levels 6/7 and 206 at Levels 4/5
• Northern Ireland: 177 vacancies at Levels 6/7 and 42 at Levels 4/5

There was activity this week in both Wales (MHA in Cardiff and Swansea, and Hanson in the village of Criggion in Powys) and Northern Ireland (PwC in Belfast). I still hope to report on Wales and Northern Ireland at some stage, to complement my quarterly Scotland updates.  

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/professional and higher apprenticeships.

Degree/Professional Apprenticeships (Levels 6/7):

In total there have been 34,524 new vacancies spread across 115 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:

• *Digital & Technology Solutions has its own detailed supplementary breakdown at the foot of the list.

5,603 Accountancy/Tax/Audit Professionals

4,696 Police Constables 

3,340 *Digital & Technology Solutions: General 

1,486 Civil Engineers

1,424 Chartered Managers: General Business

1,344 Software Engineers/Developers

1,094 Chartered Quantity Surveyors

1,090 Project Managers: General

   946 Data Scientists/Analysts/Engineers

   858 Nurses (637 Adult, 153 Mental Health, 55 Learning Disability, 13 Child)

   675 Electrical & Electronic Engineers 

   665 Nuclear Engineers  

   638 Design & Development Engineers

   590 Manufacturing Engineers

   518 Supply Chain / Logistics Professionals

   515 Solicitors

   470 Building Services Design Engineers

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

   457 Banking/Financial Services/Investment Professionals   

   404 Cyber Security Professionals

   400 Aerospace Engineers

   358 Digital Marketing Professionals

   347 Professional Economists

   331 Laboratory Scientists

   331 Sales Professionals

   286 Consulting Professionals

   276 Healthcare Science Practitioners (65 Biomedical Sciences, 52 Radiation Physics & Engineering, 33 Cardiac Physiology, 31 Nuclear Medicine, 24 Audiology, 23 Respiratory & Sleep Physiology, 21 Medical Engineering, 17 Neurophysiology, 5 Digital Healthcare Science, 3 Clinical Informatics, 1 Rehabilitation Engineering, 1 Renal Technology) 

   268 Environmental Practitioners

   235 Food Technologists

   224 Chartered Building Surveyors

   218 Electromechanical Engineers

   207 Chartered Managers: Retail Leadership

   198 Railway & Rail Systems Engineers

   190 Chartered Managers: Hospitality (Restaurants/Fast Food)

   186 Construction Site Managers

   181 Chartered Managers: Food/Drink Manufacturing & Production   

   166 Project Controls Professionals  

   165 Control Technical Support & Control Systems Engineers

   164 Operating Department Practitioners (NHS)

   140 Radiographers (77 Diagnostic, 63 Therapeutic)

   131 Occupational Therapists

   114 Social Workers    

   113 Materials Science Technologists/Engineers 

   104 Digital User Experience (UX) Designers 

     94 Podiatrists

     89 Design & Construction Managers / Architectural Technologists

     84 Creative Digital Designers

     82 Chemical/Process Engineers

     80 Non-Destructive Testing Engineers

     76 Town Planners

     75 Chartered Managers: Recruitment Specialists

     70 Building Control Surveyors

     67 Packaging Technologists 

     64 Environmental Health Officers

     61 Clinical Trials Specialists

     54 Chartered Rural Surveyors (Land Agents)

     53 Broadcast/Communication/Media Systems Engineers

     48 Marine Engineers

     46 Social Researchers

     44 Human Resources & People Professionals

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

     42 Ordnance Munitions & Explosives Engineers

     41 Marketing/Brand Managers

     41 Physiotherapists     

     40 Transport Planners

     39 Geospatial Mapping Specialists / Land Surveyors

     37 Public Health Practitioners

     35 Architectural Assistants 

     35 Chartered Managers: Social Change, Charities & Voluntary Sector 

     34 Chartered Managers: Hotel Management

     34 Fire Safety Engineers    

     31 Journalists

     30 Serious & Complex Crime Investigators 

     25 Aerospace Software Engineers

     25 Chartered Managers: Sports Business & Development

     24 Insurance Professionals

     22 Midwives

     21 Speech & Language Therapists

     20 Medical Doctors

     16 Dietitians

     16 Forestry Professionals

     15 Chartered Surveyors: Land Buyers

     14 Paramedics

     13 Environmental Engineers

     12 Theme Park Engineers

       9 Agricultural/Horticultural Advisers

       9 Propulsion Engineers

       9 Trading Standards Officers  

       9 Youth Workers

       8 Chartered Managers: Buying & Procurement

       8 Gas Transmission Engineers

       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 TV Production Managers

       2 Facilities Managers

       2 Licensed Conveyancers

       2 Lighting Designers

       2 Pensions Professionals

       2 Robotics Engineers

       2 Service Designers       

       2 Sonographers

       1 Assistant Archaeologist

       1 Community Centre Manager

       1 Events Manager       

       1 Games Programmer

       1 Human Performance Engineer 

       1 Resilience & Emergencies Professional

       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 123 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
• 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
• Financial Technologist (FinTech), Legal Technologist, People (HR) Solutions Technologist, Innovation Technologist, Credit Trading Technologist, Global Equities 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
• Content Strategist, Quantitative Strategist
• AI Implementation Specialist, Infrastructure Specialist, DevOps/NetOps Specialist, Client Success Specialist, Insurance Consulting 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, Digital Social Media Executive, AI Technical Sales Adviser, Project Co-ordinator, IT Support & Helpdesk Administrator

Higher Apprenticeships (Levels 4/5):

In total there have been 27,912 new vacancies spread across 154 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:

2,327 Sales Executives

1,961 Accounting Technicians

1,678 Data Analysts

1,675 Software Developers 

1,617 Project Management Associates

1,398 Sports Coaches (Children & Young People)   

1,111 Nursing Associates

   838 Construction Site Supervisors

   775 Manufacturing Engineering Technicians 

   715 Quantity Surveying Technicians

   694 Taxation Technicians

   658 Network Engineers

   633 Business Analysts 

   497 Commercial Procurement & Supply Practitioners

   493 Cyber Security Technologists

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

   456 Civil/Site Engineering Technicians

   454 Software Testers

   444 Public Relations & Communications Assistants

   439 Electrical & Electronic Technician Engineers  

   386 Building Services Engineering Technicians

   366 Investment Operations Specialists

   342 Insurance Practitioners  

   332 Buying & Merchandising Assistants

   297 DevOps Engineers

   290 Junior Management Consultants

   287 Marketing Executives

   281 Retail Managers

   281 Technician Scientists

   269 Healthcare Associate Practitioners (150 Reablement, 69 Multidisciplinary, 9 Diagnostic Radiography, 9 Mammography, 7 Radiology, 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)

   268 Construction Design & Build / Architectural Technicians

   246 Associate Ambulance Practitioners

   223 Early Years Lead Practitioners

   213 Regulatory Compliance Officers

   203 Policy Practitioners

   195 Police Community Support Officers

   191 Intelligence Analysts

   190 Healthcare Science Associates/Technicians (64 Audiology & Hearing Aid Dispensing, 45 Medical Engineering, 39 Respiratory Physiology, 24 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)

   186 Mineral Products Technicians 

   167 People Professionals / HR Specialists

   160 Railway Engineering Technicians

   155 Quality Assurance Practitioners/Engineers   

   153 Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability Practitioners

   147 Food Production Technicians & Process Leaders

   130 Air Traffic Controllers

   130 Hospitality Managers

   129 Nuclear Technicians

   128 Propulsion Technicians (Automotive/Aerospace)

   104 Vehicle Damage Assessors

   102 Internal Audit Practitioners

     98 Actuarial Technicians

     97 Journalists    

     95 Audiovisual Technicians

     85 Applications Support Leads

     84 Financial Advisers/Paraplanners

     79 Recruitment Consultants

     78 Automation & Controls Engineering Technicians

     77 Brewers      

     67 Business Operations Managers 

     61 Market Research Executives

     60 Revenues & Welfare Benefits Officers

     57 Learning & Skills Mentors/Coaches

     55 Business Improvement Practitioners

     55 Information Managers 

     54 Dairy Technologists

     53 TV/Media Production Co-ordinators

     51 Paralegals

     49 Building Energy Management Systems (BEMS) Engineers

     47 Engineering Maintenance Technicians

     42 Housing/Property/Lettings Managers

     41 Ordnance Munitions & Explosives Technicians

     35 Countryside Rangers

     33 Aircraft Engineering Technicians    

     29 Estate Agency Sales Negotiators

     25 Engineer Surveyors

     22 Data Protection Officers

     22 Land Referencers

     20 Acoustics Technicians

     20 Digital Accessibility Specialists   

     20 Gymnastics/Trampoline Coaches

     18 Digital Community Managers

     16 Facilities Managers

     16 Football Coaches (Children & Young People)

     15 Fibre Cable Engineers

     15 Smart Energy Engineers

     14 Historic Environment Advice Assistants

     12 Broadcast & Media Systems Technicians

     12 Governance Officers

     12 Hygiene Specialists

     12 Passenger Transport Operations Managers

     11 Film/TV Post-Production Technical Operators

     10 Aviation Operations Managers

     10 Counter Fraud Investigators

     10 Employability Practitioners

     10 Town Planning Technicians 

       9 Antisocial Behaviour & Community Safety Officers

       9 Early Intervention Practitioners

       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 Learning Designers

       7 Digital Product Managers

       7 Fire Safety Inspectors

       6 Music Teachers

       6 Outdoor Learning Specialists

       5 Broadcasting Technical Operators

       5 Data Engineers

       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 (Children & Young People)

       2 Energy Specialists 

       2 Health Play Specialist      

       2 Horticultural/Landscaping Technicians

       2 Lifting Equipment Operations Engineers  

       2 Marine Pilots

       2 Publishing Professionals

       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 62,436 higher and degree apprenticeships advertised in England since January 2020 have been distributed as follows:

• Greater London (13,752)
• Yorkshire (5,528)
• West Midlands (4,028)
• Greater Manchester (3,466)
• Bristol & Gloucestershire (3,088)
• Hampshire (2,231)
• Berkshire (2,028)
• Hertfordshire (1,423)
• Surrey (1,421)
• Tyne & Wear (1,317)
• Cheshire (1,315)
• Cambridgeshire (1,240)
• Nottinghamshire (1,164)
• Derbyshire (1,152)
• Cumbria (1,143)
• Sussex (1,131)
• Merseyside (1,083)
• Lancashire (1,054)
• Essex (1,034)
• Devon (958)
• Warwickshire (938)
• Buckinghamshire (919)
• Suffolk (893)
• Kent (859)
• Somerset & South Bristol (832)
• Leicestershire (823)
• Oxfordshire (780)
• Dorset (774)
• Wiltshire (744)
• Bedfordshire (726)
• Staffordshire (699)
• County Durham (590)
• Northamptonshire (506)
• Lincolnshire (498)
• Norfolk (441)
• Cornwall (440)
• Worcestershire (432)
• Shropshire (393)
• Northumberland (97)
• Isle of Wight (97)
• Herefordshire (66)
• Rutland (19)
• Remote-working or flexible location (112)
• Region specified but not county (87)
• Unspecified region (115)

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:

• 13,752   London (1,078,600: 12.75)
•   6,845   South West (645,800: 10.60)
•   6,604   West Midlands (720,900: 9.16)
•   8,061   North West (884,600: 9.11)
•   9,466   South East (1,040,500: 9.10)
•   5,757   East of England (685,300: 8.40)
•   5,551   Yorkshire & The Humber (670,800: 8.28)
•   4,070   East Midlands (593,700: 6.86)
•   2,103   North East (313,000: 6.72)
•      112   Remote or flexible
•      115   Unspecified region
• 62,436   Total England (6,633,200: 9.41)

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 the project can’t go on for ever, I hope to continue posting regular updates during the 2024/25 academic year.     

Footnote – how the data has been collected plus some general observations   

Since 1^st January 2020 I’ve kept a record of degree, professional 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 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. In these cases my policy 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 not stored electronically, I do have a written record of all 62,436 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, 29/9/2024

https://alanbullockcareers.com