Apprenticeships boosted under plans to broaden UCAS

• Thousands of apprenticeship opportunities to be advertised to young people alongside undergraduate degrees in plans to broaden UCAS
• Half of UCAS applicants would consider an apprenticeship, but not enough vacancies are being offered to meet growing demand
• Education Secretary sets out ambition to go further still, to develop a one-stop-shop to make it easier for young people to see all education and training options and apply for them

Young people will be able to use UCAS to search and apply for apprenticeships, alongside degrees, under new plans announced by the Education Secretary and UCAS today (6 February).

From this autumn, UCAS will expand their service so that young people can see more personalised options, including apprenticeships. From 2024, students will then be able to apply for apprenticeships through UCAS alongside an undergraduate degree application.

Almost half of people that register on UCAS say they would consider an apprenticeship, but currently there are not enough vacancies being advertised through the service to meet growing demand.

The plans will help put technical and vocational education on an equal footing with traditional academic routes. By opening up the service to apprenticeship opportunities, thousands more young people will benefit from a wider choice of high-quality options. Employers will also benefit from better access to talent on UCAS and the ability to manage their apprentice recruitment process.

Announcing the plans during National Apprenticeship Week, the Education Secretary Gillian Keegan pledged to go further still, and develop a one-stop-shop where young people can compare the full range of occupations, training and education opportunities available to them.

Sector Response:

Education Secretary, Gillian Keegan said:

“My apprenticeship was my golden ticket. It gave me a unique insight into how a business operated, from the shop floor to the boardroom.

“I learnt the skills that businesses truly value and it launched my career in international business.

“This National Apprenticeship week I hope more people learn about the incredible opportunities available in everything from engineering to accountancy, healthcare to gaming software development. Whatever career goals you aspire to, they can be achieved through an apprenticeship which go up to masters degree level.”

Toby Perkins MP, Labour’s Shadow Skills Minister said:

“Expanding UCAS in this way has little benefit if there are fewer and fewer apprenticeships to advertise: On the Conservatives’watch apprenticeship starts have plummeted, with 200,000 fewer people starting these training opportunities.

“Young people are being denied these crucial training opportunities because of the Conservatives’ economic mismanagement and the strait jacket that the failed Apprenticeships Levy places on businesses.

“Labour will give businesses the flexibility they’re asking for to train their workforce and deliver growth, by turning the Tories’ failed apprenticeships levy into a ‘Growth and Skills Levy’ to be more responsive to business’ needs, upskilling our workforce and growing our economy.”

Clare Marchant, Chief Executive of UCAS said:

“Presenting students with all their choices in one place will not only transform the apprenticeship offering but create real parity by putting these options side-by-side with undergraduate courses.  

“As an independent charity working across the UK and globally, students are at the heart of everything we do at UCAS, and with almost half of all UCAS users interested in apprenticeships, equating to hundreds of thousands of potential apprentices, we can help meet this growing demand by showcasing all post-secondary opportunities.

“Today’s announcement by the Department for Education shows the commitment to deliver a clear, accessible and joined-up service that will help students discover, decide and apply in one place, enabling them to achieve their future careers aspirations.”

Over 1.5m students already use the UCAS Hub to access information on different education and training routes. From 2023, students will be able to explore apprenticeship opportunities alongside undergraduate courses within the Hub, allowing them to discover and decide between their options in the same place for the first time. It will also show students the different routes into a single career destination, meaning if a student is interested in, for example, engineering, they will see the undergraduate and apprenticeship routes displayed side-by-side.

From autumn 2024, students will then be able to apply for apprenticeships within the UCAS Hub and employers will be able to manage applications for their apprenticeship vacancies through UCAS too.

So that as many apprenticeship vacancies are advertised through the Hub as possible, the Government will collaborate with UCAS to share vacancy information collated through its Find an Apprenticeship Service, which already collates and advertises thousands of opportunities.

The government’s ambition is to develop a seamless ‘one-stop shop’ where a young person can explore all the high-quality options and learn about the skills and knowledge they need to develop to succeed in their chosen career, whether it’s a level 2 apprenticeship, a T Level, a degree, a Skills Bootcamp, a higher technical qualification or a degree apprenticeship. The Government has asked the Institute of Apprenticeships and Technical Education to use their work to map technical career routes to support this.

John Boumphrey, Amazon UK Country Manager said:

“This is fantastic news for the future of apprenticeships. Amazon is celebrating our tenth year of offering apprenticeships in the UK, and we currently have around 1,700 in training. One theme we often hear from current apprentices is the need to increase awareness of apprenticeships as a viable career path. We are clear on the benefits to both the apprentices, who earn and learn at the same time, as well as to employers, who gain access to incredible talent while shaping the skills needed for the future. Amazon is proud to support UCAS and the Department for Education this National Apprenticeship Week to promote these opportunities.”

Richard Hamer, Director of Education and Skills, BAE Systems plc said:

“BAE Systems is committed to supporting apprenticeships and young people so we are delighted to hear there will be better matching between the UCAS Hub Users and apprenticeship vacancies. This will help support both young people looking for apprenticeship opportunities and us, as employers, identifying diverse talent for our apprenticeship programmes.”

Vanessa Wilson, CEO University Alliance said:

“As the body representing leading professional and technical universities across the UK, we welcome moves to better support students into degree apprenticeships. Delivering skilled and job ready graduates is in the DNA of alliance universities, and we positively embrace any opportunity to provide students at all levels and ages with routes into education and training.

It is important that a wide range of opportunities appropriate to individual learning preference is available to all, and that these deliver the best outcomes for the learner as well as employers and society.

As the gold standard course and provider platform for generations, UCAS are the natural choice to deliver information, advice and opportunities in the apprenticeship space. Alliance universities stand ready to deliver these training opportunities.”

Jane Hickie, Chief Executive of the Association of Employment and Learning Providers said:

“Accessing information about apprenticeships can be confusing and complicated at times. That’s why we’re delighted to see that UCAS will expand their apprenticeship service to match potential apprentices with vacancies. This could be a gamechanger, and alongside an enhanced talent finder function for employers, is much needed. It also shows how apprenticeships are a really valuable option for learners and employers alike.

“We would urge employers and training providers to work closely with UCAS to showcase the opportunities they have for potential learners to ensure this improved service becomes a real success.”

Karen Luckly-Tang, Head of Future Talent,  Legal and General Group PLC said:

“At Legal & General, a well skilled, talented workforce is absolutely critical to our mission. Having apprentices that are talented, ambitious and diverse is absolutely key and we are delighted that UCAS is developing its services to employers further to enable this. We look forward to being part of this exciting development in attracting the very best to this ‘earn whilst you learn’ route.”

Professor Sir Chris Husbands, Vice-Chancellor at Sheffield Hallam University, said:

“Degree apprenticeship provision at universities like Sheffield Hallam have grown substantially since their introduction. In fact, apprenticeships across all levels are an increasingly important part of our education eco-system.”

“We welcome this announcement as a step towards providing learners with better information on all the options available to them, so that they can take a considered view on what route is best for them.”

Adam Tickell, VC at the University of Birmingham, said:

“The University of Birmingham is proud to offer degree apprenticeships in partnership with major employers and smaller firms because our collaborations offer exceptional education and training opportunities.  We also offer apprenticeship opportunities in many of our technical and professional services to provide essential training in shortage areas. We welcome this step to make it easier for prospective students to apply for apprenticeships alongside undergraduate degrees.”

John Cope, executive director at UCAS and leading board member for IfATE, said: 

“This new, ground-breaking partnership between UCAS, Government and IFATE will see undergraduate degrees and apprenticeships sit side-by-side for the first time, boosting apprenticeship and supporting our economy to grow. At UCAS, we know over 50% of those who set up their account with us are interested in doing an apprenticeship, while data from IFATE shows 84% of those who become and apprentice feel they made the right choice. This new partnership will boost numbers and make sure more people are making the right choice for them as they plot their career plan.”

ASCL comment on plans to advertise apprenticeships through UCAS

Kevin Gilmartin, Post 16 Specialist at the Association of Schools and College Leaders, said:

“We welcome the steps being taken to allow young people to search and apply for apprenticeships through UCAS. It’s crucial that school and college leavers are well informed about the full range of options available to them and showcasing apprenticeships alongside degrees seems a sensible approach.

“In order to make this work, there needs to be more resources and support for schools and colleges to be able to deliver guidance from expert careers advisers who are familiar with the complex apprenticeships landscape. Since the government dismantled the Connexions service over a decade ago, schools have provided careers advice while battling severe funding pressures as well as many other demands on their time and resources. This has resulted in a fragmented system where the quality of careers guidance on offer varies widely from school to school according to the resources that are available. A report by The Sutton Trust last year found 88% of state school teachers felt their training didn’t prepare them to deliver careers information and guidance to students.

“Careers advice is a specialist service which requires extensive knowledge. If schools and colleges are not better supported to deliver this, then the worthy ambition of fully informing all students of the entire range of occupations, training and education opportunities available to them is dead in the water.”

REC’s director of campaigns Shazia Ejaz said:

“Education Secretary Gillian Keegan’s commitment to expanding apprenticeships and vocational education pathways is welcome but we hope this announcement today is not the finished article on reform of the Apprenticeship system and in particular the Apprenticeship Levy.

“Making it easier for young people to consider vocational training through UCAS is a positive move. But we need to broaden the access to the money from the Apprenticeship Levy that businesses pay into. Employers need that to help them recruit in a time of huge labour and skills shortages.

“We know the government is looking at how to tackle older worker inactivity in the labour market and thinking of how the apprenticeship levy can be used to help over 50s train or re-train makes a lot of sense.

“Today’s announcement does nothing to help temporary workers which are such a crucial part of the UK jobs market and who are automatically cut off from valuable training opportunities because apprenticeships must last for at least 12 months. The current focus on year-long apprenticeships disadvantages many businesses trying to fill vacancies quickly and in areas such as hospitality or logistics where shorter courses would work just as well to meet employer needs which will then unlock growth in the economy.”

Kirstie Donnelly MBE, CEO – City & Guilds said:

“We have long championed the importance of parity between technical and vocational education and traditional academic routes. So, we are delighted to see that government will further recognise the value of apprenticeships and help more young people kick-start their careers by making them available on the acclaimed UCAS system alongside university degrees.

“For many young people choices are not always clear and guidance on what could help isn’t always easily found – so it is great then to see this step that can support more teachers, parents, families, carers and youth workers to help young people access information needed as they get ready to enter the world of work.

“This news comes at an opportune time, with our latest research finding that more than two in five (43%) young people do not believe that their education has equipped them with the skills they need to get the job they want. To many, university may seem like the only option to bridge this gap.But in reality, there’s a whole range of further education and training routes to consider.

“In the midst of the UK’s current skills crisis, young people are struggling to unlock opportunities in the job market. It’s therefore vital they understand the full range of options ahead of them, and that alternatives to traditional education are given a shared platform, to help every young people choose the right path for them.In doing so, we can we help bring more young people into a whole range of different careers and industries, solidifying Britain’s talent pipelines for the future.”