Survey launches to help university fine tune degree apprenticeship programme

Keele University has launched a survey aimed towards SMEs to fine tune their degree apprenticeship programmes.

The university offer apprenticeships across different occupations and specialisms and provide a personalised approach, consulting with employers at all stages while having an evolving programme portfolio.

The university also supports over 650 apprenticeships from more than 150 organisations and has a strong track record of collaborating with SMEs through European Social Fund projects and partnerships within the Keele University Science Park.

Despite these efforts, the University acknowledges that the number of SMEs engaging in degree apprenticeships is lower compared to larger employer partners.

To bridge this gap, Keele is committed to understanding the challenges and barriers faced by smaller businesses when considering degree apprentices by launching a short survey.

With recent funding from the Office for Students (OfS), the university aims to explore ways to enable SMEs to access degree apprenticeships and develop tailored resources and support.

Click here to access the survey.

The survey will help the university to better understand their needs and develop supportive programmes with maximum impact.

Initial discussions have revealed some consistent themes regarding the challenges and barriers SMEs encounter including access to information, flexibility of learning and mentoring capacity.

Speaking about the survey, Terry Dray (pictured) from Keele University said: “At Keele University we have a history of supporting SMEs and we want to better understand the barriers and challenges SMES face when looking to take on degree apprentices."