The UK’s largest engineering and manufacturing company is seeing an increase in the number of young people who could successfully qualify for university places turning instead to apprenticeships.

Richard Hamer, BAE Systems’ director for early careers and graduate recruitment, said impending university tuition fee hikes to £3,000 per year, which he described as “a huge disincentive”, are likely to be contributing to the trend.

“We’ve always been fortunate in having capable people applying to our programmes but it is a recent thing to see [such] a high proportion. We are seeing more capable people applying to do apprenticeships as a route,” Hamer told Recruiter in an exclusive interview.

Already, existing apprenticeship programmes at BAE Systems can provide “a pathway through to higher education”, Hamer said, “because we acknowledge that there’s more than one route and people develop differently”. Key leaders in the organisation including former chief executive officer Mike Turner and current group managing director, programmes & support, Nigel Whitehead started out as apprentices at the company.

What government clearly wants to do is grow the skills base to get more people trained at higher skill levels

Richard Hamer, BAE Systems education director

However, government recognition that there is growing interest in programmes which offer both practical on-the-job training and pay, as well as a route to a degree, was evident in the March Budget. Chancellor George Osborne promised to fund 10,000 higher apprenticeships over the next four years in the advanced manufacturing and creative & digital sectors, as well as for some small businesses.

As a result, Hamer said he was engaged in discussions with the UK Commission for Employment and Skills about “different models” of higher apprenticeships.

“There are challenges relating to higher apprenticeships because you’re making a jump between a vocational pathway and linking into an academic pathway, and there are problems in between,” he said. “So we’re trying to help with our experience… so as a sector we can help government better define the qualifications and structure which will allow large number of employers in small companies to engage with it.”
“What government clearly wants to do is grow the skills base to get more people trained at higher skill levels,” he said.