A higher apprenticeship is an apprenticeship at Level 4 or above. Higher apprenticeships combine paid employment with advanced occupational training and can operate at Levels 4, 5, 6 or 7.
What do Levels 4 and 5 mean?
- Level 4 – a similar educational level to an HNC;
- Level 5 – a similar educational level to an HND or foundation degree.
These comparisons indicate level, not identical course content. A higher apprentice is training for an occupation, not simply taking an HNC or HND while employed. In 2025/26 there were 41,430 Level 4 starts and 31,290 at Level 5.
What about Levels 6 and 7?
Level 6 is degree educational level; Level 7 is master's educational level. A degree apprenticeship at one of these levels has a degree built into the apprenticeship as a required component. Other apprenticeship standards operate at Level 6 or 7 without that mandated-degree structure – a Level 7 professional qualification in accountancy or law, for example. The level tells you the educational level; it does not tell you whether a degree is attached.
In 2025/26 there were 25,140 Level 6 starts and 28,800 at Level 7. See what is a degree apprenticeship?
Who starts higher apprenticeships?
A much wider range of people than the school-leaver image suggests: young people progressing from A levels, T Levels or other Level 3 study; apprentices progressing from lower levels; graduates entering a new occupation; and existing employees developing higher-level professional skills.
This is one reason apprenticeship statistics should not be read as though every start were a teenager entering their first job.
Are higher apprenticeships growing?
Strongly, and for a long time. Higher-level apprenticeships accounted for 39.8% of all starts in 2024/25, against 12.8% in 2017/18 – a rise from 48,150 starts to 140,730.
The provisional 2025/26 data shows 126,660 higher apprenticeship starts between August 2025 and April 2026, up 13.6% on the same period the year before on DfE's published like-for-like comparison.
Apprenticeship starts by level band
England · academic years · 2025/26 is provisional, August–April
The final point covers nine months, not twelve, and is shaded accordingly. It is not comparable with the full years to its left.
Source: DfE, Apprenticeships, academic year 2025/26 (published 16 July 2026), headline summary dataset 1d419801. Figures for 2025/26 are provisional and cover August 2025 to April 2026.
Why have higher apprenticeships grown?
The statistics show the change clearly. They do not explain it, and no single factor accounts for all of it. Developments that are plausibly relevant include the expansion in the number of higher-level standards, employer demand for advanced occupational training, the use of apprenticeships to develop existing employees, growth in degree apprenticeships, levy funding, and changing occupational needs.
The honest use of this data is to describe the pattern and ask why, not to assert a cause.
What are the entry requirements?
They vary by apprenticeship and employer, and are generally more demanding than at Level 2 or Level 3. A vacancy might ask for Level 3 qualifications, specific A level grades, a T Level, relevant work experience, existing employment in the occupation, particular GCSEs, or professional prerequisites. Always check the actual vacancy.
Is a higher apprenticeship free?
The apprentice does not pay tuition fees for the apprenticeship training in the way a conventional university student pays university tuition fees. The apprentice is employed and paid, and training is funded through the apprenticeship funding system and employer arrangements. See who pays for an apprenticeship?
What can it lead to?
Depending on the occupation: professional status, promotion, higher-skilled employment, further apprenticeship progression, Level 6 or Level 7 study, or specialist occupational roles.
See how higher-level starts have grown →