Use of focus groups and reflexive thematic analysis to uncover the essential conditions for UK built environment degree apprenticeships

Degree Apprenticeships within UK Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) organizations present a raft of unprecedented opportunities. However, little is understood on precisely how AEC Employer Organizations (EO’s) truly engage with Higher Education Institutions (HEI’s) in order to create “meaningful” Built Environment Degree Apprenticeships. Understanding this challenge and minutia of this engagement forms the starting trajectory of this work. To do this, and informed by Boundary Object Theory, an interpretivist approach was used to capture qualitative data from transdisciplinary focus groups–representing domain experts from AEC/HEI sector bodies. Primary data was evaluated using reflexive thematic analysis. An integrated inductive/deductive approach was used to examine nuance, subjectivity, understanding and meaning. Research findings culminate in the form of a thematic map, highlighting four essential conditions to support the delivery of UK AEC DA’s; specifically, the need for: (i) Onboarding, (ii) Structure (iii) Cooperation, and, (iv) Infrastructure. These findings identified that the knowledge needed to support engagement goes beyond existing acknowledged boundaries–ergo, that the corollary impact of these essential conditions require much deeper understanding than first thought. These findings form part of a wider study, the results of which will be reported in later works.