Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many applications are made on average before (a) a white and (b) an ethnic minority applicant secures an apprenticeship.

Information on the number of Apprenticeship applications made through the Apprenticeship vacancy online system is published online. The tables include a breakdown by ethnicity:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/340846/ApprenticeshipVacancyReportNumberofapplicationsbyAgeGenderEthnicityorSSAorProgrammeLevelAug14.xls

We do not collect robust information on the average number of applications made before an applicant secures an Apprenticeship.

Information on the number of Apprenticeship starts by ethnicity is also available online:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/324021/apprenticeships-starts-by-geography-learner-demographics-and-sector-subject-area.xls