In The News
UCAS has launched a groundbreaking initiative by advertising apprenticeships alongside traditional university courses, a development that will empower students to apply for apprenticeship from 2024.
The move follows the Department for Education’s announcement in February, which is aimed at increasing parity of esteem between academic and vocational routes. This aligns with the government’s goal of increasing the uptake of vocational education routes in response to the chronic skills shortages in the UK and oversaturation of graduates.
Minister for Skills, Apprenticeships and Higher Education, Robert Halfon, said: “Giving apprenticeships the same prestige as traditional university degrees is at the heart of my work as minister, so it is fantastic news that UCAS is officially launching this new service, marking a welcome step forward in achieving this ambition.”
UCAS’s latest survey findings reveal that an unprecedented 59 per cent of young people in Years 9-12 are considering an apprenticeship. Additionally, recent UCAS data indicates a record spike in interest post-results period, with the number of users searching for apprenticeships soaring by 85 per cent.
However, industry leaders have noted that significant efforts are still needed to remedy the issues affecting the apprenticeship system. Apprenticeships not only suffer from poor uptake, but also poor completion rates, with over half (53 per cent) of students failing to complete their courses. This has been attributed to course inflexibility, minimum duration requirements, and low minimum wages.
In this edition, we’ll examine the broader implications of this initiative, investigating its potential to tackle the prevailing challenges within the apprenticeship system and identifying further measures that may be necessary.
Interview
This month, we interviewed Lindsay Conroy, Head of Apprenticeships at UCAS. We discussed integrating apprenticeships alongside degree courses on their platform, emphasising the significance of this development for students and employers.
Can you elaborate on what advertising apprenticeships alongside degrees on UCAS means, and why is it considered a significant development in the field of further education and employment?
People searching on ucas.com will now be able to see relevant undergraduate courses and relevant apprenticeship opportunities alongside each other, allowing students to explore all their options in the same place and see multiple routes to achieve an end goal. We believe this also highlights to students that there are multiple further education routes to specific careers, which are accessible via apprenticeships.
For employers, they can list their apprenticeship vacancies for free and reach a wide range of engaged students considering their options. UCAS, being the most utilised search engine for education information in the UK, enables employers to get their opportunities in front of thousands of young people at the exact moment they are making decisions about their next steps.
How do you anticipate this initiative will impact the recruitment landscape, both for students seeking opportunities and for companies providing apprenticeships?
Our new service allows students to access a full range of education opportunities with ease. Previously, they had to research and dig through multiple sites to find apprenticeship opportunities, but now they can log into their UCAS Hub account and search for an apprenticeship efficiently. Unlike traditional undergraduate degrees, apprenticeship opportunities are available throughout the year. On the UCAS Hub, students can research year-round and receive notifications when employers are hiring with their vacancies, with vacancies updated in real time.
UCAS, being the most utilised search engine for education information in the UK, enables employers to get their opportunities in front of thousands of young people.
We anticipate an increase in demand for opportunities from students, which will, of course, necessitate progress in increasing the supply of opportunities from employers. Employers advertising their vacancies in this way will reach previously untapped audiences and benefit from engaged applicants from a wide variety of backgrounds.
As part of our ‘Journey to a Million’ forecasts, with an anticipated growth in the 18-year-old population by the end of the decade, employers will have a real opportunity to tap into a pool of individuals that will help fill existing and future skills gaps.
In your view, will this initiative go a long way in improving or strengthening the parity of esteem between apprenticeships and traditional degree programs, and if so, how?
At UCAS, we aim to create parity of esteem between higher and further education pathways. For too long, apprenticeships have been seen as something for those who are not academic, not capable of university, or for those that don’t have the means to attend university. Previously, they have been perceived as a second-class option, which is absolutely not the case. Apprenticeships are highly aspirational, incredibly challenging, and provide a real opportunity for young people to get a springboard into a future career. This development is a crucial step in creating parity, and UCAS is perfectly placed to help break down the stigma with young people, teachers, parents, and carers, by showing apprenticeships as a true and genuine pathway alongside the trusted and traditional pathway of UK higher education.
Looking ahead, where do you envision UCAS's vocational offerings in ten years? What broader transformations or trends do you foresee in the landscape of vocational education and apprenticeships?
UCAS is already well on its journey to becoming a discovery brand for young people exploring their next steps, serving as a one-stop-shop for educational considerations. We are formulating our strategy to guide us through to the end of the decade. What we know is that apprenticeships, vocational, technical, and lifelong learning will be core to that strategy. Enabling individuals to make informed choices and to apply simply will be central to the work we do.
opinion
The Director of Campaigns and Research at The Recruitment and Employment Confederation, Shazia Ejaz, discusses the urgent need for comprehensive reform in the apprenticeship system, highlighting that it could be a transformative force in addressing labour and skills shortages.
Education Secretary Gillian Keegan described her own apprenticeship experience as her ‘golden ticket’ when announcing that young people can soon use UCAS to search and apply for apprenticeships. However, for us to overcome acute labour and skills shortages and make training more accessible for people working on shorter contracts, we need the government to see this as a golden opportunity for broader apprenticeship reform.
From this autumn, young people will be able to view apprenticeships on the UCAS website. By 2024, students will also have the option to apply for apprenticeships through UCAS.
It is crucial for business that the apprenticeships advertised on UCAS cover levels two to seven, as various sectors across the economy are struggling to address labour shortages at a range of skill levels. The fact that Amazon UK, BAE Systems plc, and Legal and General Group PLC are highly supportive of this initiative underscores the demand. After all, our recent data reports 2.3 million job postings, highlighting the need for a national workforce plan.
Unless we have a broader revolution on how we offer training for work, the impact of UCAS’s move on to support the labour market will end up as just academic.
The apprenticeship levy needs to be broadened so that more funds are spent on other accredited shorter courses at entry level that will help young people into work and support the levelling up agenda, rather than being spent on in-work graduates.
Unless we have a broader revolution on how we offer training for work, the impact of UCAS’s move on to support the labour market will end up as just academic
Earlier this year, we partnered with the British Retail Consortium, UKHospitality, and techUK to express our concern that the government’s approach to the levy was ‘holding back investment’ in critical training. This training has the potential to increase productivity, fuel economic growth, and raise wages.
Unfortunately, the levy has not fulfilled its intended purpose. Our Freedom of Information request to the Department for Education revealed that more than £600 million has been spent on higher-level courses (levels three to seven), while many young and temporary flexible workers still cannot access the necessary training opportunities or funding. The original intention of the levy was certainly not intended to allocate such a significant portion of funds to MBA courses.
The government must take additional steps to assist the 960,000 temporary workers, a vital part of the UK jobs market, who are automatically cut off from accessing levy funding for training due to the requirement that apprenticeships must last for at least 12 months. This disadvantages many businesses trying to fill vacancies quickly and in areas such as hospitality or logistics where shorter courses under 12 months would work just as well to meet employer needs. There is a strong demand for the ability to use the levy for modular apprenticeships that can be tailored to employers’ specific requirements.
One notable observation is that UCAS and the Department for Education use the term ‘young’ eleven times in their joint press release announcing the initiative, without any mention of ‘older’ or ‘mature’ individuals. While it is important to encourage more young people to benefit from apprenticeships and utilise levy funds, this approach may conflict with the government’s 2023 budget announcement regarding ‘returnerships’ for individuals over 50s to re-enter the workforce. To make apprenticeships successful and address labour shortages while fostering economic growth, we should emphasise opportunities that support and include those seeking to return to work.