Participation in apprenticeships
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1. Main facts and figures
- in the 8 years to July 2019, the percentage of apprentices from Asian, Black, Mixed and Other backgrounds went up from 9.7% to 11.8%
- the total number of apprentices from Asian, Black, Mixed and Other backgrounds went up from 76,900 to 86,200
- the total number of apprentices went down from 806,500 to 742,400
- in the academic year ending July 2019, White people made up 88.2% of apprentices, and 84.0% of the general population (based on 2018 estimates)
Things you need to know
A person studying for more than one apprenticeship ‘aim’ with one training provider is counted once.
A person who studies with more than one provider in the same academic year is counted separately at each provider, and counted as 2 or more people.
Each reporting period covers an academic year, which runs from 1 August to 31 July.
In the academic year ending July 2012, the single individualised learner record data collection system was introduced. This means that figures for the academic year ending July 2012 onwards are not directly comparable with earlier years.
Use caution when comparing and interpreting data from the academic year ending July 2018 onwards. This is because apprenticeships standards and the Apprenticeship Levy may have affected how many people started apprenticeships.
The percentages shown don’t include people whose ethnicity wasn’t known. In the academic year ending July 2019, the ethnicity was not known for 1.4% of apprenticeship participants.
Percentages have been calculated by DfE using counts rounded to the nearest 100.
What the data measures
This data shows the number of people studying for one or more apprenticeship 'aim'. An apprenticeship aim is an individual learning module taken as part of an apprenticeship.
A training provider is an organisation that offers apprenticeship training.
The data only includes people funded by the government.
The percentage of people on apprenticeships in each ethnic group has been compared with 2018 population estimates published by the Office for National Statistics.
The ethnic categories used in this data
Data is shown for 5 aggregated ethnic groups (Asian, Black, Mixed, White, Other) based on the 2011 Census categories.
2. By ethnicity over time
| Asian | Black | Mixed | White | Other | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Asian % | Asian Apprentices | Black % | Black Apprentices | Mixed % | Mixed Apprentices | White % | White Apprentices | Other % | Other Apprentices |
| 2011/12 | 4.0 | 31,600 | 3.2 | 25,500 | 1.8 | 14,300 | 90.4 | 722,800 | 0.7 | 5,500 |
| 2012/13 | 3.8 | 32,800 | 3.3 | 28,500 | 1.9 | 16,200 | 90.3 | 776,200 | 0.7 | 6,000 |
| 2013/14 | 4.0 | 34,000 | 3.3 | 27,400 | 2.0 | 17,000 | 90.0 | 758,400 | 0.7 | 5,500 |
| 2014/15 | 4.3 | 37,000 | 3.4 | 29,500 | 2.1 | 18,300 | 89.5 | 773,400 | 0.7 | 5,900 |
| 2015/16 | 4.3 | 38,400 | 3.6 | 31,500 | 2.2 | 19,100 | 89.3 | 791,700 | 0.7 | 6,200 |
| 2016/17 | 4.4 | 39,300 | 3.7 | 33,000 | 2.2 | 19,700 | 89.0 | 801,200 | 0.8 | 6,900 |
| 2017/18 | 4.5 | 36,200 | 3.6 | 29,000 | 2.3 | 18,400 | 88.8 | 714,000 | 0.8 | 6,600 |
| 2018/19 | 5.0 | 36,700 | 3.5 | 25,300 | 2.5 | 18,600 | 88.2 | 645,700 | 0.8 | 5,600 |
Download table data for ‘By ethnicity over time’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity over time’ (CSV)
Summary of Participation in apprenticeships By ethnicity over time Summary
This data shows that:
- in the 8 years to July 2019, the number of Asian apprentices went up from 31,600 to 36,700
- the number of apprentices from Mixed ethnic backgrounds went up from 14,300 to 18,600
- the number of White apprentices went down from 722,800 to 645,700
- in the academic year ending July 2019, 88.2% of apprentices were White, compared with 88.8% the previous year
- the percentage of apprentices from Asian and Mixed backgrounds went up compared with the previous year, while the percentage from Other backgrounds was the same
3. By ethnicity compared with the overall population
| Ethnicity | Apprentices | Population (2018 estimate) |
|---|---|---|
| % | % | |
| Asian | 5.0 | 8.4 |
| Black | 3.5 | 3.8 |
| Mixed | 2.5 | 2.8 |
| White | 88.2 | 84.0 |
| Other | 0.8 | 1.1 |
Download table data for ‘By ethnicity compared with the overall population’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity compared with the overall population’ (CSV)
Summary of Participation in apprenticeships By ethnicity compared with the overall population Summary
This data shows that:
- in the year ending July 2019, White people made up 88.2% of apprentices and 84.0% of the overall population (based on 2018 estimates)
- Asian people made up 5.0% of apprentices and 8.4% of the overall population
4. Methodology
This data is based on apprentices’ individualised learner records, which are submitted by further education providers to the Education and Skills Funding Agency.
The individualised learner record uses administrative data collected about apprentices by further education providers. It also includes any data from employers that forms part of the employer ownership pilot.
Ethnicity data is completed by the apprentices, and no adjustments are made by the learning provider.
Suppression rules and disclosure control
Numbers less than 5 have been suppressed.
Rounding
Participant numbers have been rounded to the nearest 100. Percentages have been calculated by DfE using rounded numbers.
Quality and methodology information
5. 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.
Secondary source
Ethnic group, national identity, language, and religion: Census 2021 in England and Wales
Type of data
Survey data
Type of statistic
Official statistics
Publisher
Office for National Statistics
Publication frequency
Ad-hoc
Purpose of data source
The Census takes place every 10 years. Census data gives the government the information it needs to plan and run public services. It is also used as a benchmark for other statistical estimates, and can help illustrate differences between various groups in the population.
6. Download the data
This file contains the following: measure, ethnicity, ethnicity_type, time, time_type, geography, geography type, geography_code, gender, age bracket, age bracket type, denominator, numerator, value