Environmental Practitioner Degree Apprenticeship

Programme structure

Apprentices attend university one day a week during term time and will continue to have one day per week off-the-job learning out of term.

With support from the employer, apprentices are required to spend 20% of paid working hours on studies and be able to evidence this. This is a statutory requirement for apprenticeships and the funding is conditional on this being met.

Off-the-job learning includes activities which have not previously been a part of the role or furthers apprentices development into new areas.

Modules

Core modules

Year 1

• Academic Learning and Field Skills for Environmental Practitioners
• Global Environmental Challenges

Year 2

• Fundamentals of Physical Geography
• Statistical and Spatial Data Analysis

Year 3

• Professional Practice for Apprentices
• Environmental Pollution

Year 4

• Research and  Field Skills
• Environmental Fieldwork Skills for Apprentices

Year 5

• Community Engagement for Enviromental Practitioners
• Dissertation Project for Environmental Practitioners

Options*

Years 1 and 2

• Introduction to Ecology and Conservation
• Introduction to Marine Biology and Ecology
• Urban Geography
• Human Geography

Years 3 and 4

• Behavioural and Evolutionary Biology
• Climate Change
• Sustainable Futures
• GIS and Remote Sensing: Principles and practice

Year 5

• Ecological Impact Assessment
• Rivers, Coasts and Wetlands: Assessment and management
• Environmental Impact Assessment
• Water Sanitation and Health
• Atmosphere, Weather and Climate
• Waste Management and the Circular Economy
• Political Ecology: Contested Environments
• Advanced GIS and Remote Sensing

*Option modules are indicative and may change, depending on timetabling and staff availability.

Apprentice and employer commitments

In order to deliver the programme, the employer undertakes to:

• conduct a workplace induction and set out a contract of employment
• provide an appropriately qualified workplace mentor to support the apprentice
• attend apprentice's progress review (twice a year) 
• release apprentice for scheduled off-the-job learning
• have an Apprenticeship Agreement in place from the start of the programme.

Throughout the programme, apprentices will:

• attend the workplace for the agreed pattern as set out in the employment contract 
• record all training sessions and off-the-job learning 
• attend scheduled university learning sessions and complete all assessments as required by the university and End Point Assessment Organisation
• behave in a safe and responsible manner at the workplace and university
• engage with regular progress reviews 
• complete, throughout the apprenticeship, a professional development portfolio.

Staff profile

Dr Ryan Woodard, programme leader

Dr Ryan Woodard's career to date has been heavily influenced by developments and trends in the wider waste management industry. A significant part of his early research was working in partnership with local authorities when many were introducing their first ever kerbside recycling programmes in the late 1990s/early 2000s. This included trialling different collection systems and behaviour change programmes and evaluating their impact on recycling levels. He continues to look at how local authorities can implement waste reduction, reuse and recycling through adopting innovative methods.

Ryan's other interests include the management of commercial and industrial waste. Waste policy tends to focus on household waste, however more waste is actually generated from SMEs. He is therefore interested in understanding how SMEs manage their waste, comply with environmental regulations and working to develop smarter systems for the management of this waste. Ryan is also interested in developing low cost solutions to facilitate local management of waste in Local Economically Developed Countries.

Facilities

Apprentices will gain valuable, hands-on experience in our specialist labs and using our field equipment from the School of Applied Sciences, including:

• Environment and Public Health Lab
• Soil and Water Analysis Labs
• Soil and Sediment Analysis Lab
• Hydraulics Lab
• Environmental Simulation Lab
• Scanning Electron Microscopy facility
• Air quality lab
• Computer suites running GIS and other professional software 
• Equipment for field-based geophysical surveying
• Field collection equipment

Fees and funding information for apprentices

Course fees

As an apprentice the cost of your learning programme is covered by your employer through their Digital Apprenticeship Service (DAS) account.

Student finance

Higher and degree level apprentices are not eligible for any element of student finance. This is because they receive a salary instead of the student loan package. However, if you are experiencing any financial difficulties, please contact the Student Advice Service on 01273 642 888.

Learning support

Apprentices studying at Higher and degree level may be able to access funding in relation to additional support but this is available through the university and not Disabled Students Allowance. Apprentices may also be able to apply for Access to Work funding for work-based equipment and software. Please contact the Disability and Dyslexia team on 01273 643 799.