Apprenticeship learning programmes started: February to April 2021 (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 provisional figures for February to April 2021 (Q3). Provisional figures are produced on a quarterly basis and are finalised along with the publication of Q4 data in February/March each year. They are calculated using a freeze of the Lifelong Learning Wales Record (LLWR). Data for earlier years are final.

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. This should be kept in mind, particularly when comparing with previous years.

Main points from the latest data

• There were 5,175 apprenticeship learning programmes started in 2020/21 Q3, roughly the same as the 5,180 starts in 2019/20 Q3.
• In 2020/21 Q3, both Level 2 Foundation Apprenticeships started and Level 3 Apprenticeship started saw increases compared with the same quarter in the previous academic year, of 14% and 6% respectively. However, Level 4+ Higher Apprenticeships started saw a decline of 26% when compared with the previous academic year.
• In 2020/21 Q3, Healthcare and Public Services was the most popular broad sector. 54% of all apprenticeship learning programmes started were in this sector, compared with 56% in Q3 in the previous year. 
• In 2020/21 Q3, around 66% of all apprenticeship learning programmes started were by female learners, compared with 70% in Q3 in the previous year.
• The Welsh Government had a target for 100,000 apprenticeships over the course of the 2016-2021 Senedd term. This is assessed using a more rigorous measure which takes account of early drop outs (within first 8 weeks) and transfers between apprenticeship records. Under this measure, 4,615 apprenticeship learning programmes were started in 2020/21 Q3 and 112,600 since the target was introduced. The target was met in 2020/21 Q1 and the Q3 figures mark the end of the target period. Provisional figures for the first three quarters of 2020/21 will be revised with the publication of Q4 data in February 2022.
• The Welsh Government now has a target to create 125,000 all-age apprenticeships over the course of the 2021-2026 Senedd term. This release will begin monitoring progress against this target from 2020/21 Q4, due to be published in February 2022.