Changing Careers Through a Degree Apprenticeship

Thinking about a change of career in time for the New Year? Pearson College London’s blog this month is about how you can upskill yourself through a degree apprenticeship programme.

Degree apprenticeships were introduced in 2015 to form part of the apprenticeship reform programme. This includes the move from frameworks to new standards and the introduction of the apprenticeship levy. The aim of degree apprenticeships was to bring together the very best of higher and vocational education to meet key skills needs, enhance productivity, strengthen university and employer partnerships, and offer a new route into work (Universities UK).

Who can do them?

A common misconception is that apprenticeships are for young people that do not get into university. The reality with degree apprenticeships is that this could not be further from the truth. A lot of young people that could go to university through the traditional route choose a degree apprenticeship because it fits the type of learning that they want to do more and they have the opportunity to follow a programme that makes them extremely attractive to employers upon graduation.

Increasingly, we are also seeing more upskilling occurring through degree apprenticeship programmes. For example, someone in the NHS with a Degree in Nursing but who is now running a GP Surgery, the Chartered Manager Degree Apprenticeship programme could be a fantastic opportunity to gain management skills and experience. Moreover, more and more companies are seeing value in degree apprenticeships to upskill employees in specific areas such as Cybersecurity and even Artificial Intelligence programmes are being developed!

Why might you want to upskill/ change career?

1. Lifelong learning - according to the Financial Times, a survey by Investec found more than half of Brits were planning to change careers in the next five years. In the US, according to a study by LinkedIn, young workers now switch jobs, though not necessarily careers, four times in their first 10 years after graduation. Due to technological advancements and the need to learn continuously to keep up, we will need to upskill and change careers in order to develop and keep up.
2. Become the best you can be - upskilling is the perfect way to excel in your job and apply the learning to a role that perhaps you didn’t even realise could be applied! You might learn an academic theory and test it in the practical workplace for example. Excelling at work will only lead to positives such as fantastic reviews, bonuses and sometimes even rewards! So constantly looking to upskill can really work in your reputational favour.
3. Explore all of your interests - it is common to have more than one interest and why not explore all of them throughout your working life? It is true that we will be working for longer than ever before as we are living longer than ever before so why not take advantage of the situation and try something new? Turn a hobby into a career where possible and you can advance your knowledge through an apprenticeship programme.
4. You only live once - it is cliche, but you do only live once - so make the most of it! What is the point in staying in a role that you really don’t enjoy? You might answer that you do not have the skills to pursue something better. Well, that’s where an apprenticeship can really help you.

The moral is, anyone can do an apprenticeship and they can work very nicely for school-leavers looking to get into the workplace. However, they can work equally well for individuals longing to upskill in their career and continually learn and improve.

Why not take a look at some of the opportunities Pearson College London offer as a start?