Knowledge Quarter Higher Apprenticeship Programme – Kings Cross
The following paper has been developed by Nick Humfrey, Higher Apprenticeship Programme Manager
Regeneration and Planning, Culture and Environment, London Borough of Camden
1. Introduction
Camden Council is developing a Higher Apprenticeship Programme in science, technology and the creative
industries.
It is being developed in conjunction with the Knowledge Quarter, a new partnership bringing together
businesses and institutions including Google, the Guardian, the British Museum, the British Library, the
Francis Crick Institute, the Wellcome Trust and UCL based around the King’s Cross area.
The programme will offer an alternative to the traditional university route, with apprentices gaining a Level
4 or above apprenticeship qualification and also, crucially, being able to progress to gaining a degree while
continuing to work for the company. It takes its inspiration from the successful higher apprenticeship
programmes delivered by companies such as Jaguar Land Rover and CapGemini but looks to facilitate the
delivery of similar schemes with smaller employers who may not be able to deliver this on their own and in
sectors which currently do not provide many apprenticeships but are a crucial part of Camden’s economy.
It is now looking to identify appropriate training providers and recruit more employers for its life science
pilot from across the south east to work with its existing group.
2. Background to apprenticeships in England
2.1. Government Policy
The government has committed to delivering 3 million apprenticeships by 2020. This is an ambitious target
and some of the government’s reforms may make this even more challenging. Apprenticeships will soon be
delivered by new standards produced by Trailblazer groups of employers in particular sectors. These light
touch documents allow greater flexibility for employers to commission training that more accurately
reflects their needs. However the employer must commit time to developing the course with the training
provider and this could act as a deterrent to smaller businesses taking part.
This is a concern as the Government is offering attractive deals for employers such as the recently launched
Degree Apprenticeship programme. As part of this scheme, the government will pay for two thirds of the
tuition fees of an apprentice studying for a degree alongside work. Degree apprenticeships are currently
available in areas with nationally significant skills gaps including IT, Chartered Surveying and Laboratory
Science.
2.2. Apprenticeships in Camden
Camden, like the rest of central London, provides fewer apprenticeships than the national average. The key
reasons behind this are London’s world-leading graduate market and its focus on service sectors which
have no tradition of apprenticeships. This has not stopped Camden Council meeting the apprenticeships
targets set out in the Camden Labour Party’s manifesto through the Camden Apprenticeship service and
the King’s Cross Construction Skills Centre.
However the focus so far has been on the delivery of Levels 2 and 3 apprenticeships and there is a need
now to expand the offer at Level 4+ especially in Camden’s growth sectors of Science and Technology,
Creative Industries and Professional and Business Services. There has started to be a clear rise in the
number of higher apprenticeship in Professional and Business services but Science and Technology and the
Creative Industries are lagging behind and need support.
2.3. Existing Higher Apprenticeship schemes
Large private sector employers are currently in the forefront of higher apprenticeship provision. Companies
like IBM, KPMG and Airbus take on school leavers and pay for them to study part time while working for
them. Most of these involve the opportunity to earn both vocational qualifications and to go on to gain a
degree. They therefore offer not just greater economic security by avoiding taking on significant amounts
of debt but also provide the apprentices with more impressive work experience and skills than the
graduates they are competing against. For the employer they also find the apprentices to be significantly
more loyal to the company than graduates.
These have been very successful even before the Degree Apprenticeships offer substantially reduced the
costs for the businesses involved. But they’ve usually involved organisations large enough to run and design
the schemes and provide a full cohort allowing them to commission training providers to offer bespoke
programmes. For smaller employers, even those with a few thousand employers, it is a challenging
proposition unless they can collaborate with others.
3. Objectives of the scheme
The Knowledge Quarter Higher Apprenticeship (KQHA) programme looks to take the model pioneered by
the companies mentioned above and apply it to the knowledge economy cluster centred at King’s Cross. It
hopes to achieve the following aims:
• Provide a model for how smaller businesses can work with others in their sector to take advantage
of the government’s offer for higher and degree apprenticeships
• Allow young people with ambitions in Science, Technology or Creative Industries to have credible
and exciting alternatives to university.
• Facilitate businesses and institutions in the knowledge sectors building stronger ties with each
other to improve learning and skills development.
• Help the programme to grow and develop to the point where it no longer needs public funding
4. Pilot scheme in Life Sciences
The programme will be piloted with a Life Sciences project where apprentices will work as lab technicians
while studying for their apprenticeship and converting that into a degree. The new Laboratory Scientist
standard will be used. The aim is to develop a programme which can be largely replicated for other areas
such as digital and creative industries in future years.
The programme will not be restricted to Camden residents nor will it have an age restriction although the
financial incentives of younger apprentices will be considered by employers. It will however be aimed at
new entrants into the field rather than upskilling existing staff.
The first cohort is scheduled to start in September 2016 with recruitment taking place in early 2016.
Development of other programmes will also begin during 2016 so that there should be at least one other
course starting in September 2017 serving the technology and/or creative sector. If successful the number
of courses available will continue to expand within the science, technology and creative sectors.
5. Role of the Knowledge Quarter
The programme will be delivered under the Knowledge Quarter brand. The Knowledge Quarter is a new
organisation but has a high profile with the Chancellor of the Exchequer attending its launch. In Google, the
Francis Crick Institute and Central St Martin’s, the Knowledge Quarter has crucial anchor institutions in the
fields of technology, life sciences and creative industries.1 It’s not surprising that businesses from all these
fields are keen to come to the area and that developers are keen to find space for them.
1
London and the Knowledge Economy; GVA Spring 2015
The Knowledge Quarter, with its ethos around sharing and disseminating knowledge, fits perfectly with the
aim of developing high skilled apprenticeships. It also, through its impressive list of members, provides a
brand with sufficient cache to make the proposal attractive. Currently it is difficult for a school leaver to
feel confident about joining a business it has never heard of and is unlikely to choose that over a large
organisation. But the links with such exciting businesses increases the confidence of both prospective
apprentices and employers considering becoming involved that the scheme is worth pursuing.
6. Expansion beyond Camden and the Knowledge Quarter
This project is conceived and currently funded by Camden Council and intrinsically linked to the Knowledge
Quarter. This will always be the focus of the project and it must give clear benefits to Camden residents and
businesses and maintain a strong connection to the Knowledge Quarter members and ethos.
However it is not the aim of the project to create something purely for Camden businesses and residents.
The aim is to demonstrate a method whereby smaller companies can take advantage of the opportunities
provided by the government for higher and degree apprenticeships. The current system risks excluding
businesses because they lack the HR departments to design courses and the numbers to make them
attractive to training providers. But this model should look to expand and encourage replication across
other sectors and cities in the country.
As it is not a specifically local project, it is now expanding the geographical reach of the pilot to ensure
sufficient economies of scale. In particular the Knowledge Quarter Apprenticeship offer is being extended
to the impressive life sciences institutions and facilities across London and the South East that encompass
MedCity. This will create greater knowledge sharing between businesses, better value training and a larger
pool from which to recruit talented young apprentices.
The programme is therefore currently seeking expressions of interest from businesses and local authorities
across London and the South East, particularly those with good access to King’s Cross, who would like to be
involved in the pilot.
7. Timeline
Milestone
Steering group begins design of programme
Life Science Programme agreed
1st Cohort Recruitment process
1st Cohort begin
Further programmes agreed
2nd cohort recruitment process
Future of programme agreed
Date
April 2015
Autumn 2015
January-April 2016
September 2016
Autumn 2016
January-March 2017
March 2017