The AOP believes degree level apprenticeships for optometry could have attractions, including access to levy funding for employers, and the prospect of a salary throughout the training period for students – which could also make it easier for students from diverse backgrounds to enter the profession. However, apprenticeships would also give employers much more direct influence over the day-to-day learning experience of students.
If degree level optometry apprenticeships are approved, the AOP thinks the GOC should carefully consider whether these new programmes will give students the grounding in academic knowledge and critical thinking skills that they will need, in order to practise safely in an evolving range of clinical settings with changing technology.
The AOP also thinks that the GOC’s validation and quality assurance mechanisms must be robust enough to deal with the heightened risk of undue employer influence over students’ education, and the challenge of maintaining consistency in assessment between apprenticeships and other types of education programmes.