Degree apprenticeships: delivering quality and social mobility?

Degree apprenticeships: delivering quality and social mobility? Employers in England are increasingly shifting their skills and talent pipeline strategies towards higher levels, including degree apprenticeships. There is no doubt that the introduction of degree apprenticeships in 2015 represented an exciting policy move, supported by employers who have focussed on the creation of apprenticeships for job roles to meet sector skills and productivity objectives. Expansive developments can be seen across key public and private sector occupations including nursing, policing, social work, teaching, engineering, construction, digital technology and in leadership and management. Equally, there is little doubt over the positive influence made by UK Higher Education (HE) providers of all sizes and types to drive the upward migration in the skill level and professional occupational focus of apprenticeships, including post-graduate delivery. However, as this phenomenon grows, so have a number of debates about the focus of apprenticeships, with views increasingly polarised and language bordering on territorial. Should the apprenticeship system retain its primary focus on level 2 skills and support for young people entering the workforce or redefine its purpose to raise productivity, deliver high-quality public services and enhance the social mobility through outstanding teaching, learning and assessment?