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Considering a Degree Apprenticeship? Q&A with experts and current apprentices!

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Original post by thanos34
Are you going to be employed by your companies afterwards or is that not how it works? Can you apply for grad schemes and things like that afterwards?

Hi @thanos34, many of our apprentices will remain at the company they completed their degree apprenticeship at, but this isn't guaranteed. The great thing about the degree apprenticeship is upon completion you have a university degree and significant work experience which puts you in a strong place to apply to further jobs or progress upwards in your career :smile:

For grad schemes it would probably depend on each company's terms! They will usually say who is eligible to apply, for example "people who gained a degree in the last 2-3 years" and you can always double check if you are unsure. Some of our apprentices at Manchester Met will also progress on to Level 7 (Master's level) apprenticeships and gain a higher qualification through a second apprenticeship, either at the same company or at a different one.
Original post by WillowGW
Do you know if/where I can find an apprenticeship in fine art? I know there is lots of degrees in fine art I would just like to do an apprenticeship but I can’t seem to find any

Hi @WillowGW , the best advice I would give is make use of google, the government website is particularly good https://www.gov.uk/apply-apprenticeship . Sadly as degree apprenticeships are a rather new thing there isn't a huge variety when compared to normal university.
Original post by WillowGW
Do you know if/where I can find an apprenticeship in fine art? I know there is lots of degrees in fine art I would just like to do an apprenticeship but I can’t seem to find any

Hey @WillowGW, at the moment degree apprenticeships in fine art aren't really a thing offered by universities. Fine art is a very practical course that requires getting hands on and learning lots of different types of theory and practice. You may be able to find apprenticeships in general in the arts, culture and heritage sector if this is a career path that interests you.

Also, some universities will let you add a placement year into a fine art degree! For example, at Manchester Metropolitan University our BA (Hons) Fine Art is a studio-based programme that provides students with the platform to confidently enter the professional world of the artist and arts professional. You can choose to do a placement year as part of the course, which gives you a year's work experience relevant to your degree :smile:
Original post by Sophie0198271
Heyy anyone got any tips for apprenticeships and the interviews? X

Hi @Sophie0198271 if you are invited to an interview my biggest piece of advice would be to plan as many answers as you can. You don't need a script or anything like that as it will make you sound less natural. but you can google 50 most common interview questions and then plan what you would say to those because there are some examples that you will be able to apply to multiple interview questions for example if asked about a time you faced a challenge, you may not have prepared for that but if you prepared an answer for when you worked in a team you could talk about what kind of challenges you faced in that team as this will make it easier to give more cohesive answers on the interview day:smile: also make sure to research the company and you can mention things relating to the company in the interview for example if they ask things like 'why do you want to work here' and practice with friends or family so you can feel more confident on the day :smile:
Reply 64
Are any of you on the capgemini apprenticeship program? If so, what's their approach to working from home? Has your salary been going up consistently? How are you finding the work load (specifically, the on the job stuff, not uni)?

Thanks
Are any of you on the capgemini apprenticeship program? If so, what's their approach to working from home? Has your salary been going up consistently? How are you finding the work load (specifically, the on the job stuff, not uni)?

Thanks

Hi @O_O. None our apprentices today are on that degree apprenticeship programme But @McrMetFizah is studying on our Digital and Technology Solutions degree apprenticeship so may be able to offer a general insight into what she does day to day for her job :smile:
Do degree apprenticeships have an application deadline like ucas or can i apply at anytime? not sure if Uni actually is for me but worried I may have missed the degree apprenticeship deadline as I was set on uni
Original post by McrMetApprentice
Hi @O_O. None our apprentices today are on that degree apprenticeship programme But @McrMetFizah is studying on our Digital and Technology Solutions degree apprenticeship so may be able to offer a general insight into what she does day to day for her job :smile:

Hi @O_O. I'm in my second year now on the DTS scheme and have really enjoyed the aspect of working from home. I'm a voice infrastructure technologist part of 'Run the Bank' at Barclays. So everything to 'keep the lights on' essentially and ensure our services are always available for agents and customers. When I initially started we were gradually introduced to the role and have been able to build up my skills to now work on feature projects and help with deployments too. I find the work load is easy to handle as we can go at our own pace as long as we deliver good quality work on time, but also there's a really good sense of collaboration in our Tech field. I quickly adjusted to working from home when I started as my manager and team made it really easy to approach them virtually. This is dependent on each company/team but generally, employers are really good with flexibility and offering support for apprentices. Any time you may feel overwhelmed with the workload, there's always someone to help whether it's your manager; other team members; or even your talent coach. Hope this helps :smile:
Original post by helloworld345
Do degree apprenticeships have an application deadline like ucas or can i apply at anytime? not sure if Uni actually is for me but worried I may have missed the degree apprenticeship deadline as I was set on uni

Hi @helloworld345, this depends on the company you apply for. I know at Barclays, generally once we have a number of applications, any new openings close so there's no set date. Alternatively, some companies have specific cut-off points where there is a set date.

Saying that, I'm sure there are still plenty of applications open for degree apprenticeships that may take your interest. Visit the following sites to find out more:
- https://www.ratemyapprenticeship.co.uk/
- https://www.apprenticeships.gov.uk/

Good luck :smile:
Original post by helloworld345
Do degree apprenticeships have an application deadline like ucas or can i apply at anytime? not sure if Uni actually is for me but worried I may have missed the degree apprenticeship deadline as I was set on uni


Hi @helloworld345, each individual vacancy will have its own deadline, with Manchester Met our application process is completely separate from UCAS as you apply direct to the employer, so it does run on a different timeline. Applications for some degree apprenticeships are currently open, and some may not have opened yet. Our peak time for vacancies is actually February - June, so you could definitely be looking now and try to find some vacancies to apply to! On our apprenticeships website you can look at live vacancies and sign up for vacancy alerts :smile:
Hi! At Manchester Met, is your accommodation paid for if you are living away from home? Also, @McrMetMason was it necessary to have a qualification in IT for a digital UX apprenticeship or were you able learn this at the university/job?
Original post by jess6200
Hi! At Manchester Met, is your accommodation paid for if you are living away from home? Also, @McrMetMason was it necessary to have a qualification in IT for a digital UX apprenticeship or were you able learn this at the university/job?


Hi @jess6200 no you don't need a qualification in IT for digital UX, in fact the other two UX design Apprentices who I work with don't have a qualification in IT :smile:
Original post by jess6200
Hi! At Manchester Met, is your accommodation paid for if you are living away from home? Also, @McrMetMason was it necessary to have a qualification in IT for a digital UX apprenticeship or were you able learn this at the university/job?

Hi @jess6200, your accommodation is not paid for as a degree apprentice at Manchester Metropolitan if you chose to move out from home - you would be expected to cover these costs using your salary :smile:
Hey thanks a lot for the tag! I do have one question:

I have accepted an offer from my fave company (outside of UCAS), and now have 5 extra uni offers. 2 of those 5 UCAS uni offers are also for a degree apprenticeship, with 1 company but 2 uni options.
Can we firm and insure uni options, despite definitely knowing you are going to do a degree app. elsewhere. If yes, can I then call on results day and reject the unis? What if I accept another degree apprenticeship as well, as an insurance, how would later saying no to them work?

Thank you!

Extra q= best uni out of these for tech/CS? uni of leeds, aston, loughborough, BCU or Qmul?
Thanks xx
Original post by Hary2022
What areas are they looking for in degree apprenticeships?


Fujitsu offer a few main degree apprentice pathways - Software Development, Cyber Security, and Data Analysis. This lines up with the pathways of the apprenticeship course that I was put on in Manchester, however it may vary depending on the location that you join. I started the role as a Software Developer, but quickly realised that I was more interested and better suited to UX design and more customer facing roles. Fujitsu are very flexible, they want to make the most of you!
Original post by Angel cake 55
Hey thanks a lot for the tag! I do have one question:

I have accepted an offer from my fave company (outside of UCAS), and now have 5 extra uni offers. 2 of those 5 UCAS uni offers are also for a degree apprenticeship, with 1 company but 2 uni options.
Can we firm and insure uni options, despite definitely knowing you are going to do a degree app. elsewhere. If yes, can I then call on results day and reject the unis? What if I accept another degree apprenticeship as well, as an insurance, how would later saying no to them work?

Thank you!

Extra q= best uni out of these for tech/CS? uni of leeds, aston, loughborough, BCU or Qmul?
Thanks xx

Hi @Angel cake 55, you can keep your UCAS offers as a backup and choose your firm and insurance choice but then you would need to call or email and turn the places before you start the apprenticeship or enrol with the university your apprenticeship is linked to. Though if you do definitely know you are going to a degree apprenticeship, and have your job offer, it's up to you if you want to do that or not!

With your degree apprenticeship offers, you would need to pick which one you are accepting (results pending) as the companies will require you to sign an employment contract, and then you will also be enrolled on the degree programme at the university before the programme start.
Original post by thanos34
Whats the best part about doing a degree apprenticeship and why did you choose it over doing a degree or just an apprenticeship? I'm struggling to choose what I want to do out of those three as they all have positives and negatives, just need some opinions really

@McrMetLeon @McrMetFizah @McrMetMason

The other two guys made some great points, I would add that the only difference I have seen between myself and my friends who opted to go for traditional uni courses is that when we go out I can actually afford the drinks that I am buying:tongue:
I was really worried about my social life, but it definitely is whatever you make of it, you are still able to join and partake in university societies and things like that - if social life is important to you then you will still make it work. I know I did!