Business and Management Degree Apprenticeships – a quiet revolution, a work-in-progress, or business-as-usual?

Myers, Fran; Reid, Kristen and Bloomfield, Sarah (2023). Business and Management Degree Apprenticeships – a quiet revolution, a work-in-progress, or business-as-usual? The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK.

URL: https://www.open.ac.uk/scholarship-and-innovation/...

Abstract

Whilst they have been hiding under the radar, for many, alternative methods of achieving a higher education (HE) qualification - via an apprenticeship degree - are now entering the mainstream. Along with greater attention from the public, policy makers and professional commentators, degree apprenticeships are becoming part of business-as-usual for universities engaged in their provision.
In a recent Times Higher Education piece, Tom Williams (2023) referred to degree apprenticeships as a ‘quiet revolution’ in HE, towards more practical, employer-focused provision.
But are we taking for granted assumptions around the academic qualification and required standards of degree apprenticeships? And whose assumptions might count going forward?
Degree apprenticeships change the meaning of what it is to be a student, along with who studies and why. Degree apprenticeships also raise important questions around what provisions universities could and should be offering.
For example, what are the longer-term implications of degree apprenticeships for what universities do; what do degree apprenticeships mean for pedagogic theory and practice; and which actors should universities work with, and which policy agendas should they address, in this endeavour?
This blog post hopes to raise some challenges and generate some questions for future debate.