Degree Apprenticeships are the great new way for employers to upskill members of staff with degree-level skills in the key areas for their organisations.
They combine part-time study with full-time work and are perfect if you want to train and retain your staff while filling skills gaps and knowledge needs, or if you are an employee and want to achieve a degree but keep your job and income.
This Environmental Health Practitioner course covers environmental science, health science and public health legislation in areas such as food control, housing, health and safety management and pollution.
It is delivered on a one-day-per-week basis over four years, with apprentices able to apply their learning to their roles the rest of the time. The course is taught via attendance at UCW, e-learning and workplace projects.
Teaching primarily takes place in the laboratories and classrooms in our Knightstone Campus in the centre of Weston, but apprentices are able to also take advantage of all of our fantastic facilities, including the new University Centre in the Winter Gardens on Weston seafront.
Apprentices on this course can also access all of the support and careers guidance on offer at UCW at no additional expense – just like any of our students.
Even though this course is new, we have lots of relevant experience and knowledge having had a successful Public and Environmental Health degree pathway at UCW for more than a decade.
Our lecturers even won the Charted Institute of Environmental Health’s Team of the Year award in 2019 for doing such a great job in raising awareness of EH as a fantastic career choice.
Please contact our Apprenticeships Team on 01934 411 594 or apprenticeships@weston.ac.uk to find out more.
We have also produced a downloadable guide about the course for employers.
Students who pass this course will be awarded an Environmental Health Practitioner degree from UWE Bristol. The agreement between UWE Bristol and UCW is reviewed on an ongoing basis to ensure academic standards are maintained.
Tuition fees for the Environmental Health Practitioner Degree Apprenticeship at UCW are £26,000 per apprentice.
But with Degree Apprenticeships having been identified as a crucial part of the UK’s long-term education and economic growth strategies, there is plenty of financial support available.
If a business has an annual payroll in excess of £3 million, they will be able to fund this apprenticeship in its entirety through Apprenticeship Levy contributions.
Even If an organisation does not pay into the Levy, they could still receive government contributions to cover the cost of up to 95% of the tuition fees for this course.
Additionally, all businesses that employ an apprentice aged between 19 and 24 who has been in care or who has an Education and Health Care Plan will receive a government grant of £1,000.
Please click here for more information about apprenticeship funding.
The fee stated above covers all of the teaching and assessment elements that are required for students to complete the course.
It also includes:
- The use of UCW facilities and equipment.
- Attendance at guest lectures at UCW.
- Annual £5 printing and photocopying allowance for part-time students.
- The use of UCW computer equipment at any of our campuses and access to Microsoft Office 365 while you are enrolled with UCW.
- The loans of books from our libraries.
- Access to all of the UCW student support and careers services.
It does not include:
- Participation in optional daytrips or residential visits at an approximate cost of £50 (UK) and £100 (overseas) per day/night.
- Extra printing and photocopying above the £5 limit.
- The cost of books that you may wish to purchase.
- Transport between our campuses, and to/from your partner university and work.
- Accommodation and other living expenses.
UCW publishes its Tuition Fees Policy on the Wider Information Set page of this website.
Apprentices are taught via lectures and seminars in the classroom, e-learning and real-world, on-the-job training.
UCW’s Higher Education Library Plus (HE.LP) team also deliver a series of sessions on degree-level research and academic writing to all first-year students.
Apprentices are also expected to learn through independent self-study, which involves working on individual and group projects, and undertaking research in preparation for coursework and exams.
The below information outlines the modules taught on the course. Apprentices will typically study three per year. Please refer to the course handbook and programme specification to find out more.
- Environmental Health Law (30 credits)
- Environmental Health Project (40 credits)
- Environmental Impact (30 credits)
- Environmental Protection (30 credits)
- Food Control (30 credits)
- Health, Safety and Risk (30 credits)
- Housing and the Built Environment (30 credits
- Introduction to Professional Practice (30 credits)
- Professional Practice (20 credits)
- Principles of Public Health (30 credits)
- Public Health in Action (30 credits)
- Risk Management Systems (30 credits)
Apprentices who pass this course will receive a Level 6 BSc Degree validated by UWE Bristol and accredited by the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health.
Graduates will be eligible to apply for postgraduate courses, such as the Master’s Degree in Environmental Health at UWE Bristol.
A minimum of CC at A Level, or a BTEC Extended Diploma at MPP, or an Access to Higher Education Diploma with 15 Level 3 credits at Merit, or equivalent, preferably in a related area, in addition to Level 2 English and Maths at C/4 or above.
Applications from those who do not meet these requirements but who have demonstrable and relevant work experience will be considered on an individual basis.
You may also be asked to complete an assessment set by UCW.
Places on Degree Apprenticeships are decided upon by the employer, with each company having its own recruitment, application and selection processes. Please also be aware that there is often significant competition for these places.
