Latest news with #UniversitiesandCollegesAdmissionsService
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
What is an apprenticeship and how much are apprentices paid?
The government is scrapping funding for postgraduate apprenticeships for people aged 22 or over in England from next year. It says the move will mean money can be put towards lower levels of training instead. Minimum wages for apprentices went up in April. But, with dropout rates at about 50% and concern about low pay, there is a lot to consider when weighing up whether or not it is for you. Being an apprentice means you usually spend four days a week working, and one day studying for a qualification at work, college, university or online. You get paid and the qualification you get is free - it is paid for by the government and your employer. Since last April, the government has paid small companies the full cost of apprenticeships for people aged 21 or under to help small businesses create more apprenticeships. Any employer can hire apprentices. They are responsible for making sure you work with experienced staff and receive time off for studying. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the different levels of apprenticeship are: Intermediate (Level 2 - GCSE standard) Advanced (Level 3 - A-level standard) Higher (Levels 4, 5, 6 and 7 - foundation degree or above) Degree (Levels 6 and 7 - bachelor's or master's degree) In England, only 16 to 21-year-olds and existing apprentices will qualify for funding for level 7 apprenticeships from January. In Scotland, they are: Foundation (mostly SCQF Level 6 - Highers standard) Modern (mostly SCQF Levels 6 and 7 - Highers or Advanced Highers standard) Graduate (SCQF Levels 9, 10 and 11 - undergraduate or master's degree standard) If you are under 19, or if you are 19 or older but in the first year of your apprenticeship, you will be paid the apprentice rate, £7.55 per hour. Otherwise, you will earn at least the minimum wage: £10 for 19 and 20-year-olds £12.21 for those aged 21 or above. This rate is also known as the National Living Wage People often do apprenticeships if they know the career they want, or if they are already working in their chosen career but want more skills. There are no UK-wide figures for the number of apprentices, but there were 736,500 in England last year. Advanced apprenticeships - A-level standard - are the most popular, and the number of people doing higher apprenticeships has been rising. In the 2023-24 academic year, 23% of new apprentices were under 19. If you know where you want to work, you can head straight to the employer's website and apply. You can search for apprenticeship opportunities through different official websites in England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. If you are in England, you can make an account and apply to several apprenticeships in one place. The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (Ucas) allows you to search for vacancies and plans to allow you to apply for them. You will interview for the apprenticeship before you start, and you will need to pass an assessment showing what you have learned before you can finish. The most popular apprenticeships for new starters in 2022-23 were in health, public services and care - followed by business, administration and law. Some of the biggest employers of new apprentices in England in the financial year 2023-24 were the British military, the civil service, and the pub and restaurant group Mitchells & Butlers. In England, 60.5% of apprentices completed and passed a final assessment in 2023-24. The previous Conservative government had aimed for that to reach 67% by this year. A Department for Education report in March 2022 suggested that four in 10 people who did not complete their apprenticeship cited personal reasons, including career changes, mental health issues and caring responsibilities. However, about four in 10 also said they were not given enough time for training, that the training did not meet their expectations, or that the apprenticeship was badly run. Ucas has warned that young people are being put off by a range of barriers, including: low pay lack of availability having to apply for apprenticeships individually, rather than sending off one application to several employers. In February, the government relaxed the rules for apprentices over the age of 19 by allowing businesses to decide whether a maths and English qualification should be part of the prescribed course. It also confirmed plans to reduce the minimum duration of an apprenticeship, from 12 months to eight months, from August 2025. Think hard about what the apprenticeship offers - will the qualification help you progress in the career you want? Can you picture yourself in a job in the industry? What opportunities are there to progress at the organisation itself? You will want to consider where the apprenticeship is, how much you will get paid, and how long it lasts. It is important to do your research, and ask employers for details about training in your interview. You can also read reviews of apprenticeships on sites like England Scotland Wales Northern Ireland How much does university cost and does it boost earnings? Do you need a degree to work in tech? Warning apprentices quitting over quality of schemes
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Free tutors see grades rise for Stem sixth-formers
More than 700 sixth form students have increased their grades and secured places at top universities after taking part in a free weekly tutoring programme. The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (Ucas) said pupils who took part in Cambridge University's STEM SMART scheme performed better than their peers. The university said the project aimed to mitigate educational disruption caused by the pandemic and bridge attainment gaps in maths and science A-level subjects. Lisa Jardine-Wright, University of Cambridge physics lecturer, said the scheme had the capacity to support every science, technology, engineering and mathematics (Stem) sixth former in state schools for free. The University of Cambridge said the scheme was launched in response to challenges faced by state schools teaching physical sciences, in particular physics. It said in England there was an estimated national shortage of at least 3,500 physics teachers. Jasmine Covell, 18, who is now a first year natural sciences undergraduate at King's College, Cambridge, said Oxbridge had not been on the radar where she lived as most people applied to local universities to save on accommodation costs. She studied A-level biology, chemistry and maths at a college near Middlesbrough and was in Year 9 when the first lockdown took place. "It definitely helped with catching up on work we'd missed during Covid," she said after completing the Cambridge scheme. "We got behind on some of the content, particularly the more advanced stuff, so it was great to get the extra learning through STEM SMART." Ucas analysis of the scheme compared the first two cohorts (1,120 pupils) with 9,000 pupils from similar backgrounds. It said those who received the tuition were more aspirational and sixth formers from more disadvantaged backgrounds saw the biggest average grade boost. Samuel Iranloye, 19, joined the first cohort while studying A-level maths, further maths, physics and chemistry in south-east London. Now a second-year engineering undergraduate at Churchill College, Cambridge, he said his experiences visiting the university during the scheme influenced his choice. "The extra tuition also helped consolidate the learning in school. It also helped me when it came to preparing for my university admission tests," he said. The scheme aimed to address an attainment gap that already existed in the UK, which was then exacerbated by the pandemic, said Ms Jardine-Wright, a co-director of the programme. She said: "This is about levelling the playing field and enabling students from educationally disadvantaged and underrepresented backgrounds to access Cambridge and other competitive universities." Ucas found students who engaged the most in the scheme saw their results rise by a grade, were up to four times as successful in achieving A*s as their peers, and were almost twice as successful in securing a place at Oxbridge. Follow Cambridgeshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X. Uni science support for Covid-hit A-level students Girls in England lag behind boys in maths and science study England's pupils decline 'significantly' in science University of Cambridge
BBC News
08-04-2025
- Science
- BBC News
Cambridge tutor scheme sees grades rise for Stem students
More than 700 sixth form students have increased their grades and secured places at top universities after taking part in a free weekly tutoring Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (Ucas) said pupils who took part in Cambridge University's STEM SMART scheme performed better than their university said the project aimed to mitigate educational disruption caused by the pandemic and bridge attainment gaps in maths and science A-level Jardine-Wright, University of Cambridge physics lecturer, said the scheme had the capacity to support every science, technology, engineering and mathematics (Stem) sixth former in state schools for free. The University of Cambridge said the scheme was launched in response to challenges faced by state schools teaching physical sciences, in particular physics. It said in England there was an estimated national shortage of at least 3,500 physics Covell, 18, who is now a first year natural sciences undergraduate at King's College, Cambridge, said Oxbridge had not been on the radar where she lived as most people applied to local universities to save on accommodation studied A-level biology, chemistry and maths at a college near Middlesbrough and was in Year 9 when the first lockdown took place."It definitely helped with catching up on work we'd missed during Covid," she said after completing the Cambridge scheme. "We got behind on some of the content, particularly the more advanced stuff, so it was great to get the extra learning through STEM SMART."Ucas analysis of the scheme compared the first two cohorts (1,120 pupils) with 9,000 pupils from similar backgrounds. It said those who received the tuition were more aspirational and sixth formers from more disadvantaged backgrounds saw the biggest average grade boost. Samuel Iranloye, 19, joined the first cohort while studying A-level maths, further maths, physics and chemistry in south-east London. Now a second-year engineering undergraduate at Churchill College, Cambridge, he said his experiences visiting the university during the scheme influenced his choice."The extra tuition also helped consolidate the learning in school. It also helped me when it came to preparing for my university admission tests," he said. The scheme aimed to address an attainment gap that already existed in the UK, which was then exacerbated by the pandemic, said Ms Jardine-Wright, a co-director of the said: "This is about levelling the playing field and enabling students from educationally disadvantaged and underrepresented backgrounds to access Cambridge and other competitive universities."Ucas found students who engaged the most in the scheme saw their results rise by a grade, were up to four times as successful in achieving A*s as their peers, and were almost twice as successful in securing a place at Oxbridge. Follow Cambridgeshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
BBC News
04-03-2025
- Health
- BBC News
UEA launches scheme to tackle fall in nursing students
A university has launched a campaign to tackle the falling number of nursing to the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS), 33% fewer UK nursing students were expected to start courses in September compared with Royal College of Nursing said low starting salaries and a spike in student nursing applicants during the Covid-19 pandemic were partly behind the University of East Anglia (UEA) in Norwich said its 'This Nurse Can' campaign hoped to inspire future nurses "put off" by NHS working conditions. "Nursing bursaries were taken away by previous governments and cost of living has been among the highest it's ever been," Simon Rose, a lecturer in paramedic science at the UEA, said."We're seeing a gap open up between the number of nurses we need in our NHS and the volume of those coming in."My worry moving forward is that the workforce won't be able to sustain what we're currently doing."About 31,000 nursing students are expected to start courses in September - a fall of 16,000 compared with 2021. Joe Ellis-Gage, a UEA nursing lecturer, said the 'This Nurse Can' campaign hoped to destigmatise the "traditional view" of nursing."There might be people out there who might think 'that's not for me', but actually it might be," he said."There might be a really interesting role you're suited to."We want to show that nurses work on ambulances, on cruise ships and on construction sites."Last March, the NHS had 31,000 nursing vacancies, which included midwives and health was a fall from 40,000 the year before.A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: "We inherited a broken NHS, where staff have been undervalued and demoralised for years."We have raised pay, ended strikes, and are determined to work with staff to rebuild our NHS together."This summer we will unveil a refreshed workforce plan, so the NHS has the right people in the right places to give patients the care they deserve." Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
