University of Sheffield apprenticeship graduate says scheme left him ‘set up for life’

A University of Sheffield graduate has spoken of how an engineering degree apprenticeship has helped to boost his employability.

Alex Whinfrey-Gibson, 22, told BBC News that opting for a degree apprenticeship at the university’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) has made him “far more employable” and enabled him to be “set up for life”.

He said: “If you were doing your traditional degree, you would get a bunch of knowledge, not a lot of skill, and your workplace experience is completely neglected, whereas with an apprenticeship you are getting all three.

“When you come out of your degree, you are far more employable because you either already have a job or have three years of experience to find a new job.”

Alex added that he seen how the benefits working an apprenticeship alongside his studies may have set him ahead of his peers.

“I had to learn how to run a house, put food on the table, keep fit, do a degree and work a job, but it broadens you as a person.

“You are three years ahead in your career, your earning potential is higher than other graduates and you are learning life skills.”

Degree apprenticeships have become increasingly popular in the UK in recent years, as people seek to enter higher education through an alternative to traditional degrees.

According to the latest Department for Education figures, the number of people opting for degree apprenticeships has continued to increase year on year since they were introduced in 2015, with as many as 46,800 people in England starting one of these courses in the 2022/23 academic year.

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Talking about diversity, AMRC’s Head of Apprenticeship Programme Delivery, Louise Cowling, told the BBC that the organisation is hoping to increase the number of applications they receive from female students.

She said: “About 12 per cent of our intake are women, which is about the national average for females employed in manufacturing.

“We are working hard, along with a lot of the employees that we work with, to increase female participation and we start very early.

“I think there is almost a bias where some girls might think engineering and manufacturing is not for them, but if they have the aptitude, the interest, the ability to problem solve, they will enjoy technology.”

ARMC is a “world-leading” centre for research and innovation in manufacturing, and has partners such as Boeing, Airbus, Rolls-Royce, and McLaren.

Featured image from Google Maps.

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