Further education, work-based learning and community learning: August 2022 to July 2023

Education provision was disrupted by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and impacts may be seen in the figures presented in this release for academic years 2019/20 to 2021/22.

Main points

• There were 163,695 learners at FE institutions (FEIs), community learning or work-based Learning (WBL) providers during 2022/23. This was a rise of 10% compared with 2021/22.
• There were 127,000 unique learners at FE institutions, an increase of around 6% on the previous year. This increase was mostly driven by a recovery in the number of part-time learners at FEIs (up 11%) to 60,510.
• The number of full-time learners at FEIs remained relatively unchanged (45,325 in 2022/23)  and learners undertaking WBL at FEIs increased by 9% to 21,215.
• There were 16,005 unique learners in local authority community learning, 53% higher than the previous year and the highest level since 2014/15.  
• There were 46,610 unique learners undertaking apprenticeships in 2022/23, an 18% increase on the previous year. 
• There was an increase of 14% in apprenticeship learning programmes started.

Notes

Please note that the supplementary table covering provider learners taught at further education institutions has not been published this year, as figures for learners franchised in from higher education institutions for 2022/23 are not currently available from the Higher Education Statistics Agency student record.

This statistical first release summarises data on learners in post-16 education and training, excluding those at Higher Education institutions and schools but including Further Education institutions, other Work-based Learning providers and Local Authority Community Learning provision collected via the Welsh Government’s Lifelong Learning Wales Record (LLWR).