The aim of this special issue (SI) is to give an historical perspective on ten years of significant policy reforms that have transformed university engagement in apprenticeship engagement which at times is still associated with young people and lower level skills in traditional trades and industries rather than higher education and routes into the registered professions. The SI will allow for reflection on apprenticeship as higher education practice and make comparisons with developments in apprenticeships and skills developments in other countries as well as reflection on particular UK university delivery in specific sectors and occupations.

The originality of this SI comes from more recent reflections on apprenticeships in England, especially, to mark the tenth anniversary of the concept of degree apprenticeships and which has become the fastest growing form of work-based, work-integrated, learning delivered by higher education providers. This SI expects new aspects to employer and apprentice engagement, practice and pedagogy will come from the study and cases of both mature and newly introduced delivery and will provide a riff on ideas associated with university design including, policy change and resultant adaptation, integration in curriculum design, authentic assessment, transformation in other systems outside of England and identifiable signature pedagogies. Learning will come from lessons in apprenticeships in England for international adoption and/or adaptation but also comparison.

Reflecting on a decade of policy reform and practice in apprenticeships in England is a significant milestone. The size of the England market alone of apprenticeships delivered by universities and higher education providers is now unprecedented. In the decade since the introduction of degree apprenticeships in 2015 has led to a unique approach to practice and strategic intent including establishing routes into the skilled professions. This ‘England approach’ is now attracting international interest. Topicality comes from the international comparisons possible on the notion of skills and apprenticeships vis-à-vis the England system that has encompassed an all age, all level programme until now and one that has challenged the unhelpful bifurcation of the education and skills landscape, between notions and descriptions of academic versus vocational, manual versus mental, and head-smart comparisons to hand-smart.

List of Topic Areas

• Discursive shifts in national policy;
• Global perspectives;
• Lesson in pedagogy and practice from institutional viewpoints including consortiums of providers;
• Comparisons between England/UK approach and other countries;
• Language limitations in apprenticeship policy and reforms;
• Case studies featuring and/or reflections on creative or innovative strategic and/or operational practice;
• New approaches to assessment.

Submissions Information

Please note this special issue will be open access with the APC covered by UVAC. This issue only has a certain number of spaces so any extra accepted papers will end up in a regular issue and will not be open access.

Submissions are made using ScholarOne Manuscripts. Registration and access are available here.
Author guidelines must be strictly followed. Please see here.
Authors should select (from the drop-down menu) the special issue title at the appropriate step in the submission process, i.e. in response to ““Please select the issue you are submitting to”.
Submitted articles must not have been previously published, nor should they be under consideration for publication anywhere else, while under review for this journal.

Key Deadlines

Submissions close: 31st May 2025.

Guest Editors

Dr Mandy Crawford-Lee, University Vocational Awards Council, UK: [email protected]
Dr Nicky Westwood, NIW Consulting Ltd, UK: [email protected]