Apprenticeship starts

Published 10 October 2017

Last updated 18 December 2017 - see all updates

There is a new version of this page. View the latest version.

Contents

1. Main facts and figures

• between 2002/03 and 2015/16, the percentage of ethnic minority learners (excluding White minorities) starting an apprenticeship increased from 5.3% to 10.5%

• the number of apprenticeship starts across ethnic minority groups (excluding White minorities) grew by more than 6 times over the reported period, from 8,900 to 53,480

• total apprenticeship starts increased by more than 3 times over the same period, from 167,700 to 509,400

• in 2015, 10.5% of learners starting an apprenticeship were from an ethnic minority background (excluding White minorities), which is lower than their share of the overall population

Things you need to know

Data from 2002/03 to 2010/11 was collected differently from that collected after 2011, so is not directly comparable to the data for 2011/12 to 2015/16.

Before 2011/12, data about learners was collected via multiple collections, one for each of the different further education funding models. Some learners at the same training provider, who were funded by more than one model during an academic year, will have been included in more than one collection. This means they will have been counted more than once in the official statistics.

In 2011/12, a single collection for all funding models was introduced. This means that the total number of learners is now counted from a single collection and learners at each training provider will no longer be counted twice.

This methodology change also means that apprenticeship start numbers are overrepresented by an estimated 1 to 2% for reporting periods from 2002/03 to 2010/11.

What the data measures

This data measures the number of people who have a start date for an apprenticeship programme or learning aim (‘apprenticeship starts’). Each reporting period covers an academic year, which runs from 1 August to 31 July.

A learner starting more than one apprenticeship will be counted separately for each programme. For example, a learner starting an intermediate level apprenticeship, and then starting or transferring to an advanced level apprenticeship, will be counted as 2 starts. This can be within one academic year or across more than one academic years.

To provide additional context, the percentage of apprenticeship starts by ethnic group has been compared to population estimates (2015) published by ONS

The ethnic categories used in this data

Data from 2011/12 onwards has been classified using the 5 standardised ethnic groups based on the 2011 census. Data collected before 2011 has been reclassified to the 2011 census definitions. However it is not directly comparable with data from 2011/12 onwards because of the different methodology used.

• White

• Mixed/Multiple ethnic groups

• Asian/Asian British

• Black/African/Caribbean/Black British

• Other ethnic group

2. Apprenticeship starts by ethnicity

• Location: England
• Time period: 2002/03 to 2015/16
• Source: Apprenticeships and traineeships data

Number of apprenticeship starts by ethnicity

Year	All	Asian	Black	Mixed	White	Other	Unknown	Ethnic minority (excl. White minorities)
	Starts	Starts	Starts	Starts	Starts	Starts	Starts	Starts
2002/03	167,700	3,510	2,560	1,770	157,270	1,060	1,520	8,900
2003/04	193,600	4,210	2,820	2,260	182,140	670	1,460	9,960
2004/05	189,000	4,660	2,920	2,460	176,450	820	1,720	10,860
2005/06	175,000	4,100	2,350	2,310	164,120	750	1,340	9,510
2006/07	184,400	4,680	2,430	2,660	172,470	750	1,440	10,520
2007/08	224,800	6,500	3,600	3,150	208,230	1,000	2,290	14,250
2008/09	239,900	9,450	5,110	3,840	217,890	1,220	2,450	19,620
2009/10	279,700	9,390	6,390	5,020	254,780	1,430	2,660	22,230
2010/11	457,200	19,270	14,610	8,290	407,050	3,440	4,550	45,610
2011/12	520,600	20,720	17,350	9,850	464,960	3,430	4,270	51,350
2012/13	510,200	19,690	16,590	10,110	455,440	3,380	5,010	49,770
2013/14	440,400	18,600	13,650	9,470	391,480	3,110	4,110	44,830
2014/15	499,900	21,510	17,250	10,930	442,340	3,500	4,380	53,190
2015/16	509,400	21,380	17,500	11,100	448,830	3,500	7,060	53,480

Download table data (CSV) Source data (CSV)

Summary of Apprenticeship starts Apprenticeship starts by ethnicity Summary

This data shows that:

• the number of apprenticeship starts by Black learners grew by 7 times over the reported period, from 2,560 to 17,500

• the number of apprenticeship starts by Asian and learners from a Mixed ethnic background grew by 6 times over the reported period, from 3,510 to 21,380 and from 1,770 to 11,100 respectively

• the number of apprenticeship starts by White learners grew by nearly 3 times over the reported period, from 157,270 to 448,830

3. Representation of learners starting an apprenticeship by ethnicity

• Location: England
• Time period: 2015/16
• Source: Apprenticeships and traineeships data

Percentage of apprenticeship starts by ethnicity compared to the overall population

Ethnicity	Apprenticeship starts	Population (2015 estimate)
Asian	4.2	8.2
Black	3.4	3.7
Mixed	2.2	2.6
White	88.1	84.6
Other	0.7	1.1

Download table data (CSV) Source data (CSV)

Summary of Apprenticeship starts Representation of learners starting an apprenticeship by ethnicity Summary

This data shows that:

• in 2015/16, 88.1% of learners starting an apprenticeship were from a White background, which is higher than their share of the overall population (84.6%)

• only 4.2% of all learners starting an apprenticeship were Asian, which is less than their estimated share of the population (8.2%)

• The percentage of all other ethnic groups' starting apprenticeships was similar to the overall population

4. Percentage of apprenticeship starts by ethnicity

• Location: England
• Time period: 2002/03 to 2015/16
• Source: Apprenticeships and traineeships data

Percentage of apprenticeship starts by ethnicity

Year	Asian	Black	Mixed	White	Other	Unknown	Ethnic minority (excl. White minorities)
	Value	Value	Value	Value	Value	Value	Value
2002/03	2.1	1.5	1.1	93.8	0.6	0.9	5.3
2003/04	2.2	1.5	1.2	94.1	0.3	0.8	5.2
2004/05	2.5	1.5	1.3	93.4	0.4	0.9	5.7
2005/06	2.3	1.3	1.3	93.8	0.4	0.8	5.3
2006/07	2.5	1.3	1.4	93.5	0.4	0.8	5.6
2007/08	2.9	1.6	1.4	92.6	0.4	1.0	6.3
2008/09	3.9	2.1	1.6	90.8	0.5	1.0	8.1
2009/10	3.4	2.3	1.8	91.1	0.5	1.0	8.0
2010/11	4.2	3.2	1.8	89.0	0.8	1.0	10.0
2011/12	4.0	3.3	1.9	89.3	0.7	0.8	9.9
2012/13	3.9	3.3	2.0	89.3	0.7	1.0	9.9
2013/14	4.2	3.1	2.2	88.9	0.7	0.9	10.2
2014/15	4.3	3.5	2.2	88.5	0.7	0.9	10.7
2015/16	4.2	3.4	2.2	88.1	0.7	1.4	10.5

Download table data (CSV) Source data (CSV)

Summary of Apprenticeship starts Percentage of apprenticeship starts by ethnicity Summary

This data shows that:

• since 2002/03, the percentage of apprenticeship starts from a White background has gradually declined, with 88.1% of apprenticeship starts in 2015/16 coming from a White background, compared to 93.8% in 2002/03, which is broadly in line with population change over the same period

• in the period since 2002/03, among ethnic minority groups, the highest percentage of apprentice starts were from an Asian background (4.2% in 2015/16)

5. Methodology

These data are based on the ILR. The ILR is submitted by FE providers to the ESFA for funding purposes. It does not include privately funded learners. A learner studying several courses with one provider will be counted only once. However, a learner studying at 2 or more providers in a year will be counted separately at each provider.

Suppression rules and disclosure control

Category level data are rounded to the nearest 10 to avoid identification of individuals. Numbers less than 5 are suppressed. Totals are rounded to 100. Category level data are rounded to the nearest 10 to avoid identification of individuals. Numbers less than 5 are suppressed. Totals are rounded to 100.

Rounding

Category level data are rounded to the nearest 10 to avoid identification of individuals. Numbers less than 5 are suppressed. Totals are rounded to 100.

Further technical information

Completion of the ILR by FE providers is necessary for colleges to receive funding. Ethnicity data is completed by the learner and are taken as reported. We do not adjust the data.

All providers must send records for learners financed by Advanced Learner Loans. Training organisations are asked to send details of apprenticeships that are not funded by the ESFA where they are delivered within the terms of a ESFA contract. For higher and degree level apprenticeships, HEIs must send an ILR return for all apprenticeship standards and for 16-18 apprenticeship frameworks.

Further information can be found on the ILR

Technical information related to the public dissemination of this information can be found in the latest SFR (PDF opens in a new window or tab)

6. Data sources

Source

Apprenticeships and traineeships data

Type of data

Administrative data

Type of statistic

National Statistics

Publisher

Department for Education

Publication frequency

Yearly

Purpose of data source

Data about learners' demographics and their type of learning (including apprenticeships and apprenticeship aims) is used by Education and Skills Funding Agency to allocate funding for further education.

7. Download the data

Apprenticeship starts - Spreadsheet (csv) 17 KB

This file contains the following: ethnicity, year, value, numerator and denominator

Publication release date: 10 October 2017

Updated: 18 December 2017

full page history

1. 18 December 2017 Correction of apprenticeship starts data for combined ethnic minorities
2. 11 October 2017 Technical change: Updated url to match page title.
3. 10 October 2017 First published

From: Department for Education

---

Share this page

Twitter Facebook LinkedIn