Why the success of degree apprenticeships hides a predictable failure...
Debt free tuition and secure employment is luring Gen Z... and their parents
Imagine a family with two daughters, both of university age. One of them is a creative type, loves reading and has chosen to study English at a top-tier university in one of the UK’s premier (and expensive) provincial towns. The other daughter has always been a more practical person, loves maths and has set her sights on doing an apprenticeship degree albeit at a less prestigious university whilst living at home. One of them will emerge out of university with minimum £30k debt and no guarantee of a job. The other will graduate with no debt, be paid a decent salary whilst studying and will have employment waiting for her when she finishes.
Which daughter has made the most sensible life decision is not really the question here, rather the dilemma rests with the parents; how do they possibly support them equally and fairly throughout their lives when it comes to nuptials, housing, babies, even inheritance? How do you do that when one has had such an obvious catapult into early adulthood and the other has not? The English graduate is at a disadvantage for doing everything she was told to do; pass exams and get to a good university. And she will be burdened by student debt that is linked to the base interest rate which in the contemporary climate means that a £50k debt would increase to £69,800 in just five years.
Of course both these girls are in a hugely privileged position. And let us not forget that there’s always been a huge disparity in outcomes when it comes to tertiary education, but the rise of degree apprenticeships is disrupting the value and cost of higher education like never before…. and don’t parents know it.
Degree apprenticeships started in 2015, formed as a way of levelling up tertiary education, creating degree-worthy apprenticeships and training students in critically needed digital skills to plug the much complained-about ‘skills gap’. The fact that esteemed companies such as Rolls Royce and PWC were behind them gave them instant credibility although they are still not fully appreciated by the educational profession (a recent report found that 64% of teachers would not recommend an apprenticeship as a viable route for high achieving students). They are however increasingly endorsed by a much more important constituency: parents and students themselves. They only made up 43,000 out of 500,000 university places offered in 2021, but for obvious reasons, they are now harder to get into than Oxbridge.
Unsurprisingly, they are growing in favour amongst Gen Z who want to avoid debt and desire instant employability. Tough economic conditions have made this generation savvy about money while the experience of the pandemic has made them wary of the promises of education. The fact that many of these apprenticeships are in digital skills reinforces their relevance for the generation most exposed to AI bots.
Middle class parents too are putting any prejudices aside, knowing that it could potentially save them thousands and create an economically self-reliant child from the age of 21; a rare breed in contemporary society. This is especially an incentive for Gen X, who aren’t as rich as the Baby Boomers and therefore cannot afford a generation of Boomerang dependents living at home in their 30s.
If you are a parent, or know any parents, you will probably be aware of the extreme lengths that parents go to to get their children into decent primary schools; move house, cross counties, discover faith. Well, we’re beginning to see similar levels of parental pushing when it comes to degree apprenticeships. I’ve heard of parents indulging in cringey professional networking and LinkedIn-stalking on behalf of their children. In fact the parallel with primary school places is an apt one. Just as private school fees increased and out-priced the middle classes (they have quadrupled in 20 years), so these parents began to infiltrate respectable, cheaper state options. So we are seeing a similar pattern with degree apprenticeships and to the detriment of those lower down the economic scale.
Degree apprenticeships now make up 26% of all apprenticeships but the number of those from lower economic backgrounds taking up these opportunities has declined to the point that the Sutton Trust estimates that twice as many degree apprenticeships go to people from wealthy backgrounds compared with those from poor backgrounds. In an odd twist of history, those from poorer backgrounds are now more likely to go to university than to be on these apprenticeships. Worse still, apprenticeship opportunities overall have declined in this country and very few (17%) of those who do complete Level 2 courses graduate to Level 3 (degree level) where the real wages and job stability are to be found.
Condemning middle class parents for being too pushy does not really solve the problem here though; rather the onus is on companies to ensure that an adequate number of those from lower income households (or in receipt of free school meals) are part of the take up; currently it is only 5%. The government also needs to incentivise more and more businesses (both big and small) to expand these opportunities. In an era of high interest rates, the prospect of university debt isn’t just something that graduates think about when they see their wage packet; it is now front and centre of students’ minds (and their parents’) when they start to apply.
It’s All Relative Podcast
I sat down with fatherhood speaker, activist and mobiliser, Elliot Rae and academic Dr. Jasmine Kelland to discuss whether we are seeing a revolution in fatherhood and what we can do to change the gender imbalance when it comes to childcare. Why is take-up of shared parental leave so low? What can companies do to help fathers? What impact has the Covid pandemic had on fatherhood? How does the conversation around fatherhood intersect along class and race lines? And what's the one change that Elliot and Jasmine would like to see happen to help dads be better fathers? You can find Elliot on LinkedIn and you can buy his book here. You can also follow Jasmine here.
My Substack is changing….
Thanks to all those who currently read my work and engage with my content. Writing this newsletter continues to be one of the most rewarding things I do and I’m grateful to everyone of you that reads it.
But I also have to acknowledge how much time it takes on top of running a business and running after two small children.
I also want to offer up a much more interactive and complete experience for readers. I have met many of you through events, webinars and other interactions and I love the idea of continuing the conversation. So from today my weekly essay will continue to be free but there will be an opportunity to be part of the ‘Talkin’ About My Generation’ subscriber community. What do you get? You will get the opportunity for regular Q&As, access to my quarterly webinars and my weird and wonderful weekend recs… helping you feel out of date and in the know in equal measure. You will also be supporting my work and enabling me to spend as much of my time writing as possible.
Thanks again for reading,
Eliza