Information for degree apprentice employers
Degree apprenticeships offer an innovative and cost-effective way of attracting, training and retaining high-calibre employees and graduates to your business.
And with the Government Levy and co-funding opportunities available, you also may have already covered the costs.
Since 2016, we’ve been working in collaboration with over 400 employers to deliver industry approved programmes that meet specific business needs and fill skills gaps within their sector.
Benefits of a degree apprenticeship for businesses and employers
Degree apprenticeships offer an innovative way of retaining and attracting talent to your organisation. Degree apprenticeships funded by the Apprenticeship Levy have benefits for both you and your apprentice.
Having a strategy to utilize your degree apprenticeship Levy payments could directly influence your organisational performance and productivity.
How do degree apprenticeships work?
Apprentices are employed by you and do their academic study with the University of Exeter. They may be existing staff, or new staff you have recruited into a job role that includes a degree apprenticeship.
Learning is structured to maximise your employee's development and to deliver direct benefit to your business. Around 20 per cent of their time is spent studying via a combination of in-person teaching, interactive online sessions and work-based learning. The rest of the time they are in the workplace applying their new, cutting-edge knowledge to your organisation.
We offer both level 6 and level 7 degree apprenticeships. If you advertise for an apprenticeship, you are utilising an excellent way to create diversity in your business and attract talented individuals who thrive in a practical education setting. For those already in established careers, apprenticeships enable them to take their career to the next level where substantive new skills are required. On completion of their degree apprenticeship, your employee(s) will also receive an academic award from the University of Exeter, a top global Russell Group university.
We will be with you every step of the way providing ongoing support and unique opportunities to shape the development of your next-generation employees as well as up-skill your current staff. We are a Disability Confident organisation and are keen to work with employers who share our values to offer advice for employing apprentices with disabilities and on inclusive practices for recruitment and selection to our programmes.
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Frequently asked questions about Degree Apprenticeships for employers
People are at the heart of your business; developing your workforce can be challenging and costly.
If you advertise for an apprenticeship, you are utilising an excellent way to create diversity in your business and attract talented individuals who thrive in a practical education setting. For those already in established careers, apprenticeships enable them to take their career to the next level where substantive new skills are required.
We've answered some of the most frequently asked questions from employers below.
How does the University support employers?
We want every partnership with us to be a collaboration, so we are here to support both you and your apprentices from the very beginning of your journey with us. You and your employee(s) will receive:
- A dedicated relationship manager who is on hand to guide you through the process
- Flexible teaching delivery with minimal disruption to your employee’s day to day duties
- Experienced programme leads and academic mentors who are committed to supporting your apprentices throughout their journey
- Exceptional teaching quality that complies with the Apprenticeship Standard and meets your employee’s knowledge requirements
- Apprentice access to the full range of University of Exeter services and support
- Regular apprentice feedback and performance monitoring that leads to improvements in the programme
- Cutting-edge knowledge and sectoral insight from leading experts
- Work-based projects and research, allowing practical application and development of innovative solutions to put you ahead of competitors
Why should I partner with the University of Exeter?
We have a long history of working in partnership with business and were one of the first Russell Group universities to create customised degree apprenticeships. Not only will your employees gain an outstanding education, they could gain a prestigious Russell Group degree.
Our degree apprenticeships offer a unique partnership between talented and ambitious students and forward-thinking businesses. Today we partner with more than 400 employers to deliver courses that meet specific business needs, ensuring that apprentices gain the necessary practical skills, knowledge, and experience to effect real change and drive your organisation forward.
We are committed to developing and delivering all academic elements of the programme, providing an exceptional quality of lecturers, tutors and support staff to deliver content that complies with the Apprenticeship Standard and meets your organisation's skills and knowledge requirements. We identify a delivery model to best suit the needs of your business, including residential teaching, interactive online study and work-based learning.
Our dedicated programme leads and academic mentors as well as a relationship manager ensure that apprentices are well supported and employers are actively involved in the development of their employees and benefit from opportunities to feed directly into programme improvements.
We currently have over 3,000 apprentices all delivering excellent outcomes not only for their professional development but within their organisation - delivering solutions that combine their industry experience with their new skills and knowledge.
Many of our degree apprenticeships are accredited with leading global accrediting bodies including The British Computer Society, Chartered Manager Institute, Society and College of Radiographers (SCoR) and the CFA Institute. This means your employees could gain a professional accreditation alongside their apprenticeship programme.
My degree apprentice has a conditional offer. What does this mean?
A conditional offer is an offer the University makes dependent on the grades that the apprentice is likely to get from previous academic qualifications. Where results are pending e.g. A-level results or successful completion of a previous apprenticeship, these results must be confirmed before the start of programme.
If the apprentice has completed their studies, but the results won’t be confirmed until after the start date, they should contact the Degree Apprenticeship Student Support team to discuss.
When the apprentice receives their results, they should send a photograph or scan of their results (for verification) to our degree apprenticeships team with their Exeter reference number and programme title in the subject line.
What happens in the event of redundancy?
In the event of redundancy, an apprentice can port their apprenticeship to their new role, with the agreement of their new employer, if the new role is commenced within 12 weeks of the redundancy. If the new role is not commenced within 12 weeks then the apprentice will be withdrawn from the programme.
We will make reasonable efforts to find the apprentice a new employer.
If the apprentice finds a new role at a later date and wishes to resume their apprenticeship, with the agreement of the employer, the apprentice can re-apply to join the programme. Upon receipt of their new application, we will take into account previous learning and the apprentice could then re-join the programme at the appropriate stage.
We will support apprentices and employers during any changes to ensure all ESFA requirements are upheld.
Apprentices who are made redundant within six months of the final day of the practical period specified in the apprenticeship agreement may continue their training without being employed under an apprenticeship agreement, provided certain conditions are met.
Further guidance on redundancy can be found on the Government Apprenticeship website.
What is break in learning and what qualifies?
A break in learning occurs when an apprentice takes a period of leave from their work due to a change in circumstances, for example medical treatment, maternity or paternity leave. Their training is paused for the duration of their break.
To qualify as a break in learning, the pause must be 4 weeks or longer and can last for up to a year. Breaks in learning must be agreed on by both employer and apprentice, with the agreement that the apprentice will return to the programme once the break in learning has completed.
The Government's apprenticeship funding guidance page details what is classified as a break in learning and there is a very helpful flow chart.
Useful links
- How to set up a DAS account
- How to load an Apprentice on your DAS
- How to pause or stop an apprentice
- How to change apprentices details
- How to give the University delegate access to your DAS
- GOV.co.uk employer web pages
- GOV.co.uk information guide for employers
- Government support for apprenticeships
- Maytas Employer Guide Nov 2025
