Apprenticeship learning programmes started: August to October 2022 (provisional)

These quarterly statistics, published on StatsWales with complementary dashboards present information on the number of apprenticeship learning programmes started. It includes data by region of domicile, programme type, age group, sector, gender, ethnicity, disability and academic year.

This update includes new figures for August to October 2022 (Q1 of the 2022/23 academic year). They are calculated using a freeze of the Lifelong Learning Wales Record (LLWR). When comparing with the same period in 2021/22, care needs to be taken as in that period there was a transfer of around 4,800 existing apprentices to new providers resulting from new contract arrangements on 1 August 2021. For 2021/22 Q1 we excluded these records as so many learners were transferred that the statistics would have presented a misleading picture of apprenticeship starts.

Additionally, following a review of the Construction sector (CITB), from September 2022 all construction apprenticeships start at level 3 instead of level 2. This has caused a large fall in the number of level 2 apprenticeship starts and an increase in level 3 apprenticeships in this sector compared with the first quarter of 2021/22.

From March 2020 onwards, education provision was significantly disrupted by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The figures presented in this dashboard are likely to have been impacted, particularly those relating to previous years.

Main points from the latest data

There were 7,170 apprenticeship learning programmes started in 2022/23 Q1, compared with 7,560 starts in 2021/22 Q1.

In 2022/23 Q1, there was a decrease in Level 2, and there were increases in Level 3 and Level 4+ apprenticeship starts, compared with 2021/22 Q1. Foundation Apprenticeship (Level 2) programmes observed a 36% decrease on the previous year. 2,390 learning programmes were started compared with 3,735 in 2021/22 Q1. This fall was caused mainly by the reduction of Level 2 courses in Construction, mentioned previously.

Apprenticeship (Level 3) starts saw a 30% increase with 3,675 programmes starting in 2022/23 Q1 compared with 2,820 in 2021/22 Q1. This increase was also partly caused by the review of Construction courses.

Higher Apprenticeships (Level 4+) saw an increase of 11% in starts compared with 2021/22 Q1, with 1,105 programmes starting compared with 1,000 the previous year.

In 2022/23 Q1, Healthcare and Public Services apprenticeships were  the most popular broad sector, with a 21% increase compared with 2021/22 Q1. There were 2,240 programmes started in 2022/23 Q1 in this sector compared with 1,845 in the same quarter of the previous year. 31% of all apprenticeship learning programmes started were in Healthcare and Public Services, compared with 24% in 2021/22 Q1.

In 2022/23 Q1, around 48% of all apprenticeship learning programmes started were by female learners, compared with 42% in Q1 in the previous year. This is the opposite of the pattern typically seen throughout the rest of the year due to the relatively high proportion of male-dominated starts in construction and engineering in Q1. Starts in the female-dominated healthcare and public services sector are more spread throughout the year.

Having met the target for the previous Senedd term, the Welsh Government now has a new target to create 125,000 all-age apprenticeships over the course of the 2021-2026 Senedd term. This is assessed using a more rigorous measure, which takes account of early dropouts (within first 8 weeks) and transfers between apprenticeship records. In 2022/23 Q1, there were 6,730 of these apprenticeship starts. In total there have been 28,815 of this type of apprenticeship start since the start of the target in May 2021.