Apprentices furloughed or made redundant during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic: up to 30 April 2021

This data is management information provided to the Welsh Government by apprenticeship providers, combined with records from the Lifelong Learning Wales Record (LLWR). It has not undergone the same level of quality assurance as official statistics.

The percentages in this report are based on the total number of learners on apprenticeships in the year up until the collection date. This is a change from previous reports, where percentages were based on the total number of learners on apprenticeships between the first lockdown on the 20 March 2020 and the collection date. The change was made as it has now been over a year since the first lockdown, and the furlough scheme has been extended until September 2021.

This report will also now be published every two months, instead of monthly.

Main points

• 1,235 apprentices were fully furloughed on 30 April 2021.
• The number of apprentices furloughed continued to fall.  A fifth fewer apprentices (355) were fully furloughed this month than in the previous month. 
• The number of apprentices furloughed is 84% smaller than at its peak.
• Less than 1% of apprenticeships have been terminated due to redundancy over the past year.
• Another 115 apprentices (less than 0.5%) had been made redundant but remain in learning whilst their provider tries to source an alternative employer.
• Fewer apprenticeships have ended, successfully or unsuccessfully, compared to previous years.
• Only 28% of apprentices have completed their apprenticeship or gone into employment, compared to an average of 36% by this point in past years.

The inequalities are smaller than at the start of the pandemic, however some remain. The apprentices still most affected were:

• young
• working in leisure, sport and travel; hospitality; or hair and beauty
• not studying higher apprenticeships
• working for companies with less than 10 employees
• not working in the public sector
• living in south west Wales

Information on the overall number of people furloughed in Wales can be found in the report 'Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and Self-Employment Income Support Scheme statistics'.

Note

The statistics for apprentices ending their apprenticeship cover a longer time period and look at a slightly different cohort of apprentices than the statistics in the Outcomes for learners in post-16 education affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic: August 2019 to July 2020 report. A learner who has completed an apprenticeship has taken the required learning, but may or may not have achieved all the required qualifications.