Category: Apprenticeships

National Apprenticeship Week: Higher and degree apprenticeships at UWE Bristol – Jennifer

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Jennifer is currently studying a higher and degree apprenticeship in Occupational Therapy at UWE Bristol. Here’s what she had to say about higher and degree apprenticeships.

Find out more about our higher and degree apprenticeships.

Question 1: What motivated you to become a higher or degree apprentice?

My apprenticeship opened the door to my career development, helping me to develop as a person and learn the skills required to progress in my journey towards becoming a qualified occupational therapist.    

Question 2: What skills have you gained during your apprenticeship which will benefit your career development?

I’m constantly learning new skills both within the workplace and at university, and by working alongside studying I can apply my university learning to real life practice. Being a part of the workforce in my chosen profession has meant that I can learn from other professionals and understand how the workplace operates. This will hopefully allow for a smooth transition from apprentice to professional, once qualified.          

Question 3: What are the top three things you would recommend to someone thinking about becoming a higher or degree apprentice?

1. The ability to gain the skills needed for your profession and be able to apply them to real life experiences at work.

2. It opens the door to career progression, which may not have been available to you before through ‘traditional’ study.

3. It helps to improve your employability as prospective employers will be able to see that you can apply yourself to the demands of both work and study.

Question 4: What are your future goals after completing your apprenticeship?

My goals are to start my career as an Occupational Therapist and continuing to learn for the development of occupational therapy profession and enhancing patient care.      

Question 5: Tell us a bit about your experience while doing your apprenticeship at UWE Bristol? (E.g. have you overcome any challenges?)

I started my apprenticeship at UWE Bristol and Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership alongside moving to a different part of the country. I had to adjust to my new roles as apprentice/employee and new surroundings. However, support from UWE Bristol and my workplace made the transition as smooth as possible.

Want to find out more?

Find out more about our higher and degree apprenticeships and explore the many higher and degree apprenticeship courses on offer with us.

National Apprenticeship Week 2023: An Employer’s Perspective

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Julia from Royal Devon Northern Services talks about some of our health profession higher and degree apprenticeships from an employer’s perspective.  Here’s what she had to say.

Find out more about our higher and degree apprenticeships.

“The main benefits are the progression routes for support staff to achieve registration in their preferred profession, which helps us to recruit and retain members of our allied health professions staff.

The Advanced Clinical Practitioner role also provides career progression but supports our patient safety agenda and high standards of patient care. It also supports with the medical workforce challenges. It offers master’s level qualifications for staff and again they can earn while they learn and develop.

The distance staff have to travel is a challenge, as this can be difficult while trying to work as well. We’re currently using UWE Bristol as it is our local University and offers the apprenticeships that we need.

Apprenticeships will offer opportunities to staff that they would not otherwise have been able to undertake, which will enable them to reach their full potential. This will result in being a great place to work and maintain high standards of care for our patients.”

Want to find out more?

Find out more about our higher and degree apprenticeships and explore the many higher and degree apprenticeship courses on offer with us.

National Apprenticeship Week: Higher and degree apprenticeships at UWE Bristol – April

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April is currently studying a higher and degree apprenticeship as a Chartered Town Planner at UWE Bristol.  Here’s what she had to say about higher and degree apprenticeships.  

April shares her experiences of higher and degree apprenticeships

Find out more about our higher and degree apprenticeships. 

I chose to do a higher degree apprenticeship because I graduated in 2013 and for a long time, I really wanted to do a masters. I didn’t know what I wanted to do it in, there were issues with funding and trying to find the balance of going part time at work and going back to university. So, for me, the higher and degree apprenticeship gave me the opportunity to do the degree alongside a relevant job and gave me opportunity to get back to university.

Prior to the apprenticeship, I had absolutely no planning knowledge. So, I’m doing the Chartered Town Planner apprenticeship and yeah, I didn’t know anything about planning. I had very minimal knowledge. By doing the degree alongside the work experience it sort of opened my eyes up to different areas within the sector that I could work in and helped me to understand what it is that I enjoy about planning and where I want to go in the future. I’ve met a lot of people within the field, whether that’s people I work with, people I’ve studied with, or people I’ve met at training events. And it’s just set me up to do something completely new.

For me, the reason to do the apprenticeship was to get that balance between work and studying. And I think that having to make the decision to do one or the other means that you miss out on a lot of things. The apprenticeship has been challenging, it’s taken a lot of commitment and motivation, but it’s meant that I’ve been able to sort of pursue both of those routes at the same time, and I think that’s what’s worked for me.

I think that doing an apprenticeship means that you have to be really strict with your time management. You’re trying to juggle, effectively, a full-time job with one day a week that you get to study alongside a qualification. So, it’s really being strict with yourself, but also giving yourself space to really focus on both of those things.

In terms of transferable skills by undertaking the qualification at the same time as working. It means that you get to obtain that knowledge at university, but then also apply it to real life practice. So, you’re doing that sort of on your day-to-day job. And I think that supplementing the work experience with the qualification, at the same time, means that you can progress a lot quicker, and you can become a lot more confident in both those areas.

National Apprenticeship Week 2023: Higher and degree apprenticeships at UWE Bristol- Emma-Jean

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Emma-Jean is currently studying a higher and degree apprenticeship in Applied Physiotherapy at UWE Bristol.  Here’s what she had to say about higher and degree apprenticeships.

Find out more about our higher and degree apprenticeships.

Question 1: What motivated you to become a higher or degree apprentice?

I’ve been working in therapy services in the NHS for 10 years as a support worker, initially as a band 3 in the community for four years and as a Band 4 in the acute sector for the last six years. My colleagues have encouraged me to develop my career and challenge myself. I strive to deliver the best care and feel I owe it to myself, my team, and my patients to be the best possible version of myself – hopefully as a practising physiotherapist.

Question 2: What skills have you gained during your apprenticeship which will benefit your career development?

So far, as I’m only at the end of year 1, I’ve gained significant fundamental knowledge in anatomy, assessment, and treatment skills, which I’ve been able to demonstrate and evidence in my day-to-day role. I’ve also covered the basics of physiology, allowing a better understanding of general health when reading patient notes. The end of year 1 has introduced us to different concepts and models of care within physiotherapy and has encouraged us to question the model that we follow in our day-to-day roles. We’re encouraged to consider whether there are opportunities for us in service development and in patient-centred care, which is in line with NHS guidelines and physiotherapy standards. We’ll build on this knowledge as we progress through the remaining years of the course.

Question 3: What are the top three things you would recommend to someone thinking about becoming a higher or degree apprentice?

1. Get organised – coming from someone who is very organised, it’s chaotic and overwhelming at times when working full-time as well. Familiarise yourself with the university and work-related learning resources as soon as possible, talk to student reps/other apprentices and ask anything – no question is stupid. Make sure you know how to find help if it’s needed.

2. Start planning your spare time from the start of the course. And establish a regular routine that works for you. ‘Spare’ time is a rarity when you’re also working full-time and trying to live a normal life.

3. Surround yourself with people that support your journey – it gets tough at times, and you need that work/life balance and a pick me up every now and then. Make sure you dedicate down time to maintain wellbeing and a good mental health. Forge connections with your peers as soon as possible, a shared experience and understanding can really help make sense of a situation. Also consider becoming a student rep so your voice is heard, and you can help implement change.

Question 4: What are your future goals on completion of your apprenticeship?

I aspire to gain clinical experience by rotating through services, which I believe will be the case within the acute sector at the end of my apprenticeship. I hope to progress to a leadership role, whether as a clinical lead and part of a team (for which there would be much competition in our trust) or supporting the development and training needs of the workforce. I love the specialty I work within (neurosurgery and neurology) but I’m open to exploring other areas. I hope to find somewhere that makes me feel I’m making a positive impact on patients, as much as I feel I am now. I only wish to feel valued in the role I hold – if that’s the case then every day at work is a good one.

Question 5: Tell us a bit about your experience whilst doing your apprenticeship at UWE Bristol? (E.g. have you overcome any challenges?)

My first year has been a journey of highs and lows. I’m extremely pleased with my module and placement results but acknowledge it was a challenging journey to achieve them. I’ve learned resilience and have needed to know when to be kind to myself and not to create too much pressure. The most challenging aspect so far has been time management: the placement team, my peers, family, and friends have been more supportive than I could have imagined and I’m so grateful. I feel ready to tackle the start of year 2 in January but first it is time for a well-deserved break.

Want to find out more?

Find out more about our higher and degree apprenticeships and explore the many higher and degree apprenticeship courses on offer with us.

National Apprenticeship Week 2023: Higher and degree apprenticeships at UWE Bristol – Simon

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We are celebrating National Apprenticeship Week. Hear our Head of Apprenticeships, Simon Flenley-Pond, talking about why our higher and degree apprenticeships are so important for the employer, university, and apprentice.  

Find out more about our higher and degree apprenticeships. 

Simon Flenley-Pond talks about the importance of apprenticeships

To choose UWE Bristol as an employer means that your apprentices are going to gain from high quality teaching and learning from staff who have often got industry experience and have worked in the kind of roles that they’re delivering to the apprentices.

We also work closely with employers through the design process, so when we are designing or redesigning apprenticeships, we often work with employers to make sure that the curriculum that we’re offering is right for the role that apprentices are in, or going to be in.

And what we also do is partner with employers throughout the program. So, we take your feedback, we look at that as part of our program redesign, and we’re always looking to support your voice within our continuous improvement plans for any of our programs.

The university are really invested in apprenticeships. It speaks to our core offer around vocational learning and training. We also know that our apprenticeships are working. We’ve delivered to over 2,500 apprentices since we’ve become an apprenticeship training provider. We’re now delivering across 25 apprenticeship standards across health, science, protective services, engineering, construction, and management.

With that, we’re also delivering to over 300 employers and on a national basis. So, we know that our provision is reaching corners of the country where there perhaps isn’t provision available. We also know that apprentices and employers are benefiting from this, allowing them access to higher education that they may not have been able to get elsewhere.

The apprenticeship offer at UWE Bristol is flexible and programs are often delivered in a hybrid model. So, apprentices have the flexibility to learn online when they are perhaps local, or perhaps when they have work commitments. That is balanced out with time at the university, which is really beneficial not just to the apprentice, but also to the employer. So, for instance, apprentices will have access to lab space, which gives them the real-world skills to be able to take back into the workplace and enhance their career development. Also allowing their productivity in the workplace to be much more efficient.

What we also find with our hybrid offer is that we are reaching a broader range of employers and apprentices across the country as well.

Want to find out more?

Find out more about our higher and degree apprenticeships and explore the many higher and degree apprenticeship courses on offer with us.

UWE Bristol Apprenticeship: Meet the academic – Karina Stewart

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In this Meet the Academic, we caught up with Karina Stewart, Associate Head of Department (Subject Lead for Healthcare Science) to talk about her experiences of apprenticeships.

Karina teaches on the following apprenticeships:

  • Healthcare Science (Physiological Sciences) Practitioner Training Programme
  • Healthcare Science (Clinical Engineering) Practitioner Training Programme
  • Healthcare Science (Medical Physics Technology) Practitioner Training Programme

Thinking about your engagement with apprentices, what are the main benefits you can see for someone thinking about becoming a Higher or Degree apprentice?

This is an excellent way of gaining a recognised, vocational qualification whilst earning a salary. The programme of apprenticeships in Healthcare Science (from Level 2 to 7) provides a structured training and career progression pathway. The range of apprenticeships are accessible to anyone, at any age. At UWE we offer Level 6 (degree-level) apprenticeships in a range of Healthcare Science specialisms.

As with all apprenticeships, what you learn in your modules at UWE is directly applicable to the job you do in the workplace. As you progress with your academic and workplace training you become more proficient in your role and more able to contribute to your department and service in general. At the end you have a recognised, formal Batchelor of Science (BSc) qualification that offers great career prospects.

What role do you think Higher and Degree apprenticeships have towards widening access and participation within Higher Education, and the benefits for the local economy?

Higher and degree apprenticeships give people the opportunity to access and participate in education that might otherwise have been unavailable or inaccessible to them. So they really help to create a more ‘level playing field’ in this respect. These schemes can be used by anyone at any age to upskill or retrain at any point in their career, as well as being accessible to school/college leavers.

There is evidence that higher and degree apprenticeships promote local economic growth in a number of ways. For trainees, they offer greater employment and career prospects, and hence higher life-time salary levels. For employers, they enable growth and upskilling of the workforce, which leads to higher levels of productivity.

What do you see as the role of apprenticeships in UWE Bristol and beyond in the future?

Apprenticeships are relatively new at UWE, but I am sure are here to stay! We have increased our range of Healthcare Science programmes over the years, and the number of apprentices joining us each year continues to grow as more employers become aware of this training option.

UWE has always been at the forefront in terms of vocational education, and apprenticeships continue to align to the university’s strategy. Indeed, the focus of Strategy 2030 at UWE is ‘Transforming Futures’, through innovative and inclusive practice-led education that is accessible to all. With more employers accessing levy funding and more people becoming aware of apprenticeship training routes, demand for this form of education is ever increasing.

We are here to educate and train the workforce of the future. That has to be done in a sustainable way, in partnership with employers and other education providers. Exciting times!

Find out more about Apprenticeships at UWE Bristol.

UWE Bristol Apprenticeships: Meet the Academic

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In this Meet the Academic, we caught up with Nick Smith, Associate Head of Department, Geography and Environmental Management to talk about his experiences of apprenticeships.

Nick teaches on our Town Planning Degree Apprenticeship:

Thinking about your engagement with apprentices, what are the main benefits you can see for someone thinking about becoming a Higher or Degree apprentice?

Pursuing an apprenticeship provides a great opportunity for combining work and study together. Apprentices follow a programme of study that responds to the expectations for becoming professional planners, with the individual components of the programme collectively delivering the knowledge, skills and behaviours that employers are looking for.

Our town planning apprenticeship has been structured to offer flexibility to our learners, with two specific entry points providing an opportunity for past experience and qualifications to be properly recognised

What role do you think Higher and Degree apprenticeships have towards widening access and participation within Higher Education, and the benefits for the local economy?

There is a national shortage of planners at the moment and the need for planners has never been greater with planning being expected to respond, and deliver, against wide ranging contemporary challenges. The biggest of these is obviously the climate emergency.

The Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) is keen to increase the supply of planners but also to increase the appeal of the profession to the widest population possible.

The RTPI has a clear strategy for diversifying its membership and the apprenticeship scheme offers a real opportunity for delivering this. Already we have seen apprentices step forward and join the programme who might not have been able to do so if they were having to pay themselves.

What do you see as the role of apprenticeships in UWE Bristol and beyond in the future?

I hope that apprenticeship provision can continue to grow as it provides multiple benefits to both apprentices and our existing body of students. Having apprentices in-class alongside other learners provides a real opportunity for delivering the university’s ambitions for practice based learning.

It also provides some effective avenues for staff to become better engaged with practice and to hear about experiences from the front line.

Find out more about Apprenticeships at UWE Bristol.

UWE Bristol Apprenticeships: Meet the academic

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In this Meet the Academic, we caught up with Anne Eason, Associate Head of Department Policing to talk about her experiences of apprenticeships:

Thinking about your engagement with apprentices, what are the main benefits you can see for someone thinking about becoming a Higher or Degree apprentice?

The main benefits are firstly, that as it is a widening participation programme, so students who might not normally qualify through the UCAS process to apply for an undergraduate programme are able enjoy the benefits of higher education and vocational learning. The apprenticeship also provides on the job learning experience, providing the platform for safe operational learning as a student police officer. Not only does this give the student the opportunity embed their learning but also to reflect on how they can improve and development themselves and the service.

What role do you think Higher and Degree apprenticeships have towards widening access and participation within Higher Education, and the benefits for the local economy?

The widening participation benefits result in the police service being a truer representation of the local community, where police officers will share local culture and traditions and thus have a better understanding of the community they serve. This will ultimately support more effective interventions in crime prevention and crime reduction, facilitating socio-economic growth.

What do you see as the role of apprenticeships in UWE Bristol and beyond in the future?

I believe the apprenticeship provision at UWE Bristol will grow as more and more professions seek specialist knowledge skills and behaviours of future employees. UWE is proactive in diversifying its curriculum and responding to the needs of the local economy and public sector. The high standards of teaching and learning will undoubtedly attract future apprenticeship development and subsequent opportunities for people from all walks of life.

Find out more about Apprenticeships at UWE Bristol.

UWE Bristol Apprenticeships: Meet the Employer

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UWE Bristol offers of wide range of apprenticeship programmes and we regularly catch up with our apprentices to hear about their experiences.

In this Meet the Employer, we caught up with Mandy Knott, Learning and Development Manager for allpay.

How have apprenticeships supported your business? 

With a history of developing talent through our apprenticeship learning, allpay continues to invest in its grow-your-own people model. With significant progression as a business in the last 10 years influenced by bringing in, retaining, and promoting apprentices on a regular basis allpay has benefitted from a workforce steeped in both company and sector knowledge.
With C. 250 members of staff and circa 10% made up current and former apprenticeships, allpay benefits from a wealth of talent, curiosity, and the ability to work together collaboratively to bring to life the mission and vision daily.

At entry level many apprentices go on to win awards with their training providers demonstrating a true desire to develop themselves and allpay.
The introduction of the apprenticeship standards and the stretch into higher and degree apprenticeship has given allpay the ability to offer academic led vocational learning to develop our internal talent. This has added another element in supporting the allpay business to continue to grow its talented people. Adding value to the bottom line and increasing the capability at all levels.

What have you found to be the main benefits of apprenticeships to your business?

The key benefit, aside from seeing our team members develop and grow, is retention. As a business we can demonstrate a longevity of career through our entry level apprentices.

As our new apprentices join allpay they work with others across the business who either started their careers as apprentices or who are now developing their careers through apprenticeship training. It is inspiring for all within the business to see each person develop and grow in the career of their choosing.

What do you see as the main role of Higher and Degree Apprenticeships to prospective learners, thinking about their post-16 options? 

The option to ‘earn whilst you learn’ is significate when discussing prospects for individuals post-16. The world of work is changing significantly, the opportunity that apprenticeships give means we see many of our individuals adapt and grow throughout their career which is great.

Allowing a route to a Higher and Degree qualification through a vocational route will see many looking at this as an option post-16. It also opens this opportunity to those who previously thought a degree wasn’t available to them. With the cost of going to university being a barrier for many, this is a fantastic way for businesses to open higher education to all.

How will apprenticeships shape the future of your business? 

allpay will continue to be an advocate of apprentices and apprenticeship training. The value that new standards add across such a variety of business areas makes the opportunity to develop talent positive for us.

Accessing talent will continue to be a challenge for many businesses and we believe our support of apprenticeship training gives us an additional attraction lever.

Find out more about Apprenticeships at UWE Bristol.

UWE Bristol Apprenticeships: Meet the Employer

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UWE Bristol offers of wide range of apprenticeship programmes and we regularly catch up with our apprentices to hear about their experiences.

In this Meet the Employer, we caught up with Tiffany Jenkins, Apprentice Team Leader, Bristol City Council:

How have apprenticeships supported your business? 

Apprenticeships are key to our business and serving the community of Bristol. It is really important that we recruit new apprentices into our business across a variety of programmes, apprenticeships provide us with the opportunity to develop these individuals with the right skills and knowledge that our business needs. Apprentices benefit from gaining employment with us, they receive quality training and are able to showcase their knowledge and skills by building their portfolio of evidence and secure future job opportunities.

On the other aspect, apprenticeships have been widely used to develop our existing workforce across a variety of programmes to enhance their knowledge, skills and behaviours. This has motivated our workforce and enabled many of our employees to progress on their career path.

What have you found to be the main benefits of apprenticeships to your business?

Apprenticeships enable us to develop the talent of new and existing staff. We are fortunate to meet many people that are at the start of their career journey and the apprenticeship route provides them with a really great foundation into our business and skills that will last them a lifetime. At the same time, we develop talent that we need for now and the future.

Apprenticeships are also available to everyone and they have been a valuable mechanism in helping us to diversify our workforce to represent the diversity of Bristol.

What do you see as the main role of Higher and Degree Apprenticeships to prospective learners, thinking about their post-16 options? 

Apprenticeships are an option for everyone and there are increasingly more higher and degree options available to access and consider. We take on apprentices from level 2 to level 7 across a range of areas, these include business, accountancy, civil engineering, solicitor and most recently public health.

For anyone thinking about their options, do as much research as possible and attend as many events – as often at events, you will hear from people that have taken specific apprenticeships routes and they’ll provide you with their own experience and what opportunities or challenges they faced.

How will apprenticeships shape the future of your business? 

We will continue to develop our apprenticeship offer, we are consistently looking at what new apprenticeships could work within our local authority. Our aim is to increase our offer of apprenticeships to people of Bristol, especially people that are at the start of their career journey and in return, we’ll gain highly skilled and competent employees that we need for the future of our business.

Find out more about Apprenticeships at UWE Bristol.

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