Section 1: UCL’s Approach to Degree Apprenticeships

Published for 2023-24

1.	UCL aims to use its world class academic excellence to tackle real world problems at a grand scale, often in collaboration with partners in public and private sector industries. The range of activity resulting from this is broad and typically includes a combination of research, education and knowledge transfer in order to disrupt the status quo and bring about lasting change. Degree apprenticeships represent a valuable means through which to apply our existing strengths in research and education to address skills gaps and broader workforce development challenges as an enabler for such lasting change.
2.	The development UCL’s portfolio of degree apprenticeships draws on the established expertise in academic departments and supports the application of that existing expertise in new ways. Each degree apprenticeship will use this expertise to address a clear strategic need identified with employers and other industry partners and should usually focus on occupations requiring the higher-level skills and competences that UCL is particularly well-placed to deliver.
3.	UCL’s strategic intent is best suited to the more focused, specialist nature of level 7 provision. This will enable apprentices to benefit from the synergies with our wider postgraduate taught student community, many of whom are already established in their careers and embarking on professional development. By defining the scope of our provision in this way, UCL is able to develop a policy and support infrastructure that is fit for purpose.
4.	Successful completion of an apprenticeship at UCL must always lead to a credit-bearing qualification as set out in Chapter 7, Part A of the Academic Manual, but there are fundamental differences in the design, delivery, management, regulation and funding of apprenticeships compared to UCL’s traditional provision. UCL is regulated as a single Apprenticeship Training Provider and is required to operate as such with a coherent framework for managing its apprenticeship provision. Where an academic department proposes to deliver an apprenticeship, it recognises and agrees to operate wholly within this framework comprising unified policies, processes, systems and ways of working, in order to secure UCL’s ongoing compliance with its regulatory obligations. UCL is early in its development as an Apprenticeship Training Provider and the development of its framework for managing apprenticeships will be iterative, which in turn will require academic departments and professional services to iteratively review and ensure the continued alignment of their practice.
5.	The regulations and policy of UCL as set out in the Academic Manual shall apply in full to apprentices as to any other registered student enrolled on a UCL programme, except where a specific provision is made in the Academic Manual to accommodate the specific requirements of apprenticeships.
6.	Where UCL’s regulations are found to be incompatible with the external regulation and funding rules of apprenticeships, a request to suspend the regulations may be made according to procedure in Chapter 6, Section 5 as an interim measure ahead of Student and Registry Services proposing a permanent regulatory solution.

Section 1: UCL’s Approach to Degree Apprenticeships

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