The Social Work Degree Apprenticeship provides an opportunity for employers to ‘grow their own’ social workers through a partnership between employers and the academy. In this model, social work apprentices spend 20% of their time in university-based learning and 80% learning in the workplace under the supervision of a mentor (Redmond, 2022). The introduction of degree apprenticeships positioned employers as co-constructors/deliverers of the curriculum (Powell & Walsh, 2018). However, Powell and Walsh (2018) note that employer responsibilities may be “poorly understood” (pp. 98). Further, research (Jones, Christie, & Brophy, 2023) points to the role of the employer as multi-dimensional, occurring simultaneously both strategically and relationally (i.e. at an individual apprentice level in the relationship with their mentor). Research with apprentices (Fabian et al., 2022; Jones et al., 2023) identifies the important and multifaceted role mentors play in helping apprentices progress through the degree. However, these findings are based on apprentice views only rather than mentor perspectives. There is currently no empirical research about the requirements and expectations of the social work mentor role and our research project offers some early findings about this role.
Early findings highlight the importance of building and sustaining relationships within the social work degree apprenticeship and how both mentors and apprentices learn within multiple social contexts including formal mentor sessions with the university, employer provided communities of practice and the tripartite relationship between the apprentice, mentor and university. Our findings also indicate that social solidarity is increased by these relationships and contexts, with mentors expressing pride at contributing towards the individual apprentice’s development and that of the social work profession as a whole. The mentor role could also strengthen connections with the academy and contribute to staff retention, eliciting commitment to the employer and also the apprentice.