Learn and Earn
Earn a salary, get a degree, and pay no tuition fees
Would you like to earn a salary while you get a Bachelor's or Master's degree, without paying tuition fees?
Degree apprenticeships allow you to work as an employee while you study part time. They combine academic study from a traditional university degree with practical on-the-job experience and employment skills you need for a successful career.
Degree Apprenticeship Case Studies: Chartered Surveying Course
An interview with degree apprentices working at Portsmouth City Council, where they talk about their experience of the Chartered Surveying (Building) Degree Apprenticeship course at Portsmouth, from both a personal and business point of view.
Tom, Sophie and Will are Chartered Civil Surveying Apprentices.
They started off joining us in our repair service, so they gained a wide range of experience. After two or three years, they moved in to the projects that I look after and they gained practical experience in developing projects, preparing specifications and sort of managing the works on site.
The degree is really important for my day to day work, because it helps me get my chartership with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.
I was looking to retrain and being able to do it through an apprenticeship, obviously gives me a good, solid foundation of knowledge and an insight into an industry whilst having some secure salaries.
It gave me financial security that my degree would be fully funded and I'd have the support of my employer throughout the process.
I came straight out of college. All of my peers are now looking for jobs, whereas I've been in work for almost three years now.
As a degree apprenticeship is spread over five years at one day per week, that subsequently means that you can gain four days per week work experience.
I think it works really well having the degree aspect from the University of Portsmouth, giving them the academic side and the technical knowledge, and then they can implement that for the day to day work with Portsmouth City Council.
You can learn about damp and mould in a lecture on a Monday, and then on Tuesday, you can go and see it in a property in a live situation and that really enforces the learning.
I get a lot of support through the University. All the lecturers have got an open door policy. You can always ask more questions. There's lots of online support and lots of online learning materials as well as in-person lectures.
My APC final assessment date should be towards the end of this year. There's a lot of work that goes into that, creating that submission, but that's been aided with the experience I've gained throughout the last five years. The more experience you've got, the easier the APC will become.
The degree apprenticeship programme for Portsmouth City Council is absolutely vital to our business now. The apprentices add real value to the team and I'd recommend any employer to consider going down the degree apprenticeship route. It’s a great way to end up with a real high calibre individual at the end.
For those thinking of doing a degree apprenticeship, it’s something that I would highly recommend. I'd probably still be in the role that I was doing previously, and although I was generally happy in that role, it didn't offer the same progression routes that this career does.
I'm so proud of how far I've come. Looking back over how much I've learned over three years, how my confidence has grown over those three years, it's astounding.
I'm just entering into my final year of my degree now and the knowledge I've built up, as I said, I still learn every day, but I can feel the knowledge and my confidence progressing within this career and within this industry. I'm really proud to progress and move forward in it.
Learn skills in high demand
Degree apprenticeships are developed between the Government, employers and universities, so you’ll learn skills that will be in high demand in the future. They're suitable for anyone over 18, whether you've just finished school or college, or you're already well into your career.
The Government and your employer pay your tuition fees, so you won’t need to take out a tuition fee loan.
Degree apprenticeships take 1–5 years to complete, depending on the course you take. You'll typically go to university 1 day a week for around 30 weeks every year. On the weeks you don't go to university, you'll spend a minimum of 6 hours per week studying outside of work.
The Government's Office for Students website provides further guidance on degree apprentices for students, potential apprentices and employers.
