The Digital Economy Minister Ed Vaizey will announce today (Wednesday 26 November 2014) that Degree Apprenticeships will allow young people to complete a full honours degree alongside their employment while paying no student fees and earning a wage throughout. The first Degree Apprenticeships are to be launched in the digital sector, and are expected to suit people embarking on careers ranging from business analysis to software development and technology consultancy. The new programme includes a fully-integrated degree testing both academic learning and on-the-job practical training, and has been co-created by leading tech employers and top universities. Ed Vaizey will also announce details of new industry-designed short courses to enhance digital skills across the workforce. The short courses will provide intensive training, with content that keeps pace with employers’ immediate needs and changing technologies, and will be delivered flexibly to suit learners’ needs. The new industry-accredited standard will give small businesses up and down the country the confidence to know that they can hire digital professionals with the skills they need. Speaking at the launch of the Tech Partnership at IBM, Digital Economy Minister Ed Vaizey said: These new digital qualifications are the latest example of government working in partnership with academia and industry to ensure that education and training routes are providing the skills which employers need now and in the future. We have already put coding into the school curriculum and our rollout of superfast broadband, backed by over £1 billion government investment in our digital infrastructure, has now passed more than 1.5 million homes and businesses and is reaching 40,000 more each week.
