A consultation has launched (16 July) on proposals to improve how degree apprenticeships are developed, approved, and work in practice for employers and apprentices.  A key aim is to better capitalise on the prestige that degrees and graduate status carry with employers and the wider labour market, to ensure that level 6 and 7 apprenticeships better meet employers’ skills needs and support apprentices to progress in their careers.  The proposals would create more opportunities for degrees to be included in level 6 and 7 apprenticeships, where employers can demonstrate that graduate status is generally required for an individual to be employed in a particular occupation or sector.  Additionally, degree apprenticeships would only be approved where the end-point assessment (EPA) integrates with the final assessment of the degree. EPA would need to involve people with appropriate industry expertise.

The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE) would also ensure that degree apprenticeships are distinct from other higher education programmes and support further integration of on and off the job training, which is a key principle of all apprenticeships. The idea is to rule out degree apprenticeships that amount to no more than rebadging of existing full-time or part-time degree programmes.

You can visit the Institute’s website to take part in the consultation that will close at midnight on 16 September.

IfATE will be running a series of stakeholder events to provide an opportunity for people to discuss the proposals in more detail on:

5 August 2021:

  • Employers: 09:30-10:30, sign up here
  • Higher education institutions and training providers: 10:30-11:30, sign up here
  • Professional, statutory, and regulatory bodies and end-point assessment organisations: 15:30-16:30, sign up here

2 September 2021:

  • Employers: 09:30-10:30, sign up here
  • Higher education institutions and training providers: 11:00-12:00, sign up here
  • Professional, statutory, and regulatory bodies and end-point assessment organisations: 15:30-16:30, sign up here

If you have any further questions please email: Enquiries.IFA@education.gov.uk