Participation in apprenticeships
Published
1. Main facts and figures
- in the 10 years to July 2024, the total number of apprentices went down from 871,800 to 736,500
- the number of apprentices from the White ethnic group went down from 773,400 to 614,200, a decrease of 20.6%
- the number of apprentices from Asian, Black, Mixed and Other backgrounds combined went up from 90,800 to 111,200, an increase of 22.5%
- in the year ending July 2024, White people made up 84.7% of apprentices, and 83.0% of the general population aged 16 and over in England (2021 Census data)
Further research
Recent qualitative research by the National Centre for Social Research found several barriers to ethnic minority young people participating in and completing apprenticeships. The study found that there was a lack of awareness and understanding about apprenticeships among ethnic minority communities. Low wages within apprenticeships were also found to be a significant deterrent.
Among some of the factors contributing to lower completion and achievement rates, the study reported the participants feeling discriminated against within the apprenticeship programmes. Young people also reported that a lack of visible ethnic minority role models within apprenticeship programmes and among employing organisations discouraged participation.
2. Things you need to know
What the data measures
The data shows the number of people studying for one or more apprenticeships in each academic year (1 August to 31 July), by ethnicity.
The data only includes people funded by the government.
Apprentice numbers are rounded to the nearest 100. This means totals may not always add up.
Percentages are calculated using rounded numbers and are rounded to 1 decimal place.
The ethnic groups used in the data
Data is shown for 5 aggregated ethnic groups:
- Asian
- Black
- Mixed
- White
- Other
Estimates are shown for these groups as a whole. This is because the number of people in apprenticeships was too small to make any reliable conclusions about any of the 19 ethnic groups used in the 2021 Census.
The percentages by ethnicity do not include people whose ethnicity was not known. This was 1.5% of apprenticeship participants in the academic year ending July 2024.
The population data from the 2021 Census shows the population of England aged 16 and over for each group.
Methodology
Read the detailed methodology document for the data on this page.
Someone studying more than one apprenticeship course with a single provider in an academic year is counted once. Someone studying with more than one provider is counted more than once.
3. By ethnicity compared with the overall population
| Apprentices | Population aged 16 and over (2021 Census) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ethnicity | Apprentices % | Apprentices Numerator | Population aged 16 and over (2021 Census) % | Population aged 16 and over (2021 Census) Numerator |
| All | 100.0 | 736,500 | 100.0 | 35,605,685 |
| Asian | 6.9 | 50,100 | 9.0 | 4,134,385 |
| Black | 4.1 | 30,000 | 3.9 | 1,792,295 |
| Mixed | 3.4 | 24,400 | 2.0 | 938,200 |
| White | 84.7 | 614,200 | 83.0 | 38,191,370 |
| Other | 0.9 | 6,700 | 2.1 | 950,605 |
| Unknown | N/A* | 11,200 | N/A* | N/A* |
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
Population figures are based on data from the 2021 Census and cover the general population of England aged 16 and over.
The data shows that, in the year ending July 2024:
- White people made up 84.7% of apprentices and 83.0% of the general population
- Asian people made up 6.9% of apprentices and 9.0% of the general population
- Black people made up 4.1% of apprentices and 3.9% of the general population
4. By ethnicity over time
| All | Asian | Black | Mixed | White | Other | Unknown | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | All % | All Apprentices | Asian % | Asian Apprentices | Black % | Black Apprentices | Mixed % | Mixed Apprentices | White % | White Apprentices | Other % | Other Apprentices | Unknown % | Unknown Apprentices |
| 2008/09 | 100.0 | 444,800 | 3.1 | 13,700 | 1.8 | 7,800 | 1.5 | 6,400 | 93.2 | 411,000 | 0.5 | 2,000 | N/A* | 3,800 |
| 2009/10 | 100.0 | 491,300 | 3.0 | 14,400 | 2.1 | 10,000 | 1.6 | 7,900 | 92.9 | 452,700 | 0.5 | 2,300 | N/A* | 3,900 |
| 2010/11 | 100.0 | 665,900 | 3.7 | 24,500 | 2.7 | 18,000 | 1.7 | 11,400 | 91.2 | 602,400 | 0.6 | 4,100 | N/A* | 5,500 |
| 2011/12 | 100.0 | 806,500 | 4.0 | 31,600 | 3.2 | 25,500 | 1.8 | 14,300 | 90.4 | 722,800 | 0.7 | 5,500 | N/A* | 6,800 |
| 2012/13 | 100.0 | 868,700 | 3.8 | 32,800 | 3.3 | 28,500 | 1.9 | 16,200 | 90.3 | 776,200 | 0.7 | 6,000 | N/A* | 9,000 |
| 2013/14 | 100.0 | 851,500 | 4.0 | 34,000 | 3.3 | 27,400 | 2.0 | 17,000 | 90.0 | 758,400 | 0.7 | 5,500 | N/A* | 9,100 |
| 2014/15 | 100.0 | 871,800 | 4.3 | 37,000 | 3.4 | 29,500 | 2.1 | 18,300 | 89.5 | 773,400 | 0.7 | 5,900 | N/A* | 7,600 |
| 2015/16 | 100.0 | 899,400 | 4.3 | 38,400 | 3.6 | 31,500 | 2.2 | 19,100 | 89.3 | 791,700 | 0.7 | 6,200 | N/A* | 12,500 |
| 2016/17 | 100.0 | 908,700 | 4.4 | 39,300 | 3.7 | 33,000 | 2.2 | 19,700 | 89.0 | 801,200 | 0.8 | 6,900 | N/A* | 8,600 |
| 2017/18 | 100.0 | 814,800 | 4.5 | 36,200 | 3.6 | 29,000 | 2.3 | 18,400 | 88.8 | 714,000 | 0.8 | 6,600 | N/A* | 10,700 |
| 2018/19 | 100.0 | 742,400 | 5.0 | 36,700 | 3.5 | 25,300 | 2.5 | 18,600 | 88.2 | 645,700 | 0.8 | 5,600 | N/A* | 10,500 |
| 2019/20 | 100.0 | 719,000 | 5.5 | 38,600 | 3.6 | 25,200 | 2.7 | 18,700 | 87.5 | 618,700 | 0.8 | 5,800 | N/A* | 11,900 |
| 2020/21 | 100.0 | 713,000 | 5.8 | 40,700 | 3.8 | 26,800 | 2.8 | 19,600 | 86.7 | 606,600 | 0.8 | 5,900 | N/A* | 13,500 |
| 2021/22 | 100.0 | 740,400 | 6.1 | 44,100 | 3.9 | 28,200 | 3.0 | 22,000 | 86.2 | 626,900 | 0.9 | 6,200 | N/A* | 12,900 |
| 2022/23 | 100.0 | 752,200 | 6.5 | 47,800 | 3.9 | 29,200 | 3.2 | 23,700 | 85.5 | 632,900 | 0.9 | 6,500 | N/A* | 12,100 |
| 2023/24 | 100.0 | 736,500 | 6.9 | 50,100 | 4.1 | 30,000 | 3.4 | 24,400 | 84.7 | 614,200 | 0.9 | 6,700 | N/A* | 11,200 |
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
The data shows that, in the 10 years to July 2024:
- the total number of apprentices went down from 871,800 to 736,500
- the percentage of apprentices who were Asian went up from 4.3% to 6.9% – the number went up from 37,000 to 50,100
- the percentage of apprentices who were from Mixed ethnic backgrounds went up from 2.1% to 3.4% – the number went up from 18,300 to 24,400
- the percentage of apprentices who were White went down from 89.5% to 84.7% – the number went down from 773,400 to 614,200
5. Data sources
Source
Apprenticeships, academic year 2023 to 2024
Type of data
Administrative data
Type of statistic
National Statistics
Publisher
Department for Education
Publication frequency
Yearly
Purpose of data source
The Department for Education uses data about learners' demographics and their type of learning to allocate funding. Apprentices participating on apprenticeship programme aims are included in this data.
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_code, age, value_type, unknowns_note, value, denominator, numerator