Degree apprenticeships: a great UK invention that needs better nurture

I am no clairvoyant, but I will boldly predict that degree apprenticeships will be remembered as one of the most significant higher education inventions of the 21st century.

This is largely because, unlike traditional degrees and typical vocational qualifications, degree apprenticeships explicitly incorporate not only knowledge and skills but also work behaviours, defined by the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education as “mindsets, attitudes or approaches needed for competence”. Equally importantly, degree apprenticeship standards and curricula are co-created by scholars and employers, ensuring both academic and business relevance.

Their exponential growth over the past seven years – now numbering more than 100,000 starts – is evidence that employers see value in investing in degree apprenticeships. In fact, degree apprenticeships are serving as a vital pipeline for growing and retaining talent across many UK sectors. A research study carried out while I was at my former institution, Manchester Metropolitan University, demonstrated that the first cohort of digital degree apprenticeship graduates were earning significantly higher salaries than graduates from equivalent courses at top-ranked UK universities.

It is also the case that degree apprenticeships, invented in the UK, are becoming something of a global phenomenon. I have advised on the launch of similar programmes in Spain, New Zealand, Canada, Australia and Pakistan, and I am aware of interesting developments in South Africa, India and China.

But are degree apprenticeships achieving their desired impact? Opinion varies wildly. In the popular media, politicians, lobbyists and training providers have concluded that degree apprenticeships are everything from the magical elixir for economic renaissance and social mobility to a “middle-class land grab” and “fake apprenticeships”.

This dichotomy of esteem is partly a symptom of the fact that analysis has either focused on micro aspects of degree apprenticeships (as opposed to offering a holistic assessment) or has relied on limited or subjective analyses. To tackle this lack of credible scholarship, we embarked on a systematic review of the published research on the impacts of degree apprenticeships, the findings from which have recently been published in the academic journal Transforming Government: People Process and Policy.

There is no official standard for the impact of degree apprenticeships, but appropriate yardsticks are their original “twin aims” of enhancing productivity and improving social mobility. And while we highlight the dearth of reliable, peer-reviewed, statistically significant evidence about these factors, our extensive statistical and qualitative analyses of the published research (amounting to a meta-repository of more than 4,000 data points, including surveys, interviews and group discussions covering key stakeholder groups) finds evidence that degree apprenticeships are both enhancing productivity in all reported sectors and improving social mobility in a vast majority of those sectors.

Yet while quality-focused, civically imbued and business-linked institutions such as Staffordshire University (one of the largest degree apprenticeship providers) have made significant headway in building programmes to maximise productivity and social mobility impact, policy reform is required to ensure that degree apprenticeships have sustained impact.

Future policy must be focused on equity of opportunity, listing clear goals for recruitment of apprentices from under-represented geographies and demographics. Enabling SMEs to access degree apprenticeships – such as via flexible, place-based initiatives – is equally important for meaningful levelling up.

Meanwhile, funding models and regulatory regimes must reflect the fact that quality delivery requires extensive resources, including highly skilled lecturers with cutting-edge research knowledge and expertise. Otherwise, we run the risk that research-informed providers will be muscled out by mediocre skills-focussed providers. This will compromise business productivity and damage the brand of degree apprenticeships as a prestigious alternative to traditional higher education and a driver of social mobility.

Finally, despite our recent paper, there is clearly a need for a more research to ensure that policy on degree apprenticeships is driven by evidence rather than knee-jerk reactions to loud voices. While more than 100 higher education institutions are now delivering degree apprenticeships, most of these programmes have developed organically, without systematic analysis of curriculum design and delivery; scope and effectiveness of co-creation approaches; and evaluation of business impact. To this end, I am currently leading on a national collaborative project, under the auspices of the Quality Assurance Agency, to systematically analyse degree apprenticeship pedagogies and practices across England.

I remain confident that, given the right amounts of investment, refinement and nurturing, degree apprenticeships can produce the dynamic, diverse workforce required for UK PLC to gain the competitive edge in innovation, growth and human development.

Raheel Nawaz is pro vice-chancellor for digital transformation at Staffordshire University.