UCAS and Sutton Trust Report on Improving the Journey to Becoming an Apprentice
UCAS supports nearly 1.5 million students explore the full range of post-secondary opportunities. In recent years, we have seen a significant growth in interest in apprenticeships. Today, 40% of students that are interested in undergraduate options are also interested in apprenticeships – about half a million potential apprentices.
Demand for apprenticeships will only increase. In 2030, UCAS projects there could be up to a million higher education applicants in a single cycle – a 30% increase from where we are today. The ‘Journey to a Million’ highlights how growth in the 18-year-old population, along with continued demand from adult learners, will see demand for apprenticeship continue.
And in July this year UCAS, along with the Sutton Trust, published a flagship new report – ‘Where Next? What influences the choices of would-be apprentices?’. Building on our previous Where Next? reports, the report explored the key ‘lightbulb’ moments for students as they progress towards their desired destination.
As demand and competition grows, it is vital we ensure students are fully aware of the range of choices available to them – spanning undergraduate study, apprenticeships, Higher Technical Qualifications and more flexible provision powered by the Lifelong Learning Entitlement.
Ultimately, students should be able to access information about their options and be able to assess these in a similar way. Following UCAS' recent announcement of the expansion of its apprenticeship services, UCAS has now brought apprenticeship vacancies into the UCAS Student Hub, placing live apprenticeship opportunities alongside university courses. For the first time, students are now empowered to discover and decide on their next steps via the apprenticeship or university route, all in one place. With a smart apprenticeship vacancy matching and application service due to be released in the coming months, UCAS will bring a consistently high-quality experience to students in exploring both traditional undergraduate degrees and apprenticeships – a massive step towards parity between these routes.
Our Where Next report with the Sutton Trust explores the concept of parity further, unpacking this into five key areas that we believe are essential to ensuring apprenticeships exist on a level footing with undergraduate options, with the aim of better supporting students in understanding the full range of options available to them.
1. Parity of ambition
Previous UCAS research shows that one in three students consider university as early as primary school, with advantaged students 40% more likely to do so. However, for apprenticeships, our new research shows that this figure is less than 5% – meaning around one student in the average primary school class considers an apprenticeship at that age. While we welcome the strengthening of the Baker Clause, as well as a greater recognition of the importance of careers in education in primary school, it is clear that this ambition gap begins before age 11 and that young people can be influenced by a variety of different factors.
Despite our finding that 70% of students have a positive initial perception of apprenticeships, to achieve parity of ambition we need aspiration raising and myth debunking around apprenticeships to start as early as possible – recognising the impact of these early interventions.
2. Parity of opportunity
Each year, over half a million students start full-time undergraduate study, with the proportion of 18-year-olds across the UK entering higher education ranging from 30% to 41%. However, for apprenticeship opportunities, whilst we see significant and growing demand – as outlined above – the number of starts for young individuals at Level 4 and above in England is less than 5,000.
While the Apprenticeship Levy has doubled the funding available for apprenticeships since its implementation in 2017, to £2.5 billion each year, 99.6 % of this was spent in 2021/22. This means the system is under significant pressure without enough apprenticeship opportunities to meet demand. Our report finds that many students do not pursue an apprenticeship opportunity because they cannot find one in their preferred subject or location. The message is clear – there is high demand from students, and a significant opportunity to support skills shortage areas should the opportunities be created.
3. Parity of access
Our report finds that disadvantaged students are more likely to be interested in apprenticeship options, with 46% from the most disadvantaged areas interested in this route compared to 41% from the most advantaged areas. Those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds (63%) are more likely to have considered apprenticeships while thinking about post-16 options than those from higher socioeconomic backgrounds (51%).
However, despite this level of interest, we still see significant disparities in entry – with the Sutton Trust reporting that twice as many degree apprentices are from the wealthiest areas compared to the poorest.
As with undergraduate study, it’s vital we ensure these options are available to all – regardless of background. Within the report, we consider a range of recommendations on how we can support students from disadvantaged backgrounds access apprenticeship routes, including reviewing and promoting financial support, and wider use of contextual information as part of the recruitment process.
4. Parity of award
In many respects, the advent of Degree Apprenticeships has brought parity in terms of award – students can now gain an undergraduate award through an apprenticeship. However, we continue to see differences in perception – 76% of students view university degrees as ‘prestigious’ compared to just 4% for apprenticeships, despite these being the same award in some instances.
For UCAS, the answer to this is around high-quality careers information. We know that teachers and advisers are more confident talking about undergraduate study than they are apprenticeships. UCAS is seeking to continue to provide these key influencers with the tools to advise on all pathways with confidence. The embedding of apprenticeships within the UCAS Hub, our personalised information and advice dashboard, with tailored content will make a key contribution to enhancing this understanding.
5. Parity of connection
We know that students find it challenging to explore and connect to apprenticeship opportunities. While three in four students find it easy or somewhat easy to find information about applying for university study, this drops to just one in four for apprenticeships.
Only 50% of our apprentices said they had a positive application experience compared to 90% of placed university and college applicants. Furthermore, those that apply for more apprenticeship opportunities are more likely to report having a negative overall experience about applying to apprenticeships. These findings highlight the positive impact of the single UCAS university application and is why we are committed to developing an apprenticeship application service to transform the experience of students exploring tis route.
Breaking down these application barriers will help provide this parity of connection - especially for those from disadvantaged backgrounds, who typically lack time, resource and support to apply to opportunities.
At UCAS, we believe that ensuring there is parity between university, college and apprenticeship pathways is vital, and we hope that the findings of this report, anchored in the reframing of the idea of parity itself, will act as an impetus for informed action. It is incumbent on the education and training sector to unite behind the concept of parity, to ensure that aspiring apprenticeships can realise their potential and make fully informed choices that are right for them. It is through a concerted and system-wide effort that we will create a highly educated and skilled workforce of the future – with the ‘Journey to a Million’ presenting an even greater impetus to do this.
About the author
Ben Jordan is Head of Policy at UCAS. Ben has been at UCAS for over a decade and has been described as a ‘leading figure of higher education admissions policy’, with his knowledge in this area ‘second to none’. During his time at UCAS, Ben has led the response and engagement around every major political event that could impact on student progression, including Brexit, admissions reform, qualification reform, Scottish independence, general elections, and most recently, the COVID-19 pandemic, which involved forming part of three separate ministerial taskforces.