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The purpose of this article is to explore how one higher education institution (HEI) has embraced the apprenticeship agenda and is successfully providing an apprenticeship programme for nursing associates (NA) a new profession within health and social care in the United Kingdom.

This is a descriptive case study narrative about one programme from one HEI, selected for its relevance for the subject area of apprenticeships. This descriptive approach allows the provision of apprenticeships within HEI to be explored in depth by one institution.

This case study identifies the considerable value of apprenticeships within HEI for the students, the employers and the HEI. It also identifies that there are challenges within this. These findings will be of interest to those entering into the apprenticeship arena, especially within healthcare, and may inform an academic discourse in this area.

It is acknowledged that this case study does not seek to compare apprenticeships with other programmes. However, there is value in providing an academic narrative around the challenges of this provision which will be informative for others developing higher apprenticeships in the United Kingdom or similar delivery of apprenticeship models internationally.

There is value in providing an academic narrative around the challenges of this provision which will be informative for others developing higher apprenticeships in the UK or similar delivery of apprenticeship models internationally

These findings will be of interest to those entering into the apprenticeship arena, especially within healthcare, and will inform the academic discourse in this area.

This is original work and provides a new body of knowledge to the inform HEIs engaging with the relatively new context of higher and degree apprenticeships, as well as the new role within healthcare of the nursing associate.

Apprenticeships in England, while defined by level and typical duration, are not quantified regarding the number of learning hours required to achieve the outcomes specified, as with other regulated qualifications and accredited programmes. This paper proposes an approach to ascribe credit to apprenticeships recognising both on-and-off-the-job learning to remove some of the existing barriers to accessing higher education (HE) and the professions.

A mixed methodological approach resulting in a total learning hours/credit value was proposed.

There is significant HE-wide confusion regarding the amount of learning/training that is required to complete apprenticeships in England. Whilst sector guidance made it clear that there was no prescribed method to ascribe credit to qualifications, programmes, modules, units or apprenticeships by drawing out the core principles within current practice, a key outcome of this project was the development of a method to ascribe a credit value to apprenticeships.

There is potential to support further research into the recognition of prior learning as a specialised pedagogy and for reflecting on apprenticeship practice in other roles and sectors.

Whilst the project underpinning this paper focused on the healthcare sector, the method used to ascribe credit to the level-3 healthcare support worker apprenticeship was not sector specific and can therefore be applied to apprenticeships within other contexts providing more widespread benefits to workforce development.

Policy makers must ensure that employers and providers are clear that the minimum statutory off-the-job hours constitute an apprentice employment entitlement, which must not be conflated with total apprenticeship learning hours requirements. This recommended policy clarification could assist in simplifying the process required for ascribing credit to apprenticeships and at the same time support a move towards better and more consistent recognition of the value of apprenticeship learning.

It is a first attempt to ascribe a credit value to an apprenticeship in England for the specific purpose of facilitating progression to HE.

The purpose of this paper is to show how and why government discoursal constraints have obstructed the development of viable degree apprenticeships for regulated healthcare professionals working in England and suggests some ways these constraints can now be managed and overcome.

The study uses an analysis of published literature, reviews of government and health professional body policies and regulations and semi-structured interviews recorded with those leading on the development of degree apprenticeships in healthcare-regulated professions.

Once created, a bureaucracy tends to look for ways to control discourse, to sustain itself and to extend its reach. In doing so, fault lines may be exposed which undermine the position of that bureaucracy, but it will continue to control discourses to maintain power over those it requires to act. There is no pedagogical need for End Point Assessment (EPA) to measure the competence of regulated healthcare professionals. The paper produces evidence to show how meeting health professional registration requirements is a sufficient metric for measuring successful degree apprenticeship outcomes.

This paper examined current practices relating to the registered nurse and nursing associate degree apprenticeships only. The validity of EPA for measuring occupational competence should be further investigated.

The NHS and other public service organisations should use these findings to re-examine and challenge the requirements for EPA in degree apprenticeships for all regulated professions.

Understanding how “centering” bureaucracies control discourse in their interests can help those in their orbit find ways to challenge and alter the course of policy.

Craft apprenticeship in Ireland has been traditionally of the time‐served type, in which the attainment of pre‐determined standards of competence and knowledge was not mandatory. However, in 1991 a new standards‐based apprenticeship system was introduced and that in future, to be recognised as a crafts worker, a person would have to have the National Craft Certificate as a compulsory requirement. Previously an apprentice underwent four to five years of training to achieve status as a qualified tradesperson, regardless of actual competency. This paper reports on research work conducted on the apprenticeship system in Ireland, and particularly the perceptions of the outcomes of the change from a time‐served to standards based apprenticeship system. The focus of attention is the construction industry, and the research work was conducted in a large city in the south of Ireland. The research work consisted of interviewing a wide variety of personnel in this industry, from employers to trainers. The research findings are supported by contextual data on the construction industry. Broadly speaking, most interviewees expressed satisfaction with the new system mentioning, in particular, the value of having competent standards rather than simply using time. A number of criticisms were voiced. However, these criticisms related primarily to the specific operation of the new scheme and were especially relative to problems in gaining access to particular training courses at the right time.

Apprenticeships in the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard, which operate under the United Services Military Apprenticeship Program (USMAP), now account for about 20 percent of all registered apprentices in the USA. The purpose of this paper is to draw on interviews and focus groups to examine the strengths and limitations of USMAP, develops implications of the study for policy, and presents ideas for demonstration projects to learn how best to improve USMAP.

The primary method involved background research on USMAP and USMAP occupations, interviews with key staff members involved with USMAP operations, and 11 focus groups at two Navy and two Marine Corps bases with USMAP apprentices, USMAP completers, and USMAP supervisors.

The study contributes by answering key questions about USMAP. Positives include the potential to upgrade skills, document occupational competencies, and smooth the transition to civilian employment. The study shows that service members have a weak understanding of the rationale for participating and for completing their apprenticeships. Logistical problems often result in incomplete documentation. Counselors lack knowledge about how to make USMAP completers attractive to employers. Finally, USMAP does little to engage employers in insuring the occupational standards are adequate for civilian jobs and in hiring those completing apprenticeships. The study draws policy implications and presents an agenda for research.

The military should provide additional financial support to help the program connect participants with civilian jobs, including a website where employers could search for candidates and communicate with veterans.

This study is the first to examine the operations and implementation of the USMAP.

The purpose of this paper is to contend that collaboration between employers and universities in the design and delivery of programmes of work-based study is an effective way to align the higher-level skills needs of employers with the aspirations of individuals who wish to gain university qualifications in the workplace. In mapping the fluctuations of UK higher-level skills policy through workforce development to degree apprenticeships it is argued that the facility for employers and universities to co-design and develop degree apprenticeship standards should be extended to the development of Higher Apprenticeships in England.

The paper provides an analysis of a broad range of higher education (HE) skills related UK policy documents to map the fluctuations in policy that underpin the opportunities for employers and universities to collaborate in the design and delivery of HE programmes in England, including degree apprenticeships.

It is noted that the approach to collaborative employer-university development signalled for degree apprenticeships described in policy documents unhelpfully perpetuates the presumed distinction between “academic learning” and “on the job training”. However, it is also concluded that despite this, the rationale for co-design and delivery should equally apply to the development of all higher apprenticeships to ensure that the expertise that universities can bring in designing and assessing higher-level learning is not unnecessarily excluded from the process.

This paper provides value through its analysis of how the fluctuations of HE and skills policy has affected the basis upon which employers and universities can collaborate in the design and delivery of work-based HE including higher and degree apprenticeships in England. It also seeks to inform HE policy and practice in the development of employer-responsive provision.

In this rapidly changing world, we are experiencing the fourth industrial revolution, known as “Industry 4.0,” that requires education systems to redesign qualifications in order to meet the needs of an individual and the workplace of the digitized economy. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the relatively new approaches being explored mainly in the UK and Australia within the higher education (HE) sector and to propose a framework with selected career training pathways for the tertiary education system within the Australian context. The implementation plan postulated from the reports of recent studies conducted in England’s apprenticeship system is intended as a guideline for facilitating a sustainable career and technical education (CTE) with three pillars of innovation, integration and collaboration in order to improve employment outcomes required for the digitized economy in Australia.

This study adopts a descriptive, pragmatic research methodology to review and analyze education methods found in contemporary degree and vocation programs, particularly the degree apprenticeships adopted in England. This approach is used to explore, explain and develop a framework for student-centric apprenticeship options in CTE with graduate outcomes in the re-designed HE programs to successfully meet the needs of Industry 4.0 workplaces in Australia.

A student-centric framework is designed for HE programs with a proposal to include practical variations in apprenticeships to embrace flexible structures and industry responsiveness. The paper develops tactical plans and implementation flowcharts for the proposed framework with four CTE pathways, such as degree apprenticeships, start-up focus degrees, tailored studies and multiple majors that are designed for tertiary education programs to meet the dynamically changing employment needs of industry.

This proposal is a relatively new approach to improve employment outcomes of students undergoing degrees and vocational education with a focus on apprenticeship in four different forms. The strength of this pragmatic approach is in providing an insight into “what works” through a set of flexible, sustainable and practical implementation plan for the proposed CTE pathway framework in order to meet the future need of re-skilling and training for the digital economy.

In 2015 the Conservative led government announced their plan to increase the number of young people participating in apprenticeship to three million by 2020. As part of this plan there is to be an expansion of the number of degree-level apprenticeships, with the government suggesting that these should be seen as a real alternative to university. Despite the government’s propaganda of an alternative to university, higher education institutions have a pivotal role to play in both the development and delivery of degree-level apprenticeships. However, the accountability for the success of degree-level apprenticeships remains unclear. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

The paper provides an analysis of current notions of outcome-based accountability contextualised through the degree apprenticeship programme.

The paper illustrates that outcome-based accountability frameworks do little to support the delivery of degree-level apprenticeships. Instead there needs to be a shift to a holistic approach to accountability where student success form just one element of an accountability framework. It concludes that current accountability frameworks may result in an unnecessary confusion around the roles and responsibilities of individual actors associated with degree apprenticeship delivery resulting in a missed opportunity to maximise the value arising from the tri-partite delivery relationship.

This paper provides an original perspective involving accountability associated with degree apprenticeship programmes in the UK.

The UK government is actively promoting higher apprenticeships and degree apprenticeships and this agenda has been gaining momentum amongst the various providers of apprenticeships. The purpose of this paper is to draw on an exploratory study on English further education (FE) colleges and highlight some of the key drivers of delivery, and possible challenges that can be faced by the providers in any expansion of this provision. Staff perceptions on the new apprenticeship standards are also presented in the paper.

This paper draws on a qualitative exploratory study with ten FE colleges in England. As part of the study, 19 in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with college staff and managers.

Higher apprenticeships have the potential to offer work-focussed alternatives to the conventional full-time degree models of higher education, however, the paper sheds light on a number of factors can limit the uptake of higher and degree apprenticeships.

The paper presents some practical challenges in developing higher apprenticeships and outlines some successful instances of higher apprenticeships which will be useful for those involved in the design and delivery of apprenticeships at FE colleges as well as at other providers.

This paper draws on research with FE colleges and will be of particular significance to FE colleges and universities that may consider delivering higher apprenticeships. The paper presents insights into institutional experiences and decision-making associated with higher and degree apprenticeships and, in doing so, the paper offers valuable contributions to the body of knowledge in this under-researched area.

Apprenticeship programmes are designed to provide young trainees with essential broad-based skills. Through apprenticeships, different sectors that are underpopulated can fill up their skills gaps. Apprenticeships are particularly useful to the construction sector which has a high ageing workforce and associated lower labour productivity. However, the completion rates of apprenticeship training programmes in the construction sector remain low in several countries across the globe. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to review the published research on apprenticeship training that is specifically focused on the construction sector, to determine the current status quo and suggest a direction for future research.

A systematic review approach was adopted. Based on a comprehensive search using SCOPUS databases, 33 relevant journal articles were identified and analysed.

It was found that monitoring and control is the most mentioned factor responsible for improvements in the completion rates of apprenticeship training. In contrast, the length of time required for going through the full training is the most common factor responsible for low completion rates. Three research gaps were identified, among which is the dearth of studies that has focused on apprentices training in developing countries.

The gaps identified in the current knowledge on apprenticeship training would serve as a justification for future investigations. However, the scope of the review is limited to papers published in academic journals and citable through SCOPUS.

The outcomes of the study provide researchers and other relevant stakeholders with a concise report on the findings of previous studies. It also provides insight into strategies for improving the completion rates of apprenticeship training in the construction sector.

A systematic evaluation of the extant literature draws on theoretical evidence and highlights the factors that are more likely to influence the outcomes of apprentice training for craftspeople in the construction sector.