Key new roles in higher education apprenticeships: exploring boundary-spanning identities of tripartite representatives

Project Description

This project is a collaboration with Northumbria University and the University of Hertfordshire.

Higher education apprenticeships are a recent innovation within the UK, with potential to improve social mobility and transform relationships between universities and employers.

The proposed research explores the emergent role of Higher Education (HE) Tripartite Representatives: staff who represent the university (or other training provider) in tripartite meetings with the apprentice and their workplace mentor. This role is crucial in supporting the apprentices’ success. Core responsibilities include wellbeing support, employer engagement, and helping to agree work-based learning goals. Although such roles are well established in other Vocational Education and Training (VET) contexts, they are relatively new in HE, lacking agreed role titles, career paths, and models of best practice. Representatives collaborate at the boundaries of knowledge between HE and the workplace, coming from both academic and non-academic backgrounds. Furthermore, the continuously shifting regulatory frameworks governing the role are devolved, leading to distinct implementations across the four UK nations, from mandatory quarterly progress review meetings in England to Scotland’s more flexible approach.

This research aims to identify who undertakes this HE tripartite representative role, exploring their situated experience and illuminating the professional identities of an evolving workforce that bridges academic, professional, and regulatory boundaries. The study will map existing models of practice across academic disciplines and the four nations, focusing on how parallel frameworks influence approaches to apprentice support. Despite the rapid expansion of HE apprenticeships, these roles are currently hidden and potentially precarious, necessitating recognition and development to enhance best practice and career pathways.

Our previous research revealed diverse implementations, but also enthusiasm, commitment, and opportunities to support the apprentices’ success. Understanding the tripartite representatives’ experience, will highlight success factors for apprentices and facilitate professionalism of the representatives’ role. Findings will inform all stakeholders keen to accelerate improvements in apprenticeships, driving skills provision and social mobility.