Episode 22: Are degree apprenticeships the future, or just the cheapest fix?

GuestsRosie Jackson - StaceMark Ashby - StaceRobert Brown – PRE SurveyorsTouted as the answer to skills shortages, spiralling student debt and widening access to professional careers, degree apprenticeships are growing rapidly across the UK, particularly within the built environment.The pitch is undeniably attractive: earn while you learn, avoid tuition fees, gain practical experience from day one and enter industry already embedded in the workplace. But beneath the optimism, more difficult questions are emerging. Are apprenticeships genuinely transforming opportunity, or are they being oversold as a catch-all solution to complex workforce challenges? And what might be lost if traditional university routes begin to lose ground?In this episode of the BE Sustainable podcast, we explore the growing tension between vocational and academic pathways into the built environment, asking whether apprenticeships represent the future of higher education or simply a more cost-efficient route for employers under pressure.Joining the discussion from independent construction and property consultancy Stace are Rosie Jackson, Senior HR & Learning and Development Advisor, and Mark Ashby, Partner. Offering a graduate perspective is Robert Brown, who completed a Building Surveying degree apprenticeship at the University of the Built Environment, sponsored by PRE Surveyors, after previously studying archaeology through the traditional university route.Together, the panel examines a range of topics, inlcuding whether apprenticeships are being positioned too heavily as a silver bullet for the sector’s skills crisis, the realities of balancing full-time work with study, and whether young people are being encouraged to specialise too early. Find out moreLatest apprenticeship statistics from the UK Government: Explore education statistics: apprenticeships and traineeshipsFind out more about degree apprenticeships at University of the Built Environment.