Apprentices
(asked on 18th July 2023) - View Source
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the percentage of school leavers who take up apprenticeships at age 16; and how many drop out at a later stage.
Available data on destinations of state-funded mainstream school leavers (after reaching the end of key stage 4, typically aged 16) shows that 2.4% of the cohort took up apprenticeships that were sustained for at least 6 consecutive months in the following academic year (2019/20 leavers’ active during 2020 to 2021 academic year). This was down from 3.7% in the previous year. The 2020 to 2021 academic year was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. More information is available in the attached table.
Apprenticeship starts by age group for the 2020/21 and 2021/22 academic years are shown in the table below. To note, some young people may not immediately enter into an apprenticeship after leaving key stage 4 study. The total number of 16 to 18 year olds starting an apprenticeship in the 2021/22 academic year was 77,520.
| 2020/21 | 2021/22 |
All age starts | 321,440 | 349,190 |
16-18 | 65,150 | 77,520 |
19-24 | 94,610 | 106,330 |
25+ | 161,690 | 165,340 |
Apprenticeship retention and achievement rates by age group in 2020/21 and 2021/22 are shown in the table below. A number of factors may cause a learner not to complete or achieve their course, which could include learner dropout, change of employer or failure to pass end-point-assessment. For apprentices aged 16-18, the retention rate in 2021/22 was 54.8% and the achievement rate was 53.4%.
| Achievement Rate | Retention Rate | Leavers | |||
| 2020/21 | 2021/22 | 2020/21 | 2021/22 | 2020/21 | 2021/22 |
All age | 57.7% | 53.4% | 58.8% | 54.8% | 275,380 | 263,550 |
16-18 | 59.5% | 55.2% | 60.7% | 56.8% | 66,950 | 58,560 |
19-23 | 63.1% | 59.4% | 64.4% | 60.9% | 72,800 | 70,070 |
24+ | 53.8% | 49.6% | 54.8% | 50.7% | 135,630 | 134,920 |
To note:
- Volumes in tables are rounded to the nearest 10 and percentages rounded to 1 decimal place.
- Achievement and retention rates are based on the Hybrid End Year, not academic year. The Hybrid End Year is the later of the Achievement Year, Expected End Year, Actual End Year or Reporting Year of a programme.
- Apprenticeship retention reflects the number of apprentices that reach the end of their apprenticeship but have yet to undergo end point assessment. Apprenticeship achievements reflect the number of apprenticeships that pass end point assessment. In both cases, the rates are given as a proportion of the cohort that leave or expect to leave their apprenticeship in the relevant year (the Hybrid End Year).