Apprenticeship starts
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- 1. Navigate to Main facts and figures section
- 2. Navigate toNumber of apprenticeship starts by ethnicity over time section
- 3. Navigate to Percentage of apprenticeship starts by ethnicity over time section
- 4. Navigate to Percentage of apprenticeship starts, compared with the overall population by ethnicity section
- 5. Navigate to Methodology section
- 6. Navigate to Data sources section
- 7. Navigate to Download the data section
1. Main facts and figures
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between 2002/03 and 2016/17, the percentage of people from the Asian, Black, Mixed and Other ethnic groups combined starting an apprenticeship increased from 5.3% to 11.2%
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there were 6 times as many apprenticeship starts among people from the Asian, Black, Mixed and Other ethnic groups in 2016/17 as there were in 2002/03, increasing from 8,900 to 55,300
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total apprenticeship starts increased by nearly tripled over the same period, from 167,700 to 494,900
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in 2016/17, 87.7% of people starting an apprenticeship were White, while people from White ethnic groups made up 84.8% of the general population of England
Things you need to know
The way data was collected changed in 2011, which means that data from 2002/03 to 2010/11 isn't directly comparable with the data from 2011/12 to 2016/17.
Before 2011/12, there was a separate data collection for each of the different further education funding models. Some apprentices at the same training provider may have been included in more than one data collection, if they were funded under more than one model during an academic year. 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 apprentices is now counted from a single collection and apprentices 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 for ‘apprenticeship starts’ measures the number of people who have a start date for an apprenticeship programme or learning aim. Each reporting period covers an academic year, which runs from 1 August to 31 July.
An apprentice starting more than one apprenticeship will be counted separately for each programme. For example, an apprentice 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 multiple academic years.
The data only includes people funded by government.
To provide additional context, the percentage of people on apprenticeships by ethnic group has been compared to 2016 population estimates published by the Office for National Statistics.
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.
The 5 categories used are:
- Asian/Asian British
- Black/African/Caribbean/Black British
- Mixed/Multiple ethnic groups
- White
- Other ethnic group
2. Number of apprenticeship starts by ethnicity over time
| Year | All | Asian | Black | Mixed | White | Other | Unknown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starts | Starts | Starts | Starts | Starts | Starts | Starts | |
| 2002/03 | 167,690 | 3,510 | 2,560 | 1,770 | 157,270 | 1,060 | 1,520 |
| 2003/04 | 193,560 | 4,210 | 2,820 | 2,260 | 182,140 | 670 | 1,460 |
| 2004/05 | 189,030 | 4,660 | 2,920 | 2,460 | 176,450 | 820 | 1,720 |
| 2005/06 | 174,970 | 4,100 | 2,350 | 2,310 | 164,120 | 750 | 1,340 |
| 2006/07 | 184,430 | 4,680 | 2,430 | 2,660 | 172,470 | 750 | 1,440 |
| 2007/08 | 224,770 | 6,500 | 3,600 | 3,150 | 208,230 | 1,000 | 2,290 |
| 2008/09 | 239,960 | 9,450 | 5,110 | 3,840 | 217,890 | 1,220 | 2,450 |
| 2009/10 | 279,670 | 9,390 | 6,390 | 5,020 | 254,780 | 1,430 | 2,660 |
| 2010/11 | 457,210 | 19,270 | 14,610 | 8,290 | 407,050 | 3,440 | 4,550 |
| 2011/12 | 520,580 | 20,720 | 17,350 | 9,850 | 464,960 | 3,430 | 4,270 |
| 2012/13 | 510,220 | 19,690 | 16,590 | 10,110 | 455,440 | 3,380 | 5,010 |
| 2013/14 | 440,420 | 18,600 | 13,650 | 9,470 | 391,480 | 3,110 | 4,110 |
| 2014/15 | 499,910 | 21,510 | 17,250 | 10,930 | 442,340 | 3,500 | 4,380 |
| 2015/16 | 509,370 | 21,380 | 17,500 | 11,100 | 448,830 | 3,500 | 7,060 |
| 2016/17 | 494,900 | 22,000 | 18,100 | 11,000 | 434,200 | 4,200 | 5,400 |
Download table data for ‘Number of apprenticeship starts by ethnicity over time’ (CSV) Source data for ‘Number of apprenticeship starts by ethnicity over time’ (CSV)
Summary of Apprenticeship starts Number of apprenticeship starts by ethnicity over time Summary
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in 2016/17, the number of apprenticeship starts associated with Black apprentices was 7 times as many as in 2002/03, increasing from 2,560 to 18,100
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in 2016/17, the number of apprenticeship starts associated with Asian apprentices and those with Mixed ethnicity was 6 times as many as in 2002/03, increasing from 3,510 to 22,000 and from 1,770 to 11,000 respectively
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the number of apprenticeship starts associated with White apprentices nearly tripled, from 157,270 to 434,200
3. Percentage of apprenticeship starts by ethnicity over time
| Year | Asian | Black | Mixed | White | Other | Unknown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % | % | % | % | % | % | |
| 2002/03 | 2.1 | 1.5 | 1.1 | 93.8 | 0.6 | 0.9 |
| 2003/04 | 2.2 | 1.5 | 1.2 | 94.1 | 0.3 | 0.8 |
| 2004/05 | 2.5 | 1.5 | 1.3 | 93.4 | 0.4 | 0.9 |
| 2005/06 | 2.3 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 93.8 | 0.4 | 0.8 |
| 2006/07 | 2.5 | 1.3 | 1.4 | 93.5 | 0.4 | 0.8 |
| 2007/08 | 2.9 | 1.6 | 1.4 | 92.6 | 0.4 | 1.0 |
| 2008/09 | 3.9 | 2.1 | 1.6 | 90.8 | 0.5 | 1.0 |
| 2009/10 | 3.4 | 2.3 | 1.8 | 91.1 | 0.5 | 1.0 |
| 2010/11 | 4.2 | 3.2 | 1.8 | 89.0 | 0.8 | 1.0 |
| 2011/12 | 4.0 | 3.3 | 1.9 | 89.3 | 0.7 | 0.8 |
| 2012/13 | 3.9 | 3.3 | 2.0 | 89.3 | 0.7 | 1.0 |
| 2013/14 | 4.2 | 3.1 | 2.2 | 88.9 | 0.7 | 0.9 |
| 2014/15 | 4.3 | 3.5 | 2.2 | 88.5 | 0.7 | 0.9 |
| 2015/16 | 4.2 | 3.4 | 2.2 | 88.1 | 0.7 | 1.4 |
| 2016/17 | 4.4 | 3.7 | 2.2 | 87.7 | 0.8 | 1.1 |
Download table data for ‘ Percentage of apprenticeship starts by ethnicity over time’ (CSV) Source data for ‘ Percentage of apprenticeship starts by ethnicity over time’ (CSV)
Summary of Apprenticeship starts Percentage of apprenticeship starts by ethnicity over time Summary
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between 2002/03 and 2016/17, the percentage of apprenticeship starts associated with White apprentices decreased from 93.8% to 87.7% – this is broadly in line with population changes over the same period
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excluding the White ethnic group, the highest percentage of apprenticeship starts were associated with people from an Asian background – this reached its highest point in 2016/17 at 4.4%
4. Percentage of apprenticeship starts, compared with the overall population by ethnicity
| Ethnicity | Apprentices | Population (2016 estimate) |
|---|---|---|
| % | % | |
| Asian | 4.4 | 8.0 |
| Black | 3.7 | 3.6 |
| Mixed | 2.2 | 2.6 |
| White | 87.7 | 84.8 |
| Other | 0.8 | 1.1 |
Download table data for ‘ Percentage of apprenticeship starts, compared with the overall population by ethnicity’ (CSV) Source data for ‘ Percentage of apprenticeship starts, compared with the overall population by ethnicity’ (CSV)
Summary of Apprenticeship starts Percentage of apprenticeship starts, compared with the overall population by ethnicity Summary
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in 2016/17, 87.7% of apprenticeship starts were associated with apprentices from a White background, while White people made up 84.8% of the overall population
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4.4% of apprenticeship starts were associated with apprentices from an Asian background, while Asian people made up 8.0% of the overall population
5. Methodology
This data is based on the apprentice’s individualised learner record (ILR), which is submitted by further education (FE) providers to the ESFA.
The ILR uses administrative data collected about learners by FE providers.
Data about apprentices’ demographics and the type of learning they're doing is used by ESFA to allocate funding. Ethnicity data is completed by the apprentice, and no adjustments are made by the learning provider. Data on apprentices that forms part of the Employer Ownership Pilot (EOP) is gathered from employers in the same format as the ILR and included in the ILR dataset.
Suppression rules and disclosure control
Participant numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10 to avoid identification of individuals.
Numbers less than 5 have been suppressed.
Rounding
Participant numbers are rounded to the nearest 10 except in 2016/17 where numbers have been rounded to the nearest 100
Quality and methodology information
Further technical information
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, higher education institutions must send an ILR return for all apprenticeship standards and for 16-18 apprenticeship frameworks.
Read more about the individual learning record (ILR).
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
This file contains the following: ethnicity, year, value, numerator and denominator