New approaches to employer engagement within surveying education: degree apprenticeships

Abstract

Differing models of academia and the construction industry collaboration have evolved in the UK and internationally to develop a healthy skills supply chain. However, the increasingly popular Degree Apprenticeships in the UK has caused there to be much greater prominence of the issues around industryacademia interaction. Degree apprenticeships were part of an initiative introduced by the UK government in 2015 aimed at boosting employer investment in education and training. In April 2017, employers whose pay bill exceeded £3m had a 0.5% levy deducted, which was ring-fenced to support new apprentices. This paper explores the tripartite structural issues that this new approach will need to address for the initiative to deliver the outcomes required by the Universities, employers and apprentices. The paper, inter alia, reports on an employer survey aimed at gathering opinion data. The data were collected from a survey designed to investigate employer’s expectations of degree apprenticeships, their advantages and disadvantages and to ascertain the impact that the new approach might impact graduate recruitment in future. The survey findings and subsequent interpretation of results will be used to inform the strategic direction of the university’s engagement with industry and with the degree apprenticeship initiative. Possible implications to future delivery of surveying education in the UK are also discussed including references to lifelong learning.