UK launches degree apprenticeships

A new higher education program in the UK will allow young people to gain a full honors degree and job training, whilst earning a wage.

TheDegree Apprenticeshipqualifications will be implemented from September 2015, focused on the digital and software industries.

Digital Economy MinisterEd Vaizeysaid that the aim of the scheme is to combinedegree-level learningwith on-the-jobpractical training.

He saidthat this should "ensure that education and training routes are providing theskills which employers need nowand in the future."

The government will pay two-thirds of the costs and fees, while employers will cover additional costs along with the trainee’s wages. The apprentice will not pay any fees themselves.

It is hoped that the structure of this program will combine the benefits of formal and practical education, and help toincrease the flow of skillsinto the technology industry.

Our authors have also discussed the comparative benefits of degrees and apprenticeship schemes.Robert Lerman指出,the apprentice’s contribution to production is oftenlarge enough to offset the added costs, adding that retaining apprentices can also lower a firm’s recruitment and training costs. His research shows that boosting the number of apprenticeship schemes alone can significantly help tolower youth unemployment.

Meanwhile,Douglas Webberacknowledges that education remains the most certain path tofinancial stability, but that therate of return varies widelyacross institutional and individual factors.

Read morehere.

Related article:
Is the return to education the same for everybody?byDouglas Webber
Do firms benefit from apprenticeship investments?byRobert Lerman