Apprentices furloughed or made redundant during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic: up to 8 January 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.

Main points

• 1,585 apprentices were fully furloughed on 8 January 2021.
• The number of apprentices furloughed rose for the first time since May. 325 more apprentices were fully furloughed this month than in November.  
• However the number of apprentices furloughed is only a fifth of what it was at its peak.
• Less than 0.5% of apprenticeships have been terminated due to redundancy during the pandemic.
• Another 130 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 22% of apprentices have successfully completed their apprenticeship or gone into employment, compared to an average of 29% 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
• white or mixed race
• working in hair and beauty; hospitality; or leisure, sport and travel
• not studying higher apprenticeships
• working for companies with less than 10 employees
• not working in the public sector

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'.