February 2015 Cheryl Woods, Portfolio Suite Manager Apprenticeships Accessing Higher Apprenticeships for High Performing Students

Government Plans… want to make higher apprenticeships available to more businesses asked the SFA to support 20,000 higher apprenticeships by July 2015 announced an additional £40m to fund places up until July 2015 announced an extra £20m to fund the higher educational element to the end of March 2016.

Background to Higher Apprenticeships and their importance to UK PLC Enable Opportunities for all Investing in on-the-job skills Build a “world-class skills system” Plugging the skills gap and improve growth and productivity Reduce unemployment Investing £250 million to create 50,000 Apprenticeship places

Challenges and Influencers Raising the perception of the vocational educational and training pathway Improved IAG provision Stronger employer engagement links More opportunity for work experience Collaboration across all key stakeholders

Apprenticeships are at the heart of employability… (not all learners will access all levels and can step on and step off at different points) E3/L1 Pre – employability programmes L1/L2 Traineeship programmes L2/L3 Apprenticeship programmes L4 + Higher Apprenticeship programmes EMPLOYMENT DEGREE

The Apprenticeship Route Comparison

Higher Apprenticeships - Some Facts

Benefits of Higher Apprenticeships

Further benefits for the learner

BTEC Higher Apprenticeships Developed with employers to meet industry needs Designed at levels 4 and above Offer a clear path to employment and a practical route to higher education qualifications. BTEC Higher Apprenticeships combine BTEC Higher Nationals, BTEC Professional qualifications or Edexcel Diplomas, on-the- job training and industry endorsement from employers, and professional bodies. Built on the core BTEC values of flexibility, employability, progression and quality, they are a clearly defined part of the wider BTEC portfolio, allowing learners to take advantage of progression opportunities from other BTEC programmes.

BBC Higher Apprenticeship/Degree Programme

12 Questions