Higher Level Apprenticeships

Part of: Types of apprenticeships

If you've completed A Levels or equivalent, you may be interested in a Higher Level Apprenticeship, which offers the opportunity to gain quality training and a recognised higher qualification while in paid employment.

Higher Level Apprenticeship qualifications

Higher Level Apprenticeships (HLAs) currently offer you qualifications from Level 4 to Level 6 (Honours degree). The majority are at Level 5 (Foundation degree).

The length of a Higher Level Apprenticeship will vary depending on the programme you chose, but will be a minimum of two years.

Benefits to apprentices

By taking part in a Higher Level Apprenticeship, you can gain the skills that employers need and that are relevant to the local economy, therefore improving your prospects of good earnings and sustained employment.

Other benefits include:

earning while you learn
achieving professional-level qualifications without paying higher education tuition fees
increased opportunities for career progression
a clear pathway to achieving ambitions in the workplace

Benefits to employers

Higher Level Apprenticeships allow employers to train staff to the level needed so they have strong technical and good employability skills.

An apprenticeship can:

fill higher level skills gap
attract higher calibre staff
increase productivity
develop existing staff

Eligibility

Opportunities are available for you to gain qualifications from Level 4 upwards if you are a new employee or an existing employee in a new job role. Entry requirements will depend on the apprenticeship pathway.

To take part in the Higher Level Apprenticeship programme you need to:

be employed or be about to take up paid employment as an apprentice with a Northern Ireland based company
work a minimum of 21 hours per week (which includes time for ‘off-the-job’ training)
meet the entry requirements of your chosen occupation
be the minimum school leaving age in Northern Ireland

Higher Level Apprenticeships available

Higher Level Apprenticeships are available through the colleges and universities below.

College titles and abbreviations

College	Abbreviation
Belfast Metropolitan College	BMC
College of Agriculture, Food & Rural Enterprise	CAFRE
Northern Regional College	Northern
North West Regional College	NWRC
South Eastern Regional College	SERC
Southern Regional College	SRC
South West College	SWC
Ulster University	UU
Open University	OU
Queen's University Belfast	QUB

Currently, Higher Level Apprenticeships are available in over 20 occupational areas including ICT, Professional Services, Engineering, Life Sciences, Accountancy and Health Care. See below for full details.

Sector	Title	College / University	Qualification
Agri-food manufacture	Food and drink manufacture	CAFRE	Foundation degree in food and drink manufacture
Built environment	Architectural engineering and energy	SWC	Foundation degree in architectural engineering and energy
	Civil and environmental engineering	SWC	Foundation degree in civil and environmental engineering
	Civil engineering	BMC	Foundation degree in civil engineering
		NWRC	Foundation degree in civil engineering (with CertHE exit award)
	Construction	Northern SERC	Higher National Certificate (HNC) in construction and the built environment pathway construction
		SERC	Higher National Certificate (HNC) in construction and the built environment pathway building services - engineering
		SERC NRC	HNC in construction and the built environment pathway civil engineering
	Construction engineering with surveying	SWC	Foundation degree in construction engineering with surveying
	Energy environment and sustainability	SWC	Foundation degree in energy environment and sustainability
	Gas management	SERC	LOGIC certificate in gas safety management
Business and administration	Business technology	UU	BSc (Hons) business technology
	Accounting and management	UU	BSc (Hons) accounting and management
	Global capital markets	UU	MSc global capital markets
	Management	SERC	Foundation degree in leadership and management
Childcare and youth work	Children's care, learning and development	SERC	Council for Awards in Care, Health and Education (CACHE) Diploma in leadership for children’s care, learning and development
		NWRC	City & Guilds Diploma in leadership for children's care, learning and development
Engineering and manufacturing	Advanced manufacturing	Northern	Foundation degree in electrical and electronic engineering
		Northern SERC	Foundation degree in mechanical and manufacturing engineering
	Civil engineering	UU	BEng(Hons)/ MEng(Hons) in civil engineering
	Manufacturing engineering	SWC	Foundation degree in engineering, with specialisms in manufacturing (two years) Foundation degree in engineering, with specialisms in manufacturing (three years)
	Mechanical engineering	NWRC	Foundation degree in mechanical engineering
	Mechatronic engineering	SWC	Foundation degree in engineering with specialisms in mechatronics (two years) Foundation degree in engineering, with specialisms in mechatronics (three years)
	Mechatronics	SERC SRC	Foundation degree in mechatronic engineering
Finance and accounting	Accountancy	BMC Northern NWRC SERC SRC SWC	Accounting Technicians Ireland (ATI) certificate/ diploma for accounting technicians
	Insurance	SWC	CII diploma in insurance
Hospitality, events and tourism	International hospitality and tourism management	NWRC	Foundation degree in international hospitality and tourism management
ICT and Digital	Cloud and application development	BMC	Foundation degree in cloud and application development
	Computing	SWC	Foundation degree in computing
		SERC	Foundation degree in computing software development
		UU	Foundation degree in computing BSc(Hons) computing systems
	Computing infrastructure	SRC	Foundation degree in computing infrastructure
	Cyber security	QUB	MSc applied cyber security
	Cyber security and networking infrastructure	BMC	Foundation degree in cyber security and networking infrastructure
	Software development	NWRC	Foundation degree in software development
	Software engineering with digital technology partnership	QUB	BEng software engineering/ BEng Hon computer science
Life and industrial science	Applied industrial science (chemical science)	SRC	Foundation degree in applied industrial science (chemical science)
	Applied industrial science (life science)	SRC	Foundation degree in applied industrial science (life science)
	Applied industrial science	UU	BSc(Hons) applied pharmaceutical sciences
	Pharmaceutical analysis	QUB	MSc pharmaceutical analysis
Motor vehicle	Automotive management	SERC	Institute of Motor Industry (IMI) diploma in automotive management
	Advance automotive studies - heavy vehicle master technician	SERC	Institute of Motor Industry (IMI) certificate in advanced automotive studies
	Advance automotive studies - light vehicle master technician	SERC	Institute of Motor Industry (IMI) certificate in advanced automotive studies (light vehicle)
	Advanced automotive studies - lift truck engineering	SERC	Institute of Motoring Industry (IMI) certificate in advanced automotive studies
	Advanced automotive studies - transport refrigeration master technician	SERC	Institute of Motor Industry (IMI) certificate in advanced automotive studies
Social care	Health and social care	SERC	Level 5 diploma in leadership for health and social care services (adults' management) Wales and Northern Ireland

If you're interested in doing a Higher Level Apprenticeship, contact the relevant Further Education college or University for further information.

If you're not sure about which apprenticeship you want to follow, or want more information on what the Apprenticeships programme can do for you, contact the helpline:

Apprenticeships helpline

For employers

If you want to take on an apprentice or improve the skills of your employees to help your business work better, the Apprenticeships programme could be for you.

Apprenticeships for employers
(nibusinessinfo.co.uk website)