Successful Bid for Degree Apprenticeships in Wales

The Open University , 16th August 2021

The Open University (OU) in Wales has secured a bid to continue offering funded places on its Degree Apprenticeship in Applied Software Engineering.

The Degree Apprenticeship programme is available to employers across Wales in the public and private sectors. It is suitable for new and existing staff who work in digital and technology roles and who spend most of their working hours in Wales. The programme is funded by the Welsh Government through the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW).

Delivered flexibly around the needs of the organisation, the Degree Apprenticeship programme can be used to upskill employees or recruit new talent into a business through academic and work-based learning. There are no formal entry requirements and apprentices are fully supported by an OU Practice Tutor in the workplace and online. After completing the course, apprentices achieve a BSc (Hons) in Applied Software Engineering.

The OU in Wales is already working across several sectors including local authorities, the NHS, fintech, housing associations, manufacturing, and SME organisations. Recent success stories with partner employers include the Intellectual Property Office (IPO), Welsh housing association Trivallis, and Craftcourses.com.

The way the Degree Apprenticeship is taught allows people to study wherever they live. This has led to partnerships with employers in every part of Wales including rural areas. The programme’s online teaching has also helped apprentices to continue their studies with little disruption during the Coronavirus pandemic.

The Open University’s new intake of degree apprentices in Wales will start in October of this year, and February 2022. They will be the sixth and seventh cohorts of apprentices to enrol on the programme since its launch in 2019.

Louise Casella, Director of the OU in Wales, said:

“We are really pleased to be able to continue to support the demand from employers in Wales to help develop their staff. Degree apprentices across Wales are studying flexibly with the OU to upskill and help meet the needs of their organisations. Skill shortages in software engineering still exist, that's why investing in this area is so important to our economic recovery.”

Expected future demand for software developer and related professional roles is high compared to other jobs in Wales¹. A recent report commissioned by the OU and Be the Business noted that 77% of UK business leaders lack the skills required to successfully implement new technology into their business. Through the Degree Apprenticeship in Applied Software Engineering programme, the OU in Wales hopes to help organisations across all sectors address the growing demand for highly skilled employees in digital and technology roles.

Find out more about OU Degree Apprenticeships in Wales.

Mae'r Brifysgol Agored yng Nghymru (OU) wedi llwyddo i sicrhau cynnig i barhau i gynnig lleoedd wedi’u hariannu ar ei Prentisiaeth Radd mewn Peirianneg Feddalwedd Gymhwysol.

Mae’r rhaglen Brentisiaeth Radd ar gael i gyflogwyr ledled Cymru yn y sector cyhoeddus a phreifat. Mae'r brentisiaeth yn addas i staff cyfredol sy'n gweithio mewn swyddi digidol a thechnoleg ac sy'n treulio'r rhan fwyaf o'u horiau gweithio yng Nghymru.Ariennir y rhaglen gan Lywodraeth Cymru drwy Gyngor Cyllido Addysg Uwch Cymru (HEFCW).

Mae’r Brentisiaeth Radd yn cael ei darparu i gyd-fynd ag anghenion y sefydliad, a gellir defnyddio’r rhaglen i uwchsgilio gweithwyr neu recriwtio doniau newydd i fusnes drwy waith academaidd a dysgu’n seiliedig ar waith. Does dim gofynion mynediad ffurfiol, ac mae prentisiaid yn cael eu cefnogi’n llawn gan Diwtor Ymarfer o’r Brifysgol Agored yn y gweithle ac ar-lein. Ar ôl cwblhau’r cwrs, bydd prentisiaid yn derbyn BSc (Anrh) mewn Peirianneg Feddalwedd Gymhwysol.

Mae’r Brifysgol Agored yng Nghymru eisoes yn gweithio ar draws sawl sector yn cynnwys awdurdodau lleol, y GIG, technoleg ariannol, cymdeithasau tai, gweithgynhyrchu, a sefydliadau BBaChau. Mae straeon diweddar am lwyddiant gyda chyflogwyr partner yn cynnwys y Swyddfa Eiddo Deallusol (IPO), cymdeithas tai Cymru Trivallis, a Craftcourses.com.

Mae’r ffordd yr addysgir y Brentisiaeth Radd yn galluogi pobl i astudio lle bynnag maen nhw’n byw. Mae hyn wedi arwain at bartneriaethau gyda chyflogwyr ym mhob cwr o Gymru, yn cynnwys ardaloedd gwledig. Mae’r rhaglen yn cael ei haddysgu ar-lein, ac felly mae prentisiaid wedi gallu parhau gyda’u hastudiaethau yn ddi-drafferth yn ystod pandemig Coronafeirws.

Bydd y Brifysgol Agored yng Nghymru yn croesawu prentisiaid gradd newydd ym mis Hydref eleni, a mis Rhagfyr 2022. Dyma’r chweched a’r seithfed carfan o brentisiaid i gofrestru ar y rhaglen ers ei lansio yn 2019.

Dywedodd Louise Casella, Cyfarwyddwr y Brifysgol Agored yng Nghymru:

“Rydym yn falch iawn o allu parhau i gefnogi’r galw gan gyflogwyr yng Nghymru i helpu i ddatblygu eu staff. Mae prentisiaid gradd ledled Cymru yn astudio mewn ffordd hyblyg gyda’r Brifysgol Agored, er mwyn mireinio sgiliau a helpu i fodloni anghenion eu sefydliadau. Mae prinder sgiliau mewn peirianneg feddalwedd yn bodoli hyd heddiw, a dyna pam fod buddsoddi yn y maes hwn mor bwysig o ran gwella ein heconomi.”

Mae disgwyl y bydd galw sylweddol am ddatblygwyr meddalwedd a swyddi proffesiynol perthnasol yn y dyfodol, o gymharu â swyddi eraill yng Nghymru¹. Nododd adroddiad diweddar a gomisiynwyd gan y Brifysgol Agored a Be the Business nad oedd 77% o arweinwyr busnes ym Mhrydain yn meddu ar y sgiliau angenrheidiol i ddefnyddio technoleg newydd o fewn eu busnes yn llwyddiannus. Drwy’r rhaglen Brentisiaeth Radd mewn Peirianneg Feddalwedd Gymhwysol, mae’r Brifysgol Agored yng Nghymru yn gobeithio helpu sefydliadau ym mhob sector i ddelio â galw sylweddol am weithwyr medrus mewn swyddi digidol a thechnegol.

Dysgwch fwy am Brentisiaethau Gradd y Brifysgol Agored yng Nghymru.