Our Degree Apprenticeship Programme

The Government Economic Service Degree Apprenticeship Programme (GES-DAP) is typically a four-year programme.

The degree apprenticeship offers you the opportunity to work in a central government department or agency on some of the most important social, environmental and economic issues our country faces – all while earning a wage and studying for a degree in economics with the University of Kent, without the usual associated student debt.

Working as a member of the GES involves the development and use of:

• Quantitative skills: manipulating and presenting data
• Writing and presentation techniques: communicating economics clearly and succinctly to senior officials and ministers
• Applied economics skills: using economic insights and techniques to inform decisions on anything from the environment to transport

Apprentices will work in central government departments and agencies in London, Manchester, Bristol, York, Leeds, Newcastle and Sheffield. You will typically dedicate one day a week to your studies, but you will also be learning lots on the job.

The University of Kent

The University of Kent was selected to deliver the programme because of the strength of their economics courses and the support they’ll offer to apprentices throughout the programme.

This will be delivered via blended learning, a mixture of distance and face-to-face learning, so there is no need to travel to university regularly. Once complete, you will have an apprenticeship, an economics degree, and the experience of four years’ working in the Civil Service – putting you in a brilliant position to progress your career from there.

The degree in Economics will be comprised of:

• Microeconomics: how individuals and firms make decisions, interaction of supply and demand
• Macroeconomics: how the economy works at a national and international level
• Econometrics: the use of data to test theories and evaluate changes in government policies
• Option for further study of areas such as environmental economics

Government Economic Service Apprenticeships