Degree apprenticeships are one of the most significant developments in UK higher education in a generation. They offer students a fully-funded route to a degree while earning a salary, developing real workplace skills, and graduating without student debt. For universities, they represent a substantial and growing market. Moreover, in this market, competition for employer partnerships and student enrolment is intensifying every year.
Yet despite the compelling offer, many universities still underinvest in how they communicate it. A paragraph on a course page and a PDF prospectus are no longer enough. Prospective apprentices and the employers who sponsor them make decisions based on what they see and hear from people who have already been through the experience. That means video.
The degree apprenticeship audience is different, and needs different content
Standard undergraduate recruitment video targets school leavers making decisions about their future. Degree apprenticeship recruitment is more complex. You are speaking to at least three distinct audiences simultaneously:
Prospective apprentices
Typically, school leavers or early-career workers weighing up a traditional university route against an earn-while-you-learn route. They want to know: will I genuinely get a degree? Will I be taken seriously as an employee? Will I fit in? What does a normal week actually look like?
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Employer partners
Businesses need to understand the programme’s quality and structure and the calibre of students they will be sponsoring. Additionally, they care about the professional development value they will receive in return. They are making a procurement decision, not just a goodwill gesture.
Parents
Particularly for younger apprentices, parents carry significant influence over whether a student chooses an apprenticeship route. Many parents are unfamiliar with the degree apprenticeship model and need reassurance that it is academically credible and professionally valuable.
A single brochure page cannot speak convincingly to all three. Authentic video content, particularly student and employer testimonials, can.
What the evidence tells universities about degree apprenticeship promotion
The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education has consistently highlighted awareness as one of the key barriers to growth in degree apprenticeship take-up. Many eligible students simply do not know the programmes exist. Others do not understand how they differ from traditional university, or have absorbed misconceptions about status and quality.
Universities that actively promote their degree apprenticeship offer through targeted video content on their course pages, social media channels, and employer-facing materials consistently report higher enquiry volumes and stronger employer partnership pipelines. The reason is straightforward: seeing a real apprentice, in their real workplace, talking about their real experience, is more persuasive than any amount of descriptive copy.
The types of video that work hardest for degree apprenticeship recruitment
Student testimonial films
The most effective format for prospective apprentice recruitment. These films should feature current apprentices talking directly to camera about their experience, why they chose the apprenticeship route, what a typical week looks like, how they balance work and study, and what advice they would give to someone considering applying.
The key is authenticity. Scripted or over-produced testimonials are immediately detected by the audience they are trying to reach. The best apprenticeship testimonial films feel like a genuine conversation, not a marketing exercise.
Inspired Film and Video has produced student testimonial and programme films for degree apprenticeships at both the University of Staffordshire and Keele University, including programmes in Engineering, Computer Science, Social Work, and the Physician Associate programme. In each case, the most powerful content came from students speaking in their own words, on location. They spoke about the reality of the experience, not a version curated for the camera.
Employer partner films
For universities seeking to build or expand their employer partnerships, an employer-facing film is one of the most effective tools in the development team’s armoury. These films should feature existing employer partners explaining why they chose to work with the university, what they value in the apprentices they sponsor, and what return they see on their investment.
An employer saying, on camera, “these are some of the most engaged people we have ever brought into the business” is worth ten pages of programme documentation.
Programme overview films
A structured, professionally produced programme overview covering the structure of the apprenticeship, the balance between academic and workplace learning, the qualification achieved, and the career outcomes it supports gives both prospective students and employer partners a clear, authoritative introduction to the offer.
These films work particularly well when embedded on course pages and shared at employer engagement events, open days, and sector-specific conferences. Inspired Film and Video produced programme overview content for Keele University’s Teaching Associate Apprenticeship and Social Work Apprenticeship. This content could be used across digital channels, at recruitment events, and in employer presentations.
Social media content
Short-form cuts optimised for Instagram, TikTok and LinkedIn extend the reach of longer testimonial and programme films to audiences who will never watch a three-minute video but will watch a thirty-second clip that catches their attention. A single shoot day can produce a full-length programme film alongside multiple social-first edits. In this way, universities maximise the value of every production day.
What universities should be asking of their video production partner
If you are commissioning video content for a degree apprenticeship programme, the questions worth asking of any production company include:
Have you produced content in higher education environments before? Academic calendars, institutional approval processes, and the specific language of degree apprenticeship (EPA, off-the-job training, employer liaison) need to be understood, not explained from scratch.
Can you produce content that works for multiple audiences from a single shoot? The economics of degree apprenticeship video production improve significantly when a single shoot day generates student-facing, employer-facing, and social media content simultaneously.
Do you understand accessibility requirements? Subtitling, closed captions, and accessible formats are not optional for publicly funded institutions. They should be built into the production as standard, not treated as an add-on.
Can you produce content across a range of programme types? Degree apprenticeships span healthcare, engineering, social work, education, computing, and a growing range of professional disciplines. A production partner with experience across sectors, not just one type of programme, brings genuine value to universities with diverse programme portfolios.
Working with Inspired Film and Video on degree apprenticeship content
Inspired Film and Video is a UK video production company based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, with over 20 years of experience producing content for universities and higher education institutions across England and Wales.
We have produced degree apprenticeship films for the University of Staffordshire, covering Engineering and Computer Science programmes, and for Keele University, covering the Teaching Associate Apprenticeship, the Social Work Apprenticeship, and the Physician Associate Apprenticeship. Our work spans student testimonials, employer-facing content, programme overview films, and social media edits. Additionally, all content is produced to work across all channels from a single production investment.
If you are planning apprenticeship recruitment content and want to discuss your requirements or request a proposal, contact our team. We are happy to talk through the options and provide a clear, fixed-fee quote for your project.