Justine Greening announces 27 new Degree Apprenticeship projects

Emma Finamore
13 Oct 2017

The Secretary of State for Education has announced plans to develop programmes in everything from project management and computer science to bioinformatics and social work.

Placeholder — Degree Apprenticeships were launched in 2015, the latest type of apprenticeship to be developed.

A number of new Degree Apprenticeship projects were given the go-ahead this month, when Justine Greening announced them at the Conservative Party conference.

The news was seen as a real boost for Degree Apprenticeships, with 27 new projects tasked with promoting and increasing this innovative, high-quality route into employment.

Degree Apprenticeships allow apprentices to earn while they learn, while gaining a full university degree, and are developed through partnerships between businesses and universities. This means that the skills apprentices learn on the programmes are the specific ones required for the jobs they do with employers (the businesses that help develop programmes).

The projects will be spread across the country and are part of a £10 million fund launched in 2016 that has already allowed more than 2,000 people to begin a Degree Apprenticeship.

They will support up to 4,500 new apprenticeships from September 2018, will be managed by the Higher Education Funding Council for England, and will involve 63 universities and colleges.

“We will pursue excellence in FE, as we have in our schools,” Greening said at the Conservative conference.

“We will make sure that the technical education ladder is going to reach every bit as high as the academic one.

The projects will be spread across the country and are part of a £10 million fund launched in 2016 that has already allowed more than 2,000 people to begin a Degree Apprenticeship. They will support up to 4,500 new apprenticeships from September 2018, will be managed by the Higher Education Funding Council for England, and will involve 63 universities and colleges.

“In 2015, we introduced Degree Apprenticeships, so individuals can earn while they learn, and in less than two years, more than 2,000 people have started one.

“So today I am announcing the next wave of 27 degree apprenticeship projects, that will help meet the growing demand for these opportunities from the next generation.”

The universities involved include Birmingham City University, the University of Winchester, Goldsmiths University of London, and Middlesex University.

The programmes they will be developing range from everything from project management and computer science to bioinformatics and social work.

Degree Apprenticeships were launched in 2015, the latest type of apprenticeship to be developed. Research has found that almost two thirds of the UK’s biggest employers are planning Degree Apprenticeships now that the Apprenticeship Levy has been introduced.

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