PROGRESSION INTO HIGHER EDUCATION
The British Chambers of Commerce told us that the
"reason why large numbers of people have now gone off for
an academic route with the huge expansion of higher education
is because apprenticeships have not been seen as quality alternatives."[180]
The Association of Colleges believed:
much clearer links and progression pathways need
to be made between the different routes in the 14-19 Strategy,
namely Apprenticeships, Diplomas and GCSE/A levels. [
W]ork
needs to be done to map each route respectively to ensure each
meets the requirements of the other, to facilitate progression
between them. We believe that the requirements of the draft new
Blueprint are appropriate and have the potential to link well
to the different learning routes within the new curriculum, including
the Foundation learning Tier and to [higher education].[181]
The TUC pointed out that a large number of universities
"already accredit prior experiential learning which will
recognise all sorts of qualifications which may not be traditional
academic ones and they are the kinds of universities which are
currently actively now exploring how to recognise and award UCAS[182]
points for Level 3 apprenticeships".[183]
Lord Young said that the Government wished to encourage apprentices
to progress into higher education[184]
and Stephen Marston added that
to encourage that progression we are working with
two of the current Sector Skills Councils, SEMTA and E-skills,
on looking precisely at the UCAS tariff equivalent of what goes
into their apprenticeships and then we can take that as model
to show how you can build progression routes from apprenticeships
into [higher education].[185]
We welcome the Government's exploration of the possibility
of awarding UCAS points for advanced apprenticeships. Such a step
would enhance the quality of apprenticeships and provide the possibility
of progression for apprentices into higher education. The
award of UCAS points for completion of advanced apprenticeships
would enhance the quality of apprenticeships and make apprenticeships
more attractive to those entering the job market or seeking to
change career. We conclude that establishing that all advanced
apprenticeships automatically attract UCAS points sufficient for
entry into some higher education for some courses that are cognate
to the apprenticeship would be a powerful demonstration of the
quality, consistency and currency of the programme.
The Edge Foundation pointed out that some advanced
apprenticeships did not prepare young people for degree courses
and that, while they were an "excellent way of developing
the skills and knowledge needed for work",[186]
higher education called for additional skills such as essay writing
and research. In Edge's view this presented a "real barrier"
because admissions tutors were reluctant to offer places to apprentices
as they considered that they would "struggle in their first
year".[187] The
solution Edge suggested was to offer access to higher education
courses to any apprentice who wanted one and enshrine this entitlement
in the legislation.[188]
In our view, however, the inclusion of an access
course to higher education as a way of facilitating progression
could send a confusing message about the standard of advanced
apprenticeships to apprentices and employers. If all advanced
apprenticeships automatically attracted a viable number of UCAS
points i.e. that would be accepted as sufficient for entry to
higher education institutions for courses related to the focus
of the apprenticeship, it would be a powerful way of injecting
quality, consistency and legitimacy into the programme. An access
course would be superfluous and even risks undermining the value
of advanced apprenticeships. We
believe that it is essential that all advanced apprenticeships
should carry sufficient UCAS points for entry to higher education
and that this will provide the leverage necessary to facilitate
and encourage progression to higher education.
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