Degree Apprenticeships at UCL

Degree Apprenticeships were introduced to combine work with part-time study at a university, combining practical training in a job with off-the-job learning. The UK Government and Industry have championed apprenticeships for a number of years now to increase the quality and quantity available across all sectors and at all levels. They are considered an important component in raising the level of skills available in the economy and addressing skills shortages, to improve productivity and economic prosperity. Funding and employer incentives for apprenticeships feature in the latest Government plans to support and create jobs for an economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

As part of UCL’s pilot of Degree Apprenticeships, which saw programmes launch in Systems Engineering and Ophthalmology in 2019, three further programmes launched this year: MSc Transformation Leadership, MSc Spatial Planning and MSc Clinical Associate in Psychology. Across these five programmes at Masters-level, we have a total of 124 apprentices and this will grow to around 280 over the next two years. 

UCL’s Degree Apprenticeships are designed around our established research strengths and experience in delivering higher-level professional programmes and the translation, application and impact of our expertise in addressing real-world, real-time challenges. They provide the opportunity to build on our partnerships with major employers and whole sectors, to deliver the kind of transformative, long-term interventions needed to address their changing workforce needs. 

Apprenticeships fall under the same regulatory regime as schools and colleges, meaning that we are obliged to monitor and evidence the learning of individual apprentices in a way that satisfies Ofsted. Apprenticeships are also subject to strict conditions by the Education Skills and Funding Agency (ESFA) as the responsible body for the regulation and funding of the apprenticeship system. Therefore, we need to be prepared for Ofsted inspections and ESFA funding compliance audits.

As such, we are developing institutional policy, processes and systems to secure positive inspection and audit outcomes. We will be working closely with each programme team during the summer term as to implement these and to prepare our first institutional self-evaluation against the Ofsted Education Inspection Framework.  

We are also preparing to launch the Degree Apprenticeships Delivery Group as a forum for all colleagues involved in apprenticeship delivery across departments to share practice, draw on each other’s knowledge and shape our work, which will also build our institutional knowledge in key areas. The development of these resources, support and in-house expertise is part of a transition towards Academic Services being the first point of contact for anything apprenticeship-related. Please do feel free to get in touch if needed. 

While UCL will not be adding any further Degree Apprenticeship programmes to the pilot this academic year or early in 2021/22, we would encourage all academic departments that are considering an apprenticeship as part of their long-term plans for their portfolio to let us know. This will help to inform an institutional conversation about the future appetite and strategy for apprenticeships as part of UCL’s wider conversation about its future strategy, shape and size.

Contact email for further information: academic.services@ucl.ac.uk