Apprenticeships

Executive Summary

1. We welcome the recognition afforded to part time higher education and the parity of support now offered to part time students. Our student population is predominantly work based and studying for career reasons; the knowledge and skills they acquire are immediately applicable in the workplace with obvious benefits to the national economy. Our wide portfolio of part-time flexible study routes contributes to lifelong learning and the professional development of employees across the four nations of the UK. Uniquely, we offer high quality education and training at scale through online learning tools.

2. In addition, we very much welcome the Government’s investment in and firm commitment to Apprenticeships, in particular the recent recognition given to the need to enable apprentices to develop skills to graduate level through the development of the Higher Apprenticeships (HA).

3. Nevertheless, despite the investment in the expansion of HA there are still challenges and opportunities to be addressed – in particular progression from Advanced Apprenticeships onto graduate level study.

4. Three primary challenges to a successful, sustainable long-term solution are:

· for students to break through barriers, and become full participants in Higher Education (HE), including them gaining access to standard HE funding mechanisms

· for employers, to have access to solutions that deliver skills development targeted to business needs, that retain and enhance their expertise in the workplace, and that minimise cost, including cost associated with day-release

· for universities/HE, to develop suitable solutions as part of the full range of mainstream provision – including Masters and Doctorates - that are sensitive to work based learning, carry appropriate professional accreditations and delivery mechanisms sensitive to not just the needs of employers, but the opportunities for the employers participating in the delivery process

Key Arguments

5. At present, only around 4% of those who achieve Advanced Apprenticeships actually progress onto graduate level study. These are individuals who have demonstrated a desire and willingness to invest in their skills and knowledge but are not getting up-skilled to the level required for them to maximise their impact on productivity and contribution to the UK’s competitiveness. These are also individuals who will have the much needed employability skills which businesses argue are largely absent from ‘standard graduates’.

6. Whilst the availability of the HA will open up some opportunities, there is a risk that these will not substantially change the position on progression for Advanced Apprenticeships; they will be competing with good A-level candidates for these opportunities and, in many cases, they will lose out as many employers, especially from the professional services, will favour A-level candidates.

7. We are thus still likely to have a fundamental issue to address of how to encourage the progression of apprentices. We will need to find differing methods of enabling them to contribute to the UK economy at the appropriate level. We consider the OU model to be uniquely suited to addressing the challenges to apprenticeship progression and growth.

Key Barriers to Progression

8. Perception: Apprentices have actively chosen non-academic routes and there is little consideration given to HE. This is also typically the attitude of employers and Work Based Learner (WBL) providers. There is no tradition of progression into HE so, from the outset of the relationship, there is no consideration that an apprenticeship might lead to anything other than the qualification directly associated with it. It is seen as an end in itself rather than a route through to other opportunities, including HE. In addition, perception with employers is that HA only relate to academic qualifications whereas in reality, most HA frameworks utilise work based Foundation Degrees that are vocationally based.

9. Confidence: Partly as a consequence of the above, apprentices generally lack confidence in the value of their skills and the perceived gap between what they are doing and what ‘proper students’ do at University There is also a challenge associated with the step up from Advanced to Higher level skills. The academic level in Advanced is too low and the leap for apprentices therefore, too great. This impacts on their confidence and ability in terms of study skills. There is a need for proper transition support, which the OU is in the process of developing, along the lines of the Aimhigher Greater Manchester Step In module.

10. HE Entry Qualifications: HE providers do not typically recognise the value of apprenticeships and consider that apprentices will not have the academic skills and abilities to succeed in HE - few HEIs genuinely recognise level 3 apprenticeships as an entry qualification. Improved transition support would help with that.

11. HE Provision: Even where HEIs do offer progression routes, they are rarely sufficiently flexible to genuinely enable apprentices to fit their studies around their work and the expectations of their employers. Furthermore they fail to understand the skills and knowledge apprentices bring and fail to link to the learning methods used in apprenticeships. There is still too great a divide between the pedagogy of academic book learning and that of WBL where apprentices have built their skills. WBL providers argue that generally, there is a lack of local, vocationally relevant provision in the appropriate mode to enable their apprentices to progress.

12. Funding: A key barrier beyond the age of 19 is the availability of funding. After the age of 19 the funding goes down considerably and with it, goes the incentive for employers and learning providers to engage with older apprentices. There is also considerable confusion in this area. In subjects such as IT, the HA framework requires an NVQ diploma to be taken which is Skills Funding Agency (SFA) funded. This can lead to a funding situation where SFA, Higher Education Funding Council for England, (HEFCE), the employers and Student Loans Company (SLC) all have an interest in one student.

13. Given that the majority of individuals who need to be up-skilled are already in the workplace (and many of them will be apprentices) we need to consider ways in which we can encourage their progression and up-skilling.

We would suggest:

14. Higher level study contributes to the revitalisation of the economy. HA funding is helping to do this but it does not address the issue of lack of progression for apprentice level.

15. Apprentices can be equally, if not more appropriately skilled and ready for the workplace than more traditional academic routes.

16. Increasing the academic content of HAs and providing better support the apprentices in transition to HE would be ways of improving progression,

Higher Level Apprenticeships

Key arguments

17. The challenges to a successful and sustainable long term outcome to the Apprenticeships initiative are:

· for students to break through barriers, and become full participants in HE, including them gaining access to standard HE funding mechanisms

· for employers, to have access to solutions that deliver skills development targeted to business needs, that retain and enhance the expertise in the workplace, and that minimise cost, including cost associated with day-release

· for Universities/HE, to develop suitable solutions as part of the full range of mainstream provision – including Masters and Doctorates, that are sensitive to work based learning, carry appropriate professional accreditations and delivery mechanisms sensitive to not just the needs of employers, but the opportunities of the employers participating in the delivery process

18. Sector Skills Councils (SSCs) should engage more with universities in the development of Higher Apprenticeships or there is a risk that the programmes will sit solely with FE and Work Based Learner providers. The National Apprenticeships Service (NAS) has developed strong links with SSCs and has been trying to engage with Higher education Establishments (HEIs) but there are still opportunities for improvement in this area.

At The Open University we have a strong record in:

19. Supporting students in breaking through access barriers: the majority of our students are in work. The University operates an open entry policy and has developed a portfolio of access routes for students with diverse backgrounds. We are planning to include a (HE) Level zero module suitable to support apprentice transition. We have no expectation of students presenting themselves with prior academic track records (such as A-Level) and access from different backgrounds sits at the heart of our mission. Access routes feed immediately into Level Four of our curricula, and possibly funding mechanisms open to all participants in HE regardless of access route. Since students then become part of mainstream HE, the OU solution we offer is as sustainable as part-time Higher Education.

20. Providing employers with the flexibility to design routes for their apprentices and helping meet employer or sector specific challenges: Here is a sample of the solutions we have developed, in the context of specific partnerships either with employers, sector skills councils and other universities. All of our solutions keep students in the workplace and offer opportunities for gaining credit on the basis of their experience.

21. Saving of opportunity costs as apprentices do not need day release, they can study in their own time, costs of materials is included in the price and there is no travel to support.

22. Potential to accredit prior learning. We are currently developing a scheme with the RAF for accreditation of prior learning. First intake will be 100 students at undergraduate level.

23. The OU validates and quality assures almost 300 programmes that are designed, delivered and assessed by its partners. Over 107,000 OU validated awards have been conferred to date and around 39,000 students are currently registered for these.

Our validated programmes are delivered in six colleges.

· Plymouth College of Art

· Leeds College of Art

· Havering College of Further and Higher Education

· Ruskin College, Oxford

· Newham College of Further Education

· The Manchester College

Next steps

24. The OU has a significant track record in developing HE mechanisms and delivering the kinds of solutions that are identified as key challenges in the Apprenticeship initiative, specifically access barriers, solutions sensitive to the needs and career trajectories of people in work, employer and sector needs and through pull through mainstream HE including at L7 and 8, in a sustainable fashion. Further, we are present in four nations, and we can deliver solutions on scale.

25. Much of what we know is necessary has been tested through other partnerships such as Aim Higher and Lifelong Learning Networks so we are not starting from scratch: but the following may be needed to enhance the potential for scalable delivery.

26. Support in raising the awareness and aspiration of apprentices and their employers about the option of HE. This might involve the provision of materials and support for WBL providers and helping them to deliver workshops and presentations to their learners about the options for progression, including specific IAG about the OU offer

27. Maintaining support for a cohort of learners over a period of time to keep them on track and motivated to progress through the Apprenticeship framework – this really needs to be the role of the employers and WBL providers but emphasises the need for this to be a partnership throughout the learner journey

28. Preparing apprentices for HE: Short course provision, such as the Step In to HE provision developed by the Greater Manchester Aim higher partnership. This was an accredited L1 HE course, delivered by the WBL provider as part of an Advanced Apprenticeship which enabled students to develop the academic skills necessary to progress – it also helped to build their confidence to progress. During the pilot it achieved immediate progression rates into HE of 38% with a further 41% expressing an intention to proceed the following year. New funding and fee contexts have rendered this provision unviable but the OU is planning to build on the learning to provide a new transition module at Level zero.

29. Additional support for apprentices in the early stages of their HE studies to provide an appropriate bridge from the apprenticeship into HE. Support for partnership work between the University, WBL providers and Employers

30. The reality of making this happen requires strong and sustained partnership working between employers, WBL providers, apprentices and HE. This partnership needs to start from the beginning of the Advanced Apprenticeship journey and recognise that the end point extends beyond the apprenticeship (to a first or even higher degree). Different parties will have a different level of input at each stage but they must act collectively to provide the support and make the possibilities a reality.

2 February 2012