Apprenticeships

1

• Apprenticeships
• and Higher Education

Pete Watton The
AdvAnce? project
2
Presentation

• Context
• What are Apprenticeships?
• Levels of progression to higher learning
• Advance project and its findings
• Summary
• Discussion
• How to enhance apprentice progression in the
  south west.

3
Context

• Leitch review of skills (2006) raise skill
  levels increase apprenticeships more demand led
  provision
• HMG response to Leitch (2007) in support of
  skills revolution

4
Context

• National Apprenticeship Service (2009) Vision
  every employer will choose Apprenticeships as the
  major route for skills needed by their business
  young people will see them as a great way to
  training for the world of work and to open up
  further learning and development.
• Skills Commission (2009) There was agreement
  from witnesses that a sea change in the number of
  former apprentices progressing to advanced
  further education and higher education is
  critical.

5
What are Apprenticeships?

• A learning programme
• For age 16 learners who have left full time
  education
• Participants must be employed
• Offers qualifications in over 80 sectors from
  Administration to Youth Work
• Scale 1998 -75,000 Apprentice starts 2008
  220,000 starts target for 2020 - 400,000 starts
  

6
Apprenticeship Frameworks include

• A competence based element
• NVQ Level 2 for Apprenticeship
• NVQ Level 3 for Advanced Apprenticeship
• A knowledge based element
• Where appropriate a Technical Certificate
• Transferable skills
• Key skills in Application of Number and
  Communication (formally tested)
• Wider Key Skills in IT, problem solving,
  improving own learning and working with others
  (applied through learning)

7
Apprenticeships are the best business models for
encouraging learning, developing mentoring and
passing on specialist skills.
Sir Alan Sugar
8
 Advanced Apprenticeships (AAs) into higher
education

• There has been little data available
• Where data does exist it has been unreliable,
  often focused on progression to full-time higher
  education.
• The numbers that do progress onto higher
  education appear low

9
  Advanced Apprenticeships (AAs) into
higher education
It is clear that the number of Advanced
Apprentices entering higher education in recent
years is very small. All the evidence points to a
participation rate between 2 and 4 per cent .
Seddon (2005)
Data from the Greater Manchester Learning
Provider Network (for 2006/7), shows, a
progression rate of approximately 3. Leech
(2008)
10
 Advanced Apprenticeships (AAs) into higher
education

• LSC data for Devon and Cornwall

11
The AdvAnce project?

• Sought to gather reliable data on
• employment and training aspirations of graduating
  AAs and other WBLs
• the experience of work based learners once in
  higher education

12
The Aspirations of graduating AAs
13
Methodology

• Existing LSC exit data
• Data gathered from AAs
• at exit via training providers
• LSC funding used to support returns and
  development of data gathering systems
• Additional level of data analysis through SERIO,
  University of Plymouth

14
Main Findings - Employment

• Learners indicated a high level of loyalty
• 82 stating that they would be with their current
  employer in six months 16 expecting to have
  been promoted
• 55 expected to be with their current employer
  after 3 years 34 expected to have been promoted

15
(No Transcript)
16
Main Findings - Training

• A significant minority expected
• to be undertaking training at a higher level
• 38 expected to be undertaking higher level
  training after 6 months 14 similar level
  training
• 45 expected to be undertaking higher level
  training after 3 years 12 similar level
  training

17
(No Transcript)
18
The higher education experience
19
Methodology

• Worked with HELP CETL
• On-line survey of 260 UPC
• students undertaking FD,
• HNC, HND
• 33 ex apprentices identified and data analysed
  separately
• Follow up 12 focus groups based on FD experience,
  although not possible to specifically identify
  apprentices

20
Ex apprentice characteristics
21
Key Findings

• A number already held qualifications supporting
• HE progression Apprenticeship gap year?
• Confident, well motivated and generally
• supported by family, friends and employers
• Some advice from local colleges but formal
  careers advice seemed to play a relatively small
  role advice from family, friends (45) and
  employers (27) seemed influential
• Locality of course an important factor

22
Key Findings

• Most received some form of employer
• support 72 where course related
• to their work
• Support included paid time out
• help with course fees unpaid time out
• flexible hours encouragement
• Increased confidence during course realised
  fellow students were not all Einsteins

23
Key Findings

• For a number FD not seen as having sufficient
• currency
• 51 of ex apprentices wanting to top up
• to an Honours Degree bridging
• the vocational / academic divide?
• 30 wishing to remain in full time work
• Potential barriers in terms of top up delivery
• being full-time and delivered at main University
  campus

24
Summary

• Apprenticeships are a government priority
  supporting the development of learners in the
  workplace the numbers are expanding
  significantly
• Successful Advanced Apprentices have demonstrated
  levels of achievement that would support
  progression onto HE, but Apprenticeship
  Frameworks are not recognised in their own right
• Levels of actual progression appear relatively
  low, although there seem to be significant
  numbers aspiring to higher level learning

25
Summary

• Those that do progress appear to be confident
  and supported those that arent seem less likely
  to progress
• Those that did progress were most likely to work
  full time and study part-time at a local college
• Lack of accessible part-time provision was a
  barrier to some who wanted to progress on to a
  top up Honours year

26

• How do we enhance apprentice progression in the
  south west?