We feel it is interesting to share with you a part of an article, recently published in the “Guardian” relating to an idea launched in Britain in 2015. Do you have such an education shame in your country? Do you find it useful? Feedback welcome
“Degree apprenticeships were launched by the government in 2015. They were designed as a new approach for students to achieve a degree and professional qualification. Candidates can learn as they earn, studying for a degree while in full-time employment. Tuition fees are covered by the apprenticeship levy, meaning students can sidestep the massive debt accrued by their contemporaries. We are seeing growing engagement with these courses, with the number of enrolments doubling in the last year and the chartered manager degree apprenticeship in particular seeing record numbers of applicants. Yet our latest research suggests most families have still never heard of them.
Our recent survey of 1,000 UK parents of 11- to 18-year-old children found that just 20% were aware of degree apprenticeships. Worryingly, it’s much worse among families from less privileged backgrounds. While a quarter of parents from the most highly educated and highest paid social groups were familiar, this fell to just one in 10 among parents from lower socio-economic bands. The fact that affluent parents are 2.5 times more likely to have heard of degree apprenticeships than those who are less well-off is clearly problematic, making courses aimed at widening participation at risk of serving the elite.
There is a certain irony to this trend. Apprenticeships have historically been viewed with a certain amount of snobbery, yet it is now middle-class parents who are more likely to weigh up the cost of university and the quality of opportunities offered by apprenticeships. With this knowledge, we face a serious challenge, not only to raise awareness around apprenticeships in general, but to reach those less privileged families likely to benefit most from the “earn while you learn” approach.
Much responsibility for boosting the profile of degree apprenticeships lies with universities. Admittedly, many institutions have only just got on board with the programmes and are not yet geared up to promoting them with the same fervour that they do with traditional degree routes. But it’s important that universities prioritise getting to grips with the way the courses are set up and that they improve their collaboration with partner employers taking the apprentices on.
We also need to see better marketing of degree apprenticeships from universities. They need to become more effective at directing students to employers, featuring recruitment pages on their website and regularly publishing information on the degree apprenticeships they offer. Hopefully, as more people complete these courses in the coming years, we will also see more degree apprentice case studies featured on university websites and in annual prospectuses. Ucas also has an extremely important role to play and its website should have more comprehensive information on apprenticeships. Currently, it only provides limited information and a link to the National Apprenticeship Service website. This needs to change if we are to help young people make an informed choice.
If universities don’t make more effort, thousands of students stand to lose out. Lady Cobham, chair of the 5% Club, an employer organisation dedicated to increasing recruitment of apprentices, said: “Students are missing out on the chance to enter the world of work, get qualified and be paid at the same time. This lack of knowledge is detrimental to developing the skills we need to meet the UK’s current shortage and make our economy successful.”
In an economy that’s increasing its demand for professionally skilled graduates, and at a time of a growing skills gap between the richest and poorest, we need to talk about degree apprenticeships. Schools, colleges and universities must do much, much more to signpost students to the opportunities available.
According to government estimates, a degree apprentice could earn up to £150,000 more over the course of their career than other graduates. This is not a secret our students will thank us for keeping.”