Degree apprenticeships: What employers need to know

Welcome to the Degree Apprenticeship Toolkit

A practical guide to designing, delivering, and supporting degree apprenticeships in Aotearoa New Zealand. Degree apprenticeships are a powerful way to connect learning and earning. They combine a recognised degree with meaningful, paid employment, providing learners with valuable skills, employers with workforce-ready talent, and Aotearoa New Zealand with a more resilient and equitable education system.

This toolkit has been developed to support all those involved in degree apprenticeships, and help make them a meaningful and successful experience.

Overview

This guide is designed for employers to help you understand whether degree apprenticeships are right for your business and how you can best work with others to make them a success. It's one of the outcomes of work carried out by the Construction and Infrastructure Centre of Vocational Excellence (ConCOVE) to understand what is holding New Zealand back from adopting degree apprenticeships more widely.

The degree apprenticeships pilots were set up to promote the mainstream adoption of degree apprenticeships. This work resulted in four main reports:

• Guide for employers (this guide)
• Guide for learners
• Guide for tertiary education providers
• Enabling degree apprenticeships – a framework for policymakers

We acknowledge the many contributors to this guide.

Key terms used throughout this guide:

Academic advisor (or programme lead) The staff member who supports apprentices' academic progress at the education provider, helps align workplace evidence to assessment, and participates in reviews between the apprentice, employer and provider.

Account manager (employer-facing) A designated provider contact who manages the overall relationship with an employer hosting apprentices.

Assessment (dual / workplace-integrated) Assessment that combines provider-marked academic tasks with verified workplace evidence, authenticated by the employer.

Block release / day-release Scheduled off-job study time. Block release clusters learning into multi-day/weekly blocks; day-release reserves a regular weekday.

Degree apprenticeship An earn-and-learn pathway where a person is employed and concurrently completes a recognised degree, with the majority of learning planned, supervised, assessed and credentialled in the workplace.

Dual admissions Two linked decisions: The employer hires the apprentice and the provider confirms academic readiness (often issued as coordinated, conditional offers).

E-portfolio / evidence log The tool or space apprentices use to collect workplace artefacts (photos, reports, checklists, reflections), mapped to outcomes.

Industry Skills Board (ISB) / professional body / industry association External partners that represent industry skill needs, set or influence standards and pathways, and often validate programme alignment with practice.

Mentor / workplace buddy Named colleagues who provide day-to-day coaching, safe practice guidance and help translate work into assessable evidence.

Off-job learning Provider-led learning (online, hybrid or in-person) that complements and integrates with on-the-job tasks.

On-the-job learning Planned workplace tasks, rotations and projects that generate authentic evidence for assessment.

Protected study time Rostered, enforceable time within paid hours for apprentices to engage in off-job learning and assessment tasks.

Tripartite review A structured, scheduled meeting involving the apprentice, workplace supervisor, and academic advisor to assess progress, adjust the training plan, and surface any issues early.

Training agreement The legally binding agreement between apprentice, employer and provider that establishes the apprenticeship relationship, roles, duties, data-sharing, fees/costs, and dispute/variation clauses.

Training plan The living schedule that maps graduate profile outcomes to workplace tasks and off-job learning, specifies evidence types and deadlines, and is updated at each tripartite review.

Key decisions for employers — 90-second decision guide

These questions will help you decide whether a degree apprenticeship will work for your business:

1. Is a degree apprenticeship available? If you need more information, then please contact your industry association, industry skills board, local tertiary education provider or our degree apprenticeship champions.
2. Can we afford not to pursue this option?
3. Can we fund the apprentice? You will need to employ the degree apprentice on a full-time basis and pay them a wage for the duration of their apprenticeship.
4. Can we give the apprentice the time they need to study? You need to provide the apprentice with the equivalent of approximately one day per week for off-job learning. This time needs to be rostered and protected.
5. Can we provide the supervision and mentoring needed? You will need to have experienced staff who can act as mentors or supervisors for the apprentice.
6. Are we prepared to collaborate closely with the provider? Degree apprenticeships require a close, ongoing partnership with the tertiary education provider.

Align — Get system settings and partners working in sync

What you'll know by the end of this section:

• What degree apprenticeships are.
• Why a degree apprenticeship would work for your business.
• How to check if your organisation is ready to support degree apprenticeships.
• Who to get around the table.
• What to do if you find roadblocks.
• Who our degree apprenticeship champions are.
• How to advocate for degree apprenticeships.

What are degree apprenticeships?

Degree apprenticeships fuse the lecture theatre with the workplace. Apprentices are employees first and foremost. They earn a salary while working towards a degree, with much of their learning embedded in their day job.

The key thing about degree apprenticeships isn't the name. It's the characteristics, which are:

• Where the learning takes place (mainly in the workplace).
• What the learning involves (a mix of technical, professional and research skills).
• What the learner is doing (being in paid employment in their relevant profession or a related field).

These programmes aren't made up of traditional lecture-based learning that might have a small component in the workplace.

Okay, I'm convinced. What do I do next?

Offering an apprenticeship can be very rewarding, but you need to be ready. A practical self-assessment helps you gauge your organisation's readiness to host degree apprentices. It's not pass–fail; it surfaces what's in place and what needs work so you can plan a realistic pathway.

Readiness checklist areas

A: Strategic fit

1. Does your business need degree-qualified staff now or in the near future?
2. Would a degree apprenticeship complement your existing workforce development activities?

B: Operational capacity

3. Can your organisation commit to employing the apprentice for the duration of the degree?
4. Can you provide protected study time (approximately one day per week)?

C: Workplace support

5. Do you have experienced staff who can act as mentors, supervisors, or workplace coaches? Apprentices are simultaneously employees and learners, so they need structured guidance. Supervisors and mentors will need training in how to support learning, not just work performance. This includes giving feedback, monitoring progress against both workplace and academic goals, and ensuring apprentices aren't left isolated. Talking early with potential supervisors and mentors will surface any concerns before the apprenticeship starts.

D: Partnerships

6. Are you in contact with a tertiary education provider offering relevant degree apprenticeships?
7. Do you have existing relationships with industry bodies or professional associations?

E: Equity and inclusion

8. Does your workplace actively support diverse learners, including Māori, Pacific peoples, and disabled people?
9. Are your physical and digital environments accessible?
10. Do your HR policies support flexible and equitable working arrangements?

F: Quality and compliance

11. Do you understand your responsibilities for workplace health, safety, and wellbeing in the context of apprenticeships? Employers are responsible for creating a safe, inclusive, and supportive environment for apprentices. Because they're both learners and employees, you will need to meet employment law, health and safety regulations, and any professional standards relevant to the role. While you're not obligated to follow the Code of Good Practice for New Zealand Apprenticeships, familiarising yourself with it provides a useful benchmark for your obligations.

12. Are your systems set up to manage a training agreement and training plan?

Getting ready — who do I need around the table?

Even though employers are at the heart of degree apprenticeships, success is a team effort. Your initial conversations should include:

• Business owners, managers, supervisors and HR staff. The mix will vary according to your size and stage. Smaller or newer businesses can combine roles.
• Tertiary education providers, professional bodies, industry groups and community partners.

Your industry skills board can help facilitate these connections. Some of the most important conversations about degree apprenticeships are between potential host employers who can share the load of reaching out to providers.

Roadblock: There's no degree apprenticeship in my industry. What do I do next?

Degree apprenticeships are relatively new in New Zealand, even if they're widely used overseas. You can advocate for this opportunity by:

1. Talking to your industry skills board. These groups are responsible for representing your training needs to the government and advising on funding. Explain how degree apprenticeships will make a difference to your business so they can advise the TEC on priorities for investment.
2. Talking to tertiary education providers. Providers will be interested in understanding market demand. Approach your local provider or a provider who is a leader in your field.
3. Connecting with other employers through professional bodies or industry associations to build collective advocacy.
4. Engaging your professional body. Professional bodies shape the landscape for registration requirements and can advocate at the policy level.

Explore — Make the right decisions early

What you'll know by the end of this section:

• How to determine if the role needs a degree.
• Some quick tips to complement what you already do.

Does the role need a degree?

Deciding whether a degree apprenticeship is right for your business means considering whether your business needs degree-qualified staff. Three criteria you can consider are:

• Regulatory requirements — Is a degree required to meet the professional registration or licensure needed to operate in your industry currently or in the near future?
• Complexity — Does the role routinely require advanced theory, design/analysis, or high-stakes decisions where public safety, compliance, or material cost is on the line?
• Workforce pipeline — Is this a role you'll need to fill regularly, making it worth investing in a structured pathway?

Five-factor test

1. Regulatory horizon If registration, licensure, or progression to independent practice already requires a degree, or if your professional body signals that it will soon, then the case is straightforward.

2. Intrinsic complexity and judgement Where work regularly demands advanced theory, design or analysis, integration of multiple knowledge domains, and high-stakes decisions with public safety, compliance, or material cost on the line, a degree adds real value. Think about who signs off on work in your organisation and what knowledge they need to do so responsibly.

3. Strategic capability and talent pipeline Consider whether building degree-level capability internally would strengthen your market position, support succession planning, or address persistent skills shortages.

4. Fit with existing training pathways Map what you already do and what you rely on others to do — whether trade apprenticeships, diplomas/micro-credentials, internships, graduate programmes, and on-the-job upskilling — and be clear about the gap a degree apprenticeship would fill.

5. Cost–benefit A degree apprenticeship is a significant commitment. Weigh the direct costs (wage, protected study time, supervision) against the benefits (tailored skills, retention, productivity gains, and reduced recruitment costs).

Would this complement, replace or duplicate how your business already upskills staff?

You likely already engage in a lot of upskilling of your staff on-the-job, even without formal systems. Map what you already do and what you rely on others to do, whether trade apprenticeships, diplomas/micro-credentials, internships, graduate programmes, and on-the-job upskilling, and be clear about the gap a degree apprenticeship would fill.

A good fit is where a degree apprenticeship:

• Builds on and formalises what you're already doing informally.
• Fills a gap that existing programmes don't address.
• Complements trade or diploma pathways rather than replacing them.
• Creates a structured pipeline for roles that require both workplace experience and degree-level knowledge.

A poor fit is where it:

• Duplicates existing graduate recruitment or internal management programmes.
• Is used as a cheaper substitute for hiring qualified staff.
• Creates an administrative burden without a strategic workforce benefit.

Design — Work together to make your solutions work for all

What you'll know by the end of this section:

• What your role is in setting up the degree.
• What roles and duties the apprentice will perform.
• How the admission and recruitment process will work.
• Who will guide the apprentice.
• What training agreements and training plans involve.
• What workplace activities can be linked to specific learning outcomes in the degree.
• How you can contribute through tasks like verifying that the work is the apprentice's own.

What is my role in setting up the degree?

New degree apprenticeships are coming on stream steadily, but there are still many gaps in coverage. Tertiary education providers generally approach the initial set-up of a new degree apprenticeship in two ways:

• By evolving an existing degree to incorporate considerably more work-integrated learning. This option tends to be faster, but it requires an existing degree in the right field.
• By establishing a new degree. This option can take longer but allows providers to design the programme from scratch around workplace learning.

As an employer, you may be asked to:

• Contribute to the design of learning outcomes and assessment tasks.
• Confirm that proposed workplace tasks genuinely reflect the knowledge and skills required of a graduate.
• Provide feedback on draft programme content and sequencing.
• Sign off on the training agreement and training plan.

What roles and duties will the apprentice perform?

The work that a degree apprentice does will depend on their own existing skills and experience. Someone new to the workforce will have a very different role in your workplace compared to a long-standing staff member who's looking to build on an already strong foundation.

As an employer, you'll be familiar with how the roles and duties of any new staff member can change over time. Some of the key things to look out for with degree apprentices include:

• Ensuring the work they do reflects genuine graduate-level outcomes.
• Providing planned rotations across teams, sites or functions to ensure breadth.
• Avoiding keeping apprentices in a single, narrow role that limits the evidence they can generate.
• Adjusting their responsibilities as their skills develop.

Recruiting a degree apprentice

Degree apprenticeships require the apprentice to both hold a job and a place in a degree programme. A good recruitment and application process supports this dual requirement, ensuring that candidates are selected through fair, transparent, and coordinated procedures.

Some good practices to consider include a joint or unified application, co-branded promotional material, and shared screening tools such as interviews, aptitude tests, or diagnostic assessments.

Recruitment and admissions models

There is no one-size-fits-all model. Options include:

• Group Training Scheme: Handles initial recruitment, assessment and matching with host employers before passing candidates on to the tertiary education provider. A centralised model that ensures consistency and streamlines the experience for learners and employers, making it well-suited for people new to the industry.
• Workshops: The tertiary education provider runs information workshops that attract prospective apprentices and help match them with employers.
• Direct employer recruitment: The employer recruits first, then coordinates with the provider on academic readiness.
• Joint admissions panel: Employer and provider assess candidates together.

A dual admissions approach ensures that both employers and tertiary education providers approve a candidate's readiness and suitability at the same time. This approach simplifies the candidate's experience. A joint offer letter or coordinated notification process helps reduce confusion and ensures clarity from day one.

Training agreements and training plans — an overview

There are currently no minimum standards or requirements for a Training Agreement or Training Plan for a degree apprentice in New Zealand. But you'll have agreed the specification for each with the tertiary education provider in advance and you will each actively contribute to and sign off on these documents.

Training Agreement = The Contract

• Legal agreement between the learner, employer, and tertiary education provider.
• Sets out everyone's rights and responsibilities for the whole apprenticeship.
• Covers pay and conditions, protected study time, health and safety, fees/costs, what happens if things change.
• Can only be changed if all three parties agree in writing.

Training Plan = The Learning Map

• Working document that shows what the apprentice will learn, when, and how.
• Maps the degree outcomes to real workplace tasks.
• Lists supervisors, rotation schedule, evidence required, assessment deadlines, support arrangements.
• Gets updated every term at tripartite reviews.

In practice

• The Training Agreement stays mostly the same throughout the apprenticeship.
• The Training Plan changes as the apprentice progresses — tasks get updated, rotations shift, new evidence gets added.
• Both documents work together: the agreement creates the framework, the plan fills in the detail.

What workplace activities can be linked to specific learning outcomes in the degree?

Each apprentice needs to show they have the full set of skills and knowledge expected from someone who finishes the degree. The skills checklist for the degree is usually based on what the profession itself says graduates should know and do. This ensures the training matches real industry needs and can take the form of an Apprenticeship Standard or a graduate profile.

Examples of evidence in the workplace

Regular reporting A weekly progress report and brief to the team can evidence the testing of a hypothesis, data gathering methods, identifying root causes and proposing options.

Risk assessment A task-specific risk assessment shows hazard identification, control selection, and ethical practice.

Projects A project can demonstrate an understanding of theoretical frameworks, problem framing, defining a baseline, testing a change, documenting limitations and interpreting the results with real metrics.

Quality inspections Quality inspections show application of standards, design and use of sampling methodologies and application of pattern analysis.

Site walks Stakeholder briefing or site walk with clients shows interpersonal communication and cultural competence, gathering of multiple perspectives, synthesis of findings and presentation of options with trade-offs.

Digital artefacts Digital artefacts like models, schedules and dashboards cover information literacy and use of tools and can include sensitivity analysis to show how result changes when inputs shift.

How can you contribute to assessment?

While you'll be interested in the quality of the evidence assessment that the degree apprentice produces, formal responsibility sits with the tertiary education provider.

There are many ways that the assessment of the apprentice's learning will be organised. These include:

• Provider-led coursework and exams that may draw on workplace cases but are marked by the provider against academic standards.
• Workplace-based assessment and portfolio evidence (e.g., projects, reports, site observations) that is co-assessed by the employer and provider.
• Integrated assessments where workplace tasks and academic outputs are assessed together.

The employer role in assessment

• What counts: Understand the specific tasks, artefacts, and rubrics, authenticity requirements, and moderation processes.
• When it happens: Find out when assessment takes place, the timing and duration of any site visits, how much protected learning time there needs to be.
• Who does what: You need to understand who is going to be responsible for authenticating evidence, verifying the apprentice's work as their own, and co-marking where applicable.

Deliver — Create the right learning and support

Learner experience swim lane

Stage	Learner	Employer	Tertiary education provider
Discover and Apply	Consider role fit and prepare CV; attend information session	Advertise roles; signal inclusivity and supports	Run briefings; programme calendar and entry criteria
Screening	Sit diagnostics, submit evidence of prior learning	Joint interview (focus on job readiness)	Joint interview (focus on academic readiness), map prior learning
Dual admissions	Accept joint conditional offers	Issue job offer	Approve degree admission
Agreements and Plan	Sign Training Agreement; co-create Training Plan	Sign Training Agreement; co-create Training Plan; confirm release time and supervisor	Sign Training Agreement; co-create Training Plan; confirm academic schedule and advisor
Onboarding (weeks 1–2)	Attend work and study inductions; meet buddy/mentor	Arrange induction and work schedule; assign buddy/mentor	Arrange academic induction; provide learning and assessment resources
Early ramp (weeks 3–6)	Start tasks and capture evidence; attend off-job learning	Run early briefs/debriefs, protect study time and check on wellbeing	Quick check-ins; monitor engagement and early progress
Week 6 fit check	Reflect on progress	Adjust workload and rotations	Confirm supports
Term cycles (10–12 weeks)	Attend tripartite reviews; submit assessments	Attend tripartite reviews; provide tasks; sign off evidence	Teach and assess; run reviews; monitor progress
Breadth and rotations	Complete off-job training and job shadowing	Swap rotations; enable placements if needed	Approve changes; assess evidence
Capstone assessment	Deliver project and present learning	Release time for write-up	Assess per rubric; consult external experts
Completion	Graduate and seek provisional registration	Support post-graduation pathway	Issue qualification; support registration

Obligations and expectations

Degree apprentices are employees first and foremost. With that comes all the standard expectations of employment. The significant difference is that you're not just hiring a staff member, but you're formalising your training and development role within the structure offered by the degree.

In practice, this means you'll have specific obligations as an employer:

• Pay at least the minimum wage and provide all standard employment entitlements.
• Provide and protect approximately one day per week for off-job study.
• Assign a capable workplace supervisor or mentor.
• Participate in tripartite reviews each term.
• Notify the provider promptly if the apprentice's role, location, or hours change.
• Follow health and safety obligations that apply to both employee and learner.

Supporting degree apprentices

Whether or not a degree apprentice feels supported plays a big role in their success. Each degree apprentice may interact with many people as part of their learning. Understanding their roles and contributions is essential because it helps you be deliberate about who you assign to work with the apprentice.

Support dimensions

On-job coaching

• Assigned and appropriately qualified supervisor and go-to colleague.
• Simple rhythms: micro-briefings, debriefs, regular check-ins.
• Matching of task to capability.
• Opportunities for the apprentice to explain what they are learning to your team.
• Close relationship between the apprentice, the workplace supervisor, and the academic advisor.

Academic scaffolding

• Coordination between the workplace and provider on assessment timelines.
• Protected study time.
• Shared understanding of evidence requirements.

Wellbeing

• Regular check-ins that cover both work and personal wellbeing.
• Access to Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) or equivalent.
• Clear process for raising concerns.

Progression

• Regular rotation across tasks and teams to build breadth.
• Explicit recognition of growing capability.
• Pathway to professional registration made visible from the start.

Monitoring

• Early-warning indicators tracked (attendance, evidence submission, supervisor check-ins).
• Escalation path clear to all parties.

Partners in the apprenticeship journey

Beyond your own staff, the apprentice's support network includes:

• People in your business: Managers, supervisors, training and development staff, human resource staff and other employees.
• Tertiary education provider: Apprenticeship programme coordinators, course lecturers and tutors, pastoral and academic support staff, careers advisors.
• Industry Skills Boards and professional bodies: Mentoring, networking, standards setting, registration guidance.
• Māori and Pacific community partners: Cultural support, community connections, and advocacy.
• Disabled peoples' organisations: Universal Design for Learning guidance, accessibility advice.

Sustain — Learn, improve and grow your impact

What you'll know by the end of this section:

• How you can best track the outcomes that apprentices gain.
• How you can expand the impact of degree apprenticeships.

Tracking outcomes

Degree apprenticeships are associated with high productivity, the filling of skills gaps for businesses and improved staff morale and retention. They give you advantages over your competitors by allowing you to secure skilled and talented staff and strengthen your market position.

Some of the benefits that may be straightforward to track:

• Whether your apprentices complete their programme.
• Whether they achieve professional registration or the next career step.
• Productivity improvements in the areas where the apprentice works.
• Reduction in recruitment costs for specialist roles.
• Staff retention rates.

Other benefits that may require more deliberate measurement:

• Improved team capability and knowledge transfer.
• Strengthened relationships with tertiary education providers and industry bodies.
• Contribution to community and equity outcomes.

Expanding your impact

Degree apprenticeships are relatively new in New Zealand, so you're likely to be part of the early cohort of employers involved with them. By joining this movement, you benefit your business and contribute to the broader industry, profession, and community.

Practical ways to amplify the benefits without adding a lot of extra work:

• Talking about your experience with other employers, through industry associations or at events.
• Providing feedback to the tertiary education provider and industry skills board.
• Supporting your graduates to become mentors or supervisors for the next cohort.
• Participating in co-governance arrangements as they develop.

Partner — Build partnerships that support shared goals

This phase involves collaborating with others to help you achieve your goals. You'll have many partnerships, relationships and connections that you've formed through your business. These may dovetail with those of the tertiary education provider and the apprentice themselves.

These partnerships also offer an opportunity to rethink how we deliver education and training more broadly.

Key partnership groups

Industry Skills Boards, Professional Bodies, and Industry Associations

• Qualification–occupation alignment: does the degree apprenticeship reflect current practice, industry standards, and emerging skills needs?
• Equity in access and outcomes: are Māori, Pacific peoples, and disabled peoples represented and supported throughout the programme?
• System-level insights: are there policy, regulatory, or funding settings that need adjustment to support inclusive degree apprenticeship delivery?

Māori partners and iwi organisations

• Provide cultural grounding and connection for Māori apprentices.
• Support tikanga and te reo Māori integration in programme design.
• Facilitate relationships with Māori businesses and communities that may be host employers.

Pacific community organisations

• Support Pacific learners through culturally responsive mentoring and community connection.
• Advise on programme design to ensure it is relevant to Pacific communities.

Disabled peoples' organisations

• Nothing about us, without us.
• Apply the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) to both curriculum and workplace learning.
• Co-design with disabled learners and advocates — not just "consult".
• Ensure accessibility of systems — application, enrolment, course materials, workplace environments.
• Address ableism in both education and employment through training, policies, and monitoring.

Tertiary education providers

• You are not just delivering content. You are co-designing the learning environment with employers.
• Shared ownership of learner success requires shared governance, shared data, and shared accountability.