Teesside University has launched a series of new Degree Apprenticeships, under the leadership of Director of Professional Apprenticeships Jo Burgess, who was interviewed HERE.

In this short series of articles, we look at some of the new apprenticeships, starting with Rachel Teate, lead on the Creative Digital Design Professional Apprenticeship.

Who is the course for?

Perhaps an engineering firm considering incorporating digital prototypes, a service provider wanting to streamline their thinking using design processes or a creative business wanting to add new services to your business offer.

“The course will have a mix of creative design practice, like motion graphics and data storytelling -  quite a lot of things to cover, which is why it takes more than three years to actually complete the degree.

"But the unique thing with this is that when we have our apprentices, they're working on a piece of work that they're using within their business. So if your company needs some software to help make their tax a bit easier, they can be working on that project that will then hopefully feed into everything that the business is doing and getting their qualification at the same time.

Find out more at Teesside UniversityFind out more at Teesside University

“We need people to already be in an appropriate role and working 30 hours a week to qualify, which means some businesses are specifically recruiting to it and some are upskilling their existing staff - that might be somebody young who's never really had any training or a more experienced member of staff who just really wants to learn and explore.

“With us, they will have a blended model of learning, which means three hours online each week, then an extra three of off-the-job learning. Then each semester we have two days on campus to look at different software and meet peers and tutors face to face. The beauty of that is, that we can have conversations with people all over the UK who are drawn to Teesside as the best place to grow their careers.

“The other positive in terms of funding, is that if you are levy paying employer the cost of the learningis free and if you’re not paying, its £1,125 - where can you get a degree that shows that level of value? And we are already finding businesses that are offsetting their levy so it doesn't cost another business something.”