Degree apprenticeships

Offer ambitious employees the prospect of a world-class degree without the debt. 

We work with local, regional and national businesses to understand strategic priorities and challenges, and develop the content of each programme to offer real value. We can tailor the programme to a sector, or even specifically adapt it for your business. 

We are currently developing a range of degree apprenticeships in the following areas: 

• Management
• Healthcare
• Scientific careers
• Engineering
• Digital and Computer Science

To find out more about our degree apprenticeship programmes, or to you develop a course for your organisation, contact our degree apprenticeships team.

Supporting your apprentice recruitment

When partnering with us, we can support your apprentice recruitment and selection process. We'll support you to recruit the best candidate for your organisation and our degree apprenticeship programme by: 

• allocating a dedicated account manager to answer your apprentice recruitment questions

• reviewing your apprenticeship job vacancy adverts to help ensure it attracts candidates that meet the programme criteria
  
  
• supporting you to register your vacancy on the National Apprenticeship Service Website (external link)

• advertising masters-level vacancies on My Career, the University’s graduate jobs portal 

• alerting suitable candidates who have registered interest in the programme to your vacancy

• displaying your vacancy on our degree apprenticeships web page

• sharing your vacancy on appropriate University social media channels and networks

To find out more about recruiting an apprentice for one of our programmes please contact our employer engagement team. 

Useful links for employers

Rules and guidance for employers (PDF)

Download our Employers Guide (PDF)

Employer complaints policy (PDF)

Degree apprenticeship programme fees are paid for by the employer and there are a number of funding options available.

Funding eligibility depends on the number of people you employ, your company’s annual payroll and the age of the apprentice.

If you have a wage bill above £3 million, you can use your Apprenticeship Levy contributions to cover the programme fees. If you do not have sufficient levy payments to cover the full cost of the programme fees, you may be eligible for 95% government funding to cover the shortfall.

If you have a wage bill under £3 million, you can still access our programmes for your employees. You may be eligible for 95% government co-investment.

Incentive payment for hiring a new apprentice

As part of the government’s ‘Plan for Jobs’, to aid the UK’s economic recovery from COVID-19, there is a temporary incentive payment for those who hire a new apprentice between 1 August 2020 and 31 March 2021.

If apprentices meet the eligibility criteria you may be able to claim:

• £2,000 for apprentices aged 16-24
• £1,500 for apprentices aged 25 and over

 To be eligible the apprentice must:

• be a new employee to the business
• have a contract of employment start date between 1 August 2020 and 31 January 2021 (inclusive)
• not have been employed by the employer within the six months prior to the contract start date.

To find out more about the funding options available, and your eligibility, please get in touch with our degree apprenticeship team.

Useful funding links

Apprenticeship funding

Apprenticeship funding from August 2020

A world-class degree without the debt

Degree apprenticeships offer you the chance to combine a job with a programme of academic study that awards a bachelors or masters-level qualification. And all whilst earning a salary.  

As an apprentice, you'll undertake on and off-the-job learning to develop the knowledge, skills and behaviours relevant to your job. 

If you're in employment and interested in undertaking a degree apprenticeship, speak to your employer in the first instance. If you're not in employment, you can apply for a job that's advertised as an apprenticeship, or  talk to us about specific programmes. 

Basic eligibility requirements

To be eligible for a degree apprenticeship, you must be:

• Over 16 and live in England or a citizen of EEA countries.
• A non-EEA citizen legally resident in the UK for at least the previous three years before the start of the apprenticeship and have the right to work in England.
• Employed and spend at least 50% of working hours in England over the duration of the apprenticeship.
• Qualified at Level 2 (equivalent to grades 4-9 at GCSE) or above in English and Maths. 

There will be additional academic entry requirements specific to each programme.

Useful links for apprentices

Guidance on becoming an apprentice

Apprentice Complaints Policy

Apprentice Complaints Procedure

Social Worker Level 6

Standard details (external link)
Duration: 36 months

Take part in our programme consultation (external link)

The University of Nottingham uses subcontractors to complement its own delivery and where enhancements to teaching and learning for apprentices can be gained by partnering with specialist providers of subject-matter expertise. Additionally it uses subcontractors for L2 English, Maths or Functional Skills provision when required (the University does not deliver teaching and learning at L2). All subcontractors are subject to the University's Subcontracting Policy and a thorough due diligence process will be undertaken by the University as main provider to satisfy itself that the subcontractor has been selected fairly and has capacity, capability, quality and a good financial business standing (with the exception of when partnering with organisations that are exempt from providing this information to the Education and Skills Funding Agency as part of the Register of Apprenticeship Training Organisations, eg HEIs monitored by OfS, or large public sector organisations). The University will make subcontractor declarations to ESFA as required and will obtain an independent auditors report where subcontracting exceeds £100,000 annually.

The University provides the following services:

• Review of capacity, capability and readiness prior to contract start
• Assessment of subcontractors costs against Education and Skills Funding Agency apprenticeship funding rules (where the employer is the delivery subcontractor, special conditions are applied)
• On-programme QA monitoring and review
• Gaining employer and apprentice feedback on subcontracted provision 
• Working with subcontractor to improve and refine programme content 

The University retains a nominal fee from the total funding for each apprentice for management of subcontracted activity. These fees are reviewed regularly and are adjusted as appropriate.  

Degree apprenticeship programmes that include subcontracting:

All programmes - Level 2 Functional Skills 

Subcontractor name: Nottingham College

Rationale for subcontracting: To fill gaps in niche or expert provision.

Level 7 Advanced Clinical Practitioner 

Subcontractor name: Department of Research and Education in Emergency and Acute Medicine (DREEAM).

Rationale for subcontracting: To fill gaps in niche or expert provision.

Apprentices studying with us at the University of Nottingham as part of a degree apprenticeship do not qualify for student accommodation, and accommodation arrangements and costs are not included in any of our degree apprenticeship programmes. However, if you need to arrange accommodation on any of our campuses for an apprentice, please let us know and we'll do our best to signpost you to a number of possible accommodation options.

On-campus accommodation

There are two fully-serviced hotels on our University Park and Jubilee campuses which offer short stay visitors affordable and convenient accommodation. Our onsite facilities create an ideal place for apprentices to submerse themselves into an effective learning environment, whilst also providing high standard accommodation expected by professional learners.

• Orchard Hotel
• Jubilee Conference Centre

There are also a number of accommodation options available in University of Nottingham student residences and in the city centre close to the University campus.