The government’s preferred candidate for the role of chair of the Office for Students has refused to commit to a target to ensure that 50 per cent of all degrees are degree apprenticeships.
Lord Wharton of Yarm, a Conservative peer, appeared in front of the Commons Education Select Committee this morning for a pre-appointment hearing.
Asked about improving access to higher education for disadvantaged learners, Lord Wharton said he agreed with committee chair Robert Halfon on the importance and utility of degree apprenticeships as a method to do so. A 50 per cent target, however, would be an “extraordinary shift”, he said.
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Lord Wharton added: “Looking at the numbers now, I think that’s still really quite low and a 50 per cent target would be an extraordinary shift in the sector from where we are today. I don’t want to sit here, having not yet even started a role at the regulator, and commit myself to something along those lines. What I can assure you is that I share the sentiment.
Degree apprenticeships ‘are excellent’
“I think [degree apprenticeships] are an excellent route. I think the engagement with the apprenticeship levy is really important and that tackling the debt issue is psychologically, as well as practically, important for a lot of people.
“I’m sympathetic to what you say. I don’t want to make a commitment that I can’t then follow through until I’ve had a little bit of time just to understand the lay of the land and the sector better than I can from this particular vantage point.”
Exclusive research published by Tes last year found that over the past three years, 10 of the UK’s most selective universities collectively attracted £14.3 million in levy funding for degree apprenticeships.
However, research published by the Social Mobility Commission published in June found that just 13 per cent of degree-level apprenticeships were taken up by disadvantaged learners, and that when they do gain an apprenticeship, they tend to be clustered around lower-level schemes.
Lord Wharton added that he disagreed with the previous target of 50 per cent of learners going on to higher education, saying that it was “too arbitrary and blunt”. He said that the role of the Office for Students is to encourage and enable access to HE - but also to ensure quality is retained.
“I think sometimes targets like the 50 per cent target can distract from some of the other important issues, which is if you’re going to go into higher education you have to get not just value for money but a qualification at the end of it that is going to enhance your future opportunities and have been a worthwhile way to spend your time,” he said.
