Since their launch in 2015, degree apprenticeships have opened entire new pathways for young people in the UK to enter skilled professions, and their popularity continues to increase. In the 2021/22 academic year, 43,200 people opted to undertake a degree-level apprenticeship in England alone, a 10 per cent increase on the previous year.
While there are a huge number of benefits to a traditional university education, we must acknowledge that it is not the right route for everyone. But that should not be prevent a young person with the right skills from pursuing a certain career. The more routes there are into professional careers, the better it is for the UK economy.
The ability to earn while you learn and graduate debt-free has allowed people of all backgrounds to gain a degree and access highly skilled professions. The legal sector, for instance, was once known for being a gated community that excluded people from poorer backgrounds. However, it introduced solicitor apprenticeships in 2016 and, seven years on, diversity across the legal sector continues to improve year-on-year.
It was therefore very encouraging to hear that the NHS’ long-overdue workforce plan could include a new medical apprenticeship scheme that would provide a vocational route into medicine for the first time, opening up the medical profession to people of all backgrounds.
The staffing challenges facing the NHS are well known. According to figures from the British Medical Association (BMA), there were more than 8,500 unfilled medical vacancies across England towards the end of last year, amounting to nearly 6 per cent of all posts. Ensuring that medicine is an attractive and achievable profession for as wide a sector of the population as possible is key to addressing that level of understaffing and securing the NHS’ future.
Yet the reaction to the announcement of this potential new route into medical practice, from both current NHS doctors and the media, was disappointing. Many questioned whether a degree apprenticeship could generate the same calibre of doctor as a traditional degree can.
We in the sector must rebut this perception that degree apprenticeships are easier than traditional degrees and are therefore worth less. One of the biggest challenges for newly launched apprenticeship schemes in highly skilled sectors has proved to be this perception that they cannot provide the same level of education. We witnessed similar mindsets following the launch of legal apprenticeships.
However, those perceptions have fallen away as people saw that the quality fears were entirely unfounded. We must stress that any doctor trained via a degree apprenticeship will be required to meet the same entry requirements and pass the same exams, regulated by the General Medical Council, as any other doctor.
It is also very important to stress that the NHS has been benefitting from apprenticeships for years, following the launch of the nursing apprenticeship scheme in 2017. A recent study that BPP conducted with Health Education England found that 80 per cent of NHS trusts now have more than 100 apprenticeships in their organisation, and 85 per cent of trusts find apprenticeships to be a solution to the skills gap.
I acknowledge that there are concerns about a lack of capacity within the NHS to manage and train apprentices. However, if it wants to address its staffing shortfalls, the NHS can and must plan for incorporating the teaching of apprentices into the system in the same way it does for standard university students.
It’s clear that the NHS needs to increase the volume of school-leavers opting for a career in medicine if it is to tackle the skills shortage, and degree apprenticeships have the potential to be part of the solution. Let’s not deem the policy a failure before it has even been tried.
Nichola Hay is director of apprenticeship strategy and policy at BPP.
