Tony Blair was the prime minister who met his aim of enrolling more than half of all young people in higher education by this century. Now his son is pioneering a way of awarding degrees with no need for a university or college at all.
Euan Blair’s company, Multiverse, has become the first apprenticeship provider granted a licence to award degrees on the job.
Multiverse will be able to award degrees in subjects such as data science and technology, with all learning taught on the job through apprenticeships.
The first cohort of 170 will enrol on to Multiverse degrees this month, with about double that number expected to start when applications for 16- to 24- year-olds open later this year.
They will train alongside full-time jobs at partnered companies including Rolls-Royce, Travis Perkins, Mastercard and Trainline.
Training will be free, meaning no student debt, a significant selling point as the cost of living soars.
Last year Dyson became the first company with a licence from the Office for Students to award degrees on the job, but Multiverse is the first apprenticeship provider to do so. The Office for Students is considering applications from other providers at present.
Writing on LinkedIn on Thursday morning, Euan Blair said the moment was a “huge step forward” for the company.
“From today, we have the power to award our own degrees. This is no small thing: it’s been a rigorous, detailed process that started some time ago, and builds on inspections and audits from a host of government regulators.”
The new powers allow the education tech company to award certificates up to bachelor’s degree level to those who complete their programmes.
Blair said: “Unlike a traditional academic degree it will signify what you can do, not just what you know. It is completely free to the individual, fully paid for by employers, with no debt and no deferred earnings. You’re paid a salary all the way through, as it is ultimately a job, so you don’t need to take your chances in what will likely be an increasingly challenging labour market.
“These powers give us another powerful tool to break open an academic-only education system and fundamentally transform who gets access to the very best careers. Apprentices start in the UK this month, and I couldn’t be more excited.”
Multiverse works with more than 8,000 apprentices and was founded by Blair junior in 2016 to match those without university degrees with jobs and training paid for by employers.
It was valued at $1.7bn (£1.4bn) in July this year when it sought extra investment. The company intends to use the new round of funding to expand the business in the US as well as extend its range of tuition programmes.
Elisabeth Barrett, VP of learning at Multiverse, said the programme was more inclusive than apprenticeships tied to traditional universities. “In degree apprenticeships at universities, just 12% of those aged 19-24 are from the most deprived areas. Among under-19s, degree apprentices are more than five times more likely to come from the most advantaged neighbourhoods.”
In contrast, Barrett said more than a third of the apprentices placed by Multiverse so far met “one or more indicators of socio-economic disadvantage”.
Jean Arnold, the director of quality at the OFS, said all applications for degree-awarding powers had to be tested for factors such as their academic governance, experience and standards.
Arnold added: “We support innovation in the sector to enhance the options and quality of courses for students. We’re pleased to grant degree awarding powers to Multiverse as a provider that delivers opportunities and choice to students.”
• This article was amended on 1 September 2022. An earlier version stated that Tony Blair “met his aim of enrolling more than half of all young people in university”; this should have referred to higher education.
