(Title Image: Senedd Cymru)
Economy & Infrastructure Committee
Degree Apprenticeships (pdf)
Published: 27th November 2020
- Call for clarity over the funding of degree apprenticeships beyond the three-year pilot period.
- Support for increasing the range of degree apprenticeships to areas other than IT and engineering.
- Women under-represented amongst degree apprentices.
Degree apprenticeships combine hands-on work-based learning with studying for an undergraduate degree at a partner university.
They’re relatively new, having been introduced as part of a £20million three-year pilot during 2018-19, with two subjects – digital and engineering/advanced manufacturing Funding for 155 apprentices was provided during 2018-19 and 585 during 2019-20.
A degree apprentice costs £27,000 (the equivalent of three years tuition fees), compared to £7,500 for a higher apprenticeship. The Committee and witnesses questioned whether this was an accurate reflection of the costs.
One of the major issues identified was a lack of clarity concerning funding for degree apprenticeships beyond 2021-22, as well as the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on recruitment.
Some students felt that what they were studying at university didn’t properly tie-in with what they were doing at the work placement. The Committee recommended that a stronger framework is developed to guarantee standards as well as more cooperation with major employers to develop degree apprenticeships.
There was strong support for new degree apprenticeships, particularly in health & social care and business. This was based on pent-up demand from people who had completed lower level apprenticeships and had nowhere to go, reflecting calls for a clearer idea of how to progress in an apprenticeship, with enough flexibility to make a “step down” or “step-up” as and when apprentices need to.
Another issue picked up by the Committee was that degree apprenticeships are overwhelmingly taken up by men.
Of the 380 new or continuing degree apprentices in 2019-20, just 17% were female – though given the employers involved were mainly in male-dominated manufacturing this was “unsurprising”.
Widening the range of degree apprenticeships could potentially address this but wouldn’t change deep-seated gender imbalances in some economic sectors. Estyn called for increased numbers of role models from under-represented groups.
