Skip to main content
    TechSkills Logo
    Back
    Articles & Stories
    15 Apr 2024People & Stories4 min read

    Tech Industry Gold Degree Apprentices Outperform The Best Graduates In The World

    Share

    LinkedInX

    The 2021 National Digital Degree Apprenticeship Celebration Event took place today, bringing together degree apprentices, employers and universities from across the UK in a morning of inspiring and thought provoking conversation.

    As always, the stars of the show were the Degree Apprentices themselves – representatives of the 4,000 studying industry accredited Tech Industry Gold programmes at 35 different Higher Education Institutions. A panel of four, working in sectors ranging from tech to health to nuclear, kicked off the event by sharing their personal stories of lives transformed by the opportunities these programmes offer.

    Complementing this, 46 award winners, nominated by their employers and/or universities, epitomised the outstanding capabilities and attitudes which are making these programmes so popular with businesses. In roles as wide-ranging as software developer, data scientist, UX designer, network architect, nuclear engineer and business intelligence developer, this is the generation creating our future digital world.

    Raheel Nawaz, Director of Digital Technology Solutions at Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU), shared the outstanding results from their Tech Industry Gold accredited programme, making the point that “When we work together, with industry and academia, we are capable of achieving the impossible”.

    Having started delivery in 2015, MMU is now able to analyse the outcomes for their apprentices. They have found that one year after graduation, these degree apprentices are outperforming the best graduates in the world. Their average annual salary is just under £39k, compared to the average for all computing graduates of £21k, and better even than the average for those graduating from the top five UK universities of just under £37k. Demonstrating the benefits of this demanding programme on academic success as well as career outcomes, 80% had graduated with a 1st class degree. Raheel pointed out that these achievements are all the more noteworthy given that 80% reported that they would not have gone to university without this pathway.

    Event participants were also treated to fascinating insights from the cutting edge of technological research with industry futurologists Lauren Kisser of Amazon Web Services (AWS), Trevor Whitely of BT Research, and IBM’s CTO and Master Inventor Andy Stanford-Clark. This covered AWS’s work on conversational AI to enable interaction with computers through speech; BT’s fundamental research which is leading to the next generation of reliable, secure communications technologies; and IBM’s innovation in the worlds of digital twins, 3D printing and virtual reality.

    Jonathan Mitchell, Deputy Director at the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IFATE), shared the recommendations emerging from the Institute’s review into degree apprenticeships. It was reassuring to hear Jonathan confirm that IFATE is no longer questioning the value of retaining the degree within the degree apprenticeship and that the changes being considered should add value to our programmes.

    We are grateful to these speakers, and all the others present who gave their time to celebrate digital degree apprentices and give them a taste of the limitless careers to which they now have access – including TechSkills Chair Phil Smith CBE, Rafik Ishani of Deloitte, Jonathan Mitchell of the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education, and Tom Lovell, MD of TechSkills.

    Those receiving Certificates of Merit are listed below – view here the citations and interviews with each degree apprentice.

    Joseph Allen BTRavensbourne

    Paul Armstrong Newcastle Building Society Sunderland

    Ibrahim Atcha**Autotrader **Manchester Metropolitan

    Liam Baker**CGI **Winchester

    Rahman Bakhishli**KPMG **QMUL

    Vaiva Bauzaite**Entrust **Anglia Ruskin

    Stacey BishopBabcock International Exeter

    Ben BrooksBishop Road Primary School OU

    Adam BulloughCarr Hill High School, Kirkham Blackpool & The Fylde College

    Alexander CameronLeonardo MW LTD Gloucestershire

    Raj Choudhury**SSE **Chichester

    Lucy Craddock**Airbus **Exeter

    Tom Culley**BT **Ravensbourne

    Alison DuffyUniversity of Sheffield Manchester Metropolitan

    Jack Eldrett**BT **Ravensbourne

    Kieran GohelBridge Partners Anglia Ruskin

    Frederick Gorst**Capgemini **Aston

    Robson GrantMilton Keynes University Hospital NHS Trust OU

    Jordan Ince**BT **Staffs

    Sonal JainGoldman Sachs QMUL

    Seferin JamesCambridge University Press Anglia Ruskin

    Harry Jones-BiertonVirgin Media West London

    Nabiirah Kaseruuzi**Accenture **East London

    Naimat KaurSt. James’ Place Wealth Management Gloucestershire

    Jack Kay**RCU **Blackpool & The Fylde College

    Jamie Lawrence**ARM **Suffolk

    Simon Lodge**Pearson **OU

    Frances MahonyShell Energy OU

    Matt McDonnell**Ford Motor Company **Greenwich

    Niall Middleton**Olamalu **OU

    Craig Moore**Lloyds Banking Group **Manchester Metropolitan

    Alex Moss**Accenture **UEL

    Selin Ok**Accenture **UEL

    Sean PalmerGoldman Sachs QMUL

    Sally Parker**Capula **Staffordshire University

    Alex Payne**BT **Suffolk

    Olivia Petris** Lockheed Martin** UK Gloucestershire

    Poppy Pinner**Goldman Sachs **QMUL

    Emily ProudloveCapgemini Aston

    Roland RamosLondon Borough of Camden West London

    Daniel Smith**SARIA Limited **Leeds Beckett

    Amana Souria**Accenture **UEL

    Alisa VaraCapgemini Aston

    Sephora Poorna Varatharasan**Goldman Sachs **QMUL

    Matthew Walsh**Barclays **Manchester Metropolitan

    Bethany WoodheadMediterranean Shipping ****CompanySuffolk