Fully funded degree apprenticeship allows mature student to progress in new career

A mature student at Cardiff Metropolitan University says embarking on a degree apprenticeship later in life with a young family to support would not have been possible without the funding provided from the Welsh Government.

Kyle Cuthbert, 37, from Newport is currently in his third year on Cardiff Met’s BSc Applied Software Engineering degree apprenticeship. He has shared his story during Apprenticeship Week Wales which takes place from 10 – 16 February 2025.

The degree apprenticeships at Cardiff Met are fully funded by Welsh Government over a three-year period and employees are awarded a degree in their selected discipline.

Kyle said: “I had always had an interest in software engineering but fell into working in retail after leaving school and then went on to work in finance roles for over ten years. I was keen to do something different and initially looked at Open University courses and part-time degree courses, but they were always too expensive.”

In 2022, Kyle saw a developer job come up at Cardiff Council and although he didn’t have any qualifications and the role wasn’t as well paid as his current job in finance, he decided to apply.

A Degree Apprenticeship offers an apprentice the opportunity to study for their academic qualification while working full time with an employer, gaining real-world experience in their chosen career path whilst at the same time gaining their qualification.

Kyle continued: “I had to take a pay cut when going for the role at Cardiff Council and this was a big risk with a young family, but in order to take a step forward in my career I realised I would have to take a pay decrease. Within a month of working there, I was approached about the fully funded apprenticeship degree at Cardiff Met – prior to starting at the council, a degree apprenticeship was not something I was aware of.”

Kyle, who explained he often lacks confidence in the workplace, is now in his final six months of the degree apprenticeship and has already had his employer at Cardiff Council show an interest in progressing him in his current role as a developer. This would see him promoted to a senior software engineer which comes with more responsibility and control over projects.

Kyle added: “The applied software engineering course has given me the opportunity to get hands-on experience with different aspects of software engineering in addition to covering gaps within my knowledge.

“Having left school at 16 and been out of education for so long, I was unsure how I would get on at degree level. Although it has been challenging, there is a lot of support from the University who understand the challenges of a mature student. My lecturers are always on hand to provide feedback about the course or assignments if I need it – often on a weekend or evenings. And I found the training days and workshops held for apprentices on how to approach an assignment particularly useful in the first year.”

Neil Hennessy, Head of Open Colleges and Degree Apprenticeships at Cardiff Metropolitan University, said: “The degree apprenticeship offering is a unique and valuable experience for a variety of employee-learners. This bespoke cohort ranges from those who may already have significant experience in full-time employment without having gained an academic qualification to those looking for a new career pathway, including those who have recently finished formal schooling and are looking for opportunities to earn and learn. Such a diverse cohort of apprentices only enhances the learning experience at Cardiff Met.”

More information on Cardiff Met’s degree apprenticeships can be found here.