Guest editorial

Citation

Helyer, R. (2012), "Guest editorial", Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning, Vol. 2 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/heswbl.2012.50502caa.001

Guest editorial

Article Type: Editorial From: Higher Education, Skills and Work-based Learning, Volume 2, Issue 3.

Welcome to this special issue of Higher Education Skills and Work Based Learning, dedicated to higher apprenticeships (HAs).

Since its launch in November 2010 Higher Education Skills and Work Based Learning (HESWBL) has developed a reputation for publishing academic and practitioner-focused papers which offer a broad coverage of activities and innovation across the higher level skills landscape, in the UK and abroad, with particular emphasis upon the interface between higher education (HE) and the workplace. As the official journal of UVAC (the University Vocational Awards Council) HESWBL is closely attuned to the needs of the UK economy, and the UK Governmental policy around this vital focus; it is also no stranger to controversial and challenging topics; this results in interesting and prescient content " based on rigorous, high-quality scholarly work which encompasses up to date professional practice from a diverse range of approaches, and this special issue is no exception.

Future skills shortages will negatively impact upon the UK's economic performance, this will be especially felt around the high-tech and science-based sectors, such as advanced manufacturing. HAs could be part of the answer to this problem. Not unlike Foundation degrees, HAs are rooted firmly in the ethos of work-based learning; learning derived from work, which includes accrediting professional skills and knowledge, and fostering continuous professional and personal development. HAs delivered through HEIs are greatly enhanced by the expertise in work-based learning provision of the institution; this can help to forge connections between learning, research and higher level qualifications (see Bromley and Minton's paper for an excellent example of work in this area).

Developing new progression routes, like HAs, also extends choice and opportunities to those whose lack of cultural capital may have prevented them from benefiting from the expansion of “traditional” HE, to quote the business secretary Vince Cable, “higher apprenticeships are an essential step in rebalancing our economy and building a fairer country where growth is spread evenly and opportunities are not limited to the privileged” (DBIS, 2012a). The coalition government have been vociferous in their support of apprenticeships:

The growth in Apprenticeships is really welcome news. Government has put apprenticeships at the heart of our skills policy because they equip people with the skills they need for a prosperous future and provide businesses with the expertise they need to grow (DBIS, 2012B).

The HA fund was created to tackle the low numbers of HAs. The initial figures (full details appear in the introduction to the HA case studies) would suggest that the fund has been very successful in increasing the number of HA frameworks. The Skills Minister John Hayes has stated that, “by radically increasing the number of degree-level apprenticeships we are putting practical learning on a level footing with academic study” (DBIS, 2012A). This is a big statement, and like all proposed change brings with it both opportunities, but also challenges.

HAs encourage collaboration in the development of higher level qualifications, for example, between further education colleges and universities (see Anderson, Bravenboer and Hemsworth's paper). HEIs can accredit the knowledge and competency requirements of an HA framework through a Foundation degree, but HAs can also be delivered without using HE qualifications and will still be viewed as facilitating the growth of new, government-backed vocational pathways at Levels 4 and 5 (and soon Level 6 and beyond).

Developing HA frameworks with minimal HE involvement stands to intensify the artificial vocational and academic divide; when what is required to rise to the challenges of a hybrid and changing workplace is actually a continuum of learning (see Lee's paper for a fuller discussion of this). HE involvement in HAs has to date been limited, with only two of the 19 successful bids to round one of the HA fund being led by HEIs (although some others do include HEIs as partners).

From a student's point of view the chance to study at degree level, while working with an employer and getting paid, presents an opportunity, and potentially the route to a career which offers progression and the continuous building of skills while learning on-the-job. HAs typically widen the offer beyond the traditional trade occupations and allow learners to access quality work-based training at a professional level, in new areas and in those areas with skills shortages (see e.g. Anderson, Bravenboer and Hemsworth's paper about construction operations management).

HEIs may view HAs as a competitive threat as some are being developed using the qualification and credit framework (www.ofqual.gov.uk/qualifications-assessments/89-articles/145-explaining-the-qualifications-and-credit-framework) rather than HE awards, and furthermore marketed as alternatives to HE. Companies with significant vision for their sector may choose to develop HAs which they believe will equip their future employees more fully than a traditional degree route could, and if such models prove successful, and are replicated in other sectors, they could have significant impact on the demand for other kinds of vocational HE.

The Specification of Apprenticeship Standards for England (SASE) which sets out the statutory basis for apprenticeship, currently only covers apprenticeships up to and including Level 5. Through the HA fund approaches are, however, being developed to apprenticeship at Level 6 and above and the UK Government and National Apprenticeship Service (NAS) plan to consult on, and develop, approaches to the recognition of HA at Level 6 and above. This seems likely to position HA as a vehicle for professional development and recognition, an issue of substantial interest to professional bodies and HE. These higher levels are crucial for progression for employees operating at craft and technician levels, and provisional measures have been taken to facilitate the approval of frameworks agreed by Sector Skills Councils (SSCs) and issuing bodies in the interim.

Apprenticeships at Level 3 have traditionally incorporated separate knowledge and competency qualifications; this approach is being replicated in some HAs, however, it is quite possible, in HAs, to use a single qualification, such as a foundation degree, to recognise and accredit both the knowledge and competency requirements. The two separate funding regimes in England for higher level skills; managed by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and the Skills Funding Agency (SFA), respectively, means that funding rules for HAs, which can incorporate HEFCE and/or SFA “funded” qualifications, are complicated. Currently a public funding contribution can be available when an SFA funded qualification, for example, an NVQ, is used to accredit the competency requirements of a framework. In contrast no such funding contribution is available where a HEFCE funded qualification, such as a Foundation degree, is used to accredit the competency (and knowledge) requirements of a HA. This inconsistency creates an uneven playing field and currently provides a clear disincentive to those hoping to develop HAs using a Foundation degree to accredit competency and knowledge. This anomaly persists regardless of the fact that some employers favour such an approach because of the potential benefits of progression to Level 6 and beyond, and the simplicity, and in many cases desirability, of integrating knowledge and competence in one qualification. Research also suggests that many professional bodies favour the clarity of this integrated approach.

The above added bureaucracy, uncertainty and extra cost will have an effect on the growth of HAs, which will in turn have implications for social mobility in certain sectors, where a combined competency and knowledge qualification like a Foundation degree could be preferred and would enhance access to technician, and ultimately to managerial and professional roles:

Research shows that apprenticeships help employers improve productivity and give them a competitive edge. Employers recoup their investment rapidly, with most apprenticeships paying back in less than three years (DBIS, 2011).

To ensure that learner and employer choice is maximised, and their needs met, the funding regime needs to be rationalised and clarified. All skills initiatives at the higher level should be, ideally, funded by the same agency for the sake of equity (and economies of scale in austere times). Fundamentally, working to remove the divide between knowledge and competency at higher levels would also foster a parity of esteem between “traditional” academic disciplines and higher-level provision which is designed to raise skills levels in the workplace. Work-based learners have long been aware that there is no need to falsely split competency and knowledge, and indeed more is to be gained from maximising on their synergies. Similarly many sectors have long used the philosophy of HAs without using that terminology (see e.g. Shanks and Robson's paper focusing on trainee teachers). Perhaps most crucially this would also help to transmit the important message to schools and parents that young people do not need to choose between either a university qualification or a HA, as they could benefit from both, given an intuitive system.

Thanks to Mandy Crawford-Lee, the apprenticeship development manager from the NAS for her useful introduction to the HAs Fund, and the case studies, which give a rich flavour of some of the successful projects from round one of the bidding. In round two (June 2012) 4,239 new HA places, from sectors displaying real skills gaps, such as, aviation, low-carbon engineering, legal services and space engineering, were announced supported by £6.5 million of the fund. Those who were successful in round two were too late to be published in this issue, but we look forward to sharing their project's on-going activities in future issues of HESWBL along with further news and updates about the development of HA.

Further details about HA can be found at: www.apprenticeships.org.uk/Employers/The-Basics/Higher-Apprenticeships.aspx

Ruth Helyer