Enhancing Belonging and Inclusion for Apprentices
There is no doubt that belonging is an integral component of a positive student experience.
Belonging is generally understood as a sense of being accepted valued, included and encouraged in the learning environment. It can therefore have significant impacts on a students’ confidence, academic performance and wellbeing.
Building a sense of belonging in universities is a crucial area of focus for those working in student support services, but the student experience has undergone significant changes in that time. The understanding of the ‘traditional’ student as a school-leaver who undertakes a 3-year degree programme with A Level qualifications jars with the reality: an increasing number of students taking alternative routes into higher education, be that through access courses or technical education like T Levels. We can predict that this diversity of entry routes is likely to become even more prevalent with the government’s plans to introduce a Lifelong Loan Entitlement in 2025.
And what does this mean for students enrolled on courses beyond the ‘traditional’ offering of academic degrees that universities have typically provided? With the growth of Higher and Degree Apprenticeship provision, we need to evaluate not only student experience, but also apprentice experience. Apprentices face distinct challenges when it comes to developing that sense of university belonging. More of their time is devoted to the workplace than the place of study, so they may not have the same opportunities to develop that sense of connection as other students.
In this article, we explore four key action areas for review in which institutions can deliver impactful interventions to ensure apprentices feel valued and included in the university community while also recognising the distinct nature of conducting an apprenticeship with an employer.
1. Programme Induction
2. On-Campus Experience
3. Voice and Representation
4. Working with the Employer Partner
Programme Induction
Induction is a crucial moment in the apprentice journey and can have significant impacts on a student’s sense of belonging.
Your induction should aim to achieve three objectives:
Set expectations for the apprentice
Find out what motivates them
Explore barriers to success
Setting expectations involves indicating to the apprentice what and how they will learn, and the kind of work they will need to produce to succeed on the programme. It should also explain how their time will be spent and how much communication they can expect from key stakeholders, such as their mentor in the workplace and your institution. In other words, information, advice and guidance (IAG) is key and should be explained as part of induction sessions and outlined in a course handbook that the apprentice can refer to if in doubt.
Identifying students’ motivations is best achieved through one-on-one sessions with apprentices. Mentors should be aware of what the student hopes to achieve from the programme and the reasons why they are pursuing it. It can be useful to return to these points at regular intervals in the programme to address issues that might occur, but collecting them in the first instance indicates to the student that their unique journey is important to the institution.
Finally, induction should provide apprentices with the chance to ask questions and identify any issues. Wellbeing might be a key focus here, and you should use the induction to encourage a culture of openness in which students feel safe to disclose a mental health problem. This might include offering anonymised examples of how disclosure has helped your institution to make adjustments in the past. You should also indicate to students that they can disclose a mental health issue at any point on the programme and signpost them to the relevant procedures should they need to do so.
Other barriers to learning might include concerns surrounding the cost of living, accessibility requirements and inclusive assessment. Be sure to address these potential barriers early on in the apprentice journey, preferably at induction, so that apprentices know they will be supported by you on the programme.
The apprentice’s employer will also have a duty to address these issues. However, it’s important that the university also provides space and time to identify potential barriers, so the apprentice knows that they can turn to their institution to raise concerns around learning and potential issues with the employer.
Focusing on these three areas at the induction stage will help students to feel encouraged, valued and included, which will set them off on positive footing when it comes to developing a sense of belonging.
On-Campus Experience
The physical space of a university is often used in attempts to instil a sense of belonging among students. Yet, as the majority of an apprentice’s time is spent in the workplace, they will spend less time on campus than students on other programmes.
This means that the time they do spend on campus is crucial, and practitioners should focus on interventions they can deliver to gear that on campus experience towards belonging. This might look like the following:
Providing a physical space for apprentices
Regulating apprentice timetables and offering hybrid learning opportunities
Organising unique social activities for apprentices
Research has consistently shown that provision of a physical space for interaction can shape students’ sense of belonging. London South Bank University recognise this in their apprenticeship delivery and, in 2018, they opened The Passmore Centre. Not only does the Centre provide space in which apprentices receive training and interact, but it also has links to local business and community. This, in turn, can help to foster a sense of belonging not just in the space of the university, but also in the community at large.
Many institutions choose to deliver any in-person teaching in one day to alleviate time constraints and travel costs for apprentices. However, this often leaves limited time in the calendar for apprentices to engage with other important elements of an on-campus experience, such as meeting other students. Consider increasing your hybrid teaching delivery, so that you can leave gaps in the timetable between in-person teaching sessions that will allow apprentices to connect with their peers.
In addition to organic on-campus interactions, you should also organise social events for your apprentices. This could include a dedicated hour at the cafeteria for those on apprenticeship programmes, group study sessions or skills building activities. If you have limited resources, concentrate these events at the beginning of the programme; students are likely to be more motivated in this timeframe and it will help them to create networks that they can rely on for the remainder of the programme.
By using time spent in the institution effectively, you can support apprentices to build communities with their peers. This will, in turn, help you apprentices to feel like a valued part of the institution and increase their sense of belonging.
Voice and Representation
An effective way to ensure apprentices feel valued – and, therefore, that they belong – in a university environment is by listening to their concerns, feedback and ideas.
You should aim to harness the apprentice voice to inform the design and delivery of your programmes. This might look like:
Implementing regular feedback cycles
Ensuring apprentices are represented in your student union(s)
Co-creating learning resources and activities alongside apprentices
Regular feedback cycles will give apprentices the opportunity to report issues and suggestions they may have. Review this feedback closely, always sharing with employers where relevant. When you make changes to design or delivery based on this feedback, indicate so to your apprentices – it will help them to appreciate how their involvement in the process can shape their learning experience.
Your student union should include an apprentice representative, who is active and present at relevant events. Running an election process for this position may also serve to augment belonging by facilitating discussion and debate among your community of apprentices.
Learning resources and activities should be designed with apprentices in mind. This might include asking them to produce case studies based on their experience or to submit topics of personal interest based on their own apprenticeship that can be used as points for debate or research in class.
By incorporating student voice into your apprenticeship delivery – be it through feedback cycles, student representation or curriculum co-design – apprentices will feel valued and at home in your institution.
Working with the Employer Partner
Of course, there is an all-important part of the apprentice journey that we can’t forget: on-the-job learning. While apprentices will develop part of their skills base at your institution, the training and experience they receive from an employer is what makes an apprenticeship a unique learning opportunity.
So, how can universities instil a sense of belonging in their apprentices when they spend a great deal of their time in another organisation?
Ensuring the apprentice is properly cared for and supported in the work environment will have a resounding impact on their overall student experience. Much of this depends on your institution’s close collaboration with partner employers and should influence not only how you interact with employers, but which organisations you decide to work with from the outset.
We recommend putting together a list of questions regarding apprentice wellbeing, support and development that you can ask potential and returning partner employers at the design stage. Questions might include:
What opportunities will the apprentice have to disclose mental health issues in the workplace?
How will the apprentice be supported in building and maintaining good working relationships with colleagues?
Is the apprentice entitled to the same wellbeing benefits as other employees, such as access to an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP)?
How is success and achievement celebrated in the organisation?
The answers to these questions should guide your decisions on the employers you choose to work with and also the steps you take moving forward. For example, you might indicate to an employer that, if an apprentice were to experience an interpersonal issue while in the workplace, they might be expected to make reasonable adjustments such as more sessions with their mentor or adjusting the frequency with which they interact with certain members of staff.
Your ultimate goal should be to provide apprentices with seamless access to the university’s support services. To do this, it’s imperative to maintain strong communication with the employer and ensure there are processes for the employer to flag potential issues or refer students to support.
By taking steps to ensure an apprentice is properly cared for in the workplace and can access university support when necessary, you increase their overall satisfaction with the programme and bolster their sense of belonging.
The Future of the Apprentice Experience
The ‘student experience’ is not a monolith. As circumstances around institutions and the accessibility of higher education change, so too will the experience of those entering universities. As such, practitioners must find new and innovative ways to support students whose experience are vast and diverse.
The expansion of Higher and Degree Apprenticeships will challenge practitioners to think about how they can support different kinds of learners on their journey through higher education. Developing unique approaches and interventions will be key to supporting these students and their success.
