The Apprenticeship Experience at university: an exploration

The last three years has seen a rapid growth in Undergraduate (Level 6) and Masters (Level 7) Degree apprenticeships, creating a type of student arguably different from those on traditional full-time, work-based and distance learning programmes. Here, I discuss an exploratory study of the experience of apprenticeship students at our university, whilst at work and at study, within two cohorts at a UK Higher Education Institution (HEI) on a Chartered Manager Degree Apprenticeship (CMDA) programme. The exploration uses a broad grounded theory methodology and sought to reveal a deeper understanding of the student experience than those currently discussed in reports such as the ‘Apprenticeship Evaluation 2017: Learners (IFF 2017). A very small (N=2) sample was deliberately chosen in order to constraint the exploration and provide an opportunity for deeper and meaningful responses through a qualitative approach. Through semi-structured interviews, memo writing, journal writing and visual representation, data was coded, analysed and evaluated to build a theoretical understanding about these student experiences. The main emerging themes related to questions of identity as an apprentice, perceptions of knowledge and skills, and inconsistent understanding of the wider policy intentions. As growth in degree level apprenticeships continue to expand, policy makers, educators, employers and potential apprentices may need to reflect on their ‘mindset’. The idea of apprenticeship, and its perceived value at degree level, seems to differ between the key stakeholders. If this discrepancy continues, in the longer term it will hinder the concept’s progress towards becoming an established feature of Higher Education