ERIC Number: EJ1468321
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025
Pages: 19
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1363-6820
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: 0000-00-00
'They Gave Me an Opportunity, and I Took It': Motivations and Concerns of Adult Apprentices
Journal of Vocational Education and Training, v77 n2 p465-483 2025
In the UK context of an ageing population, degree apprenticeships represent a new opportunity to study for a degree while working. Apprentices are full-time employees granted time to study for a degree with a significant workplace learning component. The aim of this study was to focus on whether degree apprenticeships are working for adult apprentices (aged 26 and up in this context). New apprentices (n = 162) in six universities in Scotland, UK were surveyed to gain a better understanding of background, prior work and study experience, motivations and expectations. Results show that adult apprentices join apprenticeship programmes with significant work experience and workplace metaskills, together with a consolidated sense of self as a professional. Adult apprentices aimed to gain a degree while remaining in work, thus increasing skills "in situ." The main barrier identified was the challenge of achieving work-study-life balance. The findings can be used to more closely align apprenticeship provision with adult apprentices' skills needs while reducing barriers to accessing and succeeding in apprenticeships. We make recommendations for more flexibility in terms of advanced entry and Masters-level apprenticeships, with better recognition of prior experience, motivations and anticipated challenges.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Adult Education, Adult Learning, Apprenticeships, Education Work Relationship, Cooperative Education, Employment Experience, Family Work Relationship, Skill Development, Academic Degrees, Student Motivation, Prior Learning, Barriers, Student Attitudes, Employee Attitudes
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Adult Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: United Kingdom (Scotland)
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: 1Centre for Higher Education Research, Edinburgh Napier University, Edinburgh, UK; 2Centre for Computer Science Education, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK; 3School of Mathematical and Computer Sciences, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, UK; 4Division of Computing Science and Mathematics, University of Stirling, Stirling, UK; 5Department of Computing, Glasgow Caledonian University, Glasgow, UK; 6School of Computing, Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, UK