Learners vs earners: How will degree apprenticeships affect the design of university Events Management programmes?

Whitaker, Briony

Abstract

The competitive job market and the increasing number of people studying for degrees means that universities, more than ever, are promoting the employability of their graduates. In turn, potential students are now applying for programmes that give them the best career prospects upon completion. In the UK alone there were approximately half a million people placed into general higher education in 2016 (UCAS:2015), and in particular, the popularity of business-focused degrees has been steadily growing in the UK and the US over the past decade.
For business programmes in higher education, there is often an emphasis on employability that underpins learning. Business students in particular ‘are much more inclined to apply their learning to their future work context… instead of focussing on the concepts or rules of the discipline.’ (Stoten:2015:450). The introduction of degree level apprenticeships at many universities now gives students the opportunity to ‘earn as they learn’, with a primary (80%) focus on undertaking practical work supplemented with (20%) theoretical study. Rising tuition fees and a competitive graduate job market means that this work-based learning approach can appease those who are concerned about the financial implications of undertaking a degree, as well as those who are keen to immediately enter their chosen sector, but poses a potential issue with the design of university programmes for vocational subjects, such as Events Management, by lessening the significance and impact of subject-specific theory in favour of workplace skills.
Events Management university programmes emphasise the importance of contextualising Event theory within ‘real life’ event examples in order to demonstrate an understanding and applicative ability. We encourage students to undertake work placements to consolidate and exhibit what they have learnt from our programme. However, in the same vein as more traditional academic subjects, there are theories and models to be learnt for the sake of broadening knowledge rather than to be applied directly to the workplace, which will potentially be absent from apprenticeship programmes. The potential danger here is that the focus on careers will overshadow the academic and educational development of Events Management.

This presentation will focus on the division between education and workplace skills in Higher Education, and raise the issue of designing university programmes that attract and recruit students keen to actively engage with and learn from the theoretical development of Events Management, as an alternative to heading directly into industry.

References:
Stoten, D. W. (2015) Managing the transition: a case study of self-regulation in the learning of first-term business and management undergraduate students at an English university. Research in Post Compulsory Education [online]. 20 (4) pp. 445-459. Accessed 30th January 2017.

UCAS (2015) Record numbers of students accepted to UK universities and colleges [online]. Cheltenham: UCAS. Available from: https://www.ucas.com/corporate/news-and-key-documents/news/record-numbers-students-accepted-uk-universities-and-colleges

• Presentation Conference Type: Presentation / Talk
• Conference Name: Association for Events Management Education 14th Annual Conference
• Start Date: Jul 1, 2017
• End Date: Jul 1, 2017
• Acceptance Date: Mar 30, 2017
• Peer Reviewed: Not Peer Reviewed
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/890627
• Additional Information: Title of Conference or Conference Proceedings : Association for Events Management Education 14th Annual Conference