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Record Numbers of People Starting Apprenticeships

News Release issued by the COI News Distribution Service on 22 October 2009

A record 234,000 people started apprenticeships in the 2008/09 academic year, according to provisional data on vocational qualifications released today by the ONS. Statistics also showed 126,900 people completed apprenticeships during the same period, representing the highest number of starts and completions ever in an academic year.

Today’s statistical first release covers the number of people aged 16 and over who aren’t in school or university in England and who have taken a course funded by the Learning and Skills Council. Provisional figures show that in the academic year 2008/09:

· 1,446,600 people took skills for life courses in literacy, numeracy or English;

· 1,268,500 people took courses leading to a full level 2 qualification (equivalent to five good GCSEs);

· 794,000 people took courses leading to a full level 3 qualification (equivalent to 2 A-levels);

Overall, provisional data shows that there were 4,754,700 learners taking Further Education courses funded by the Learning and Skills Council in the 2008/09 academic year.

Skills Minister Kevin Brennan, said:

“It’s great news that the number of people starting and completing an apprenticeship is at the highest ever, and that over a million people have taken a course to improve their literacy and numeracy skills this year. Behind these figures are real people with brighter futures, greater self-confidence and better career prospects ahead.

“We need to keep on helping people access the training and skills they need to get work and to get on at work, and to be able to seize the opportunities that growth will bring. We are expanding apprenticeships, making it easier for employers to offer them, so that more young people can benefit. We also need to make sure adults can reskill and upskill so that they are in the best possible position to get the jobs of the future. Our National Skills Strategy, to be published later this autumn, will take this work forward.”

Other provisional findings from the SFR include:

· 817,400 adults started a qualification through the Government’s Train to Gain service. This provisional data is expected to rise by 2% when final data is returned; and

· 471,900 adults achieved a qualification through Train to Gain. When final data is returned, this figure is expected to rise by approximately 5%.

Train to Gain is the Government’s flagship service to help employers improve the skills of their employees and the productivity of their business. Train to Gain funds all skills for life and first full level 2 qualifications (equivalent to 5 good GCSEs).

Notes to Editors

1. Post 16 Education and Skills: Learner Participation, Outcomes and Level of Highest Qualification held can be found at http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/statistics.

2. The statistics include provisional data for 2008/09 under the new demand led funding (DLF) system, showing Learning and Skills Council (LSC) funded participation including Apprenticeship and Train to Gain starts and achievements. It also includes success rates for post-16 education (excluding schools and Higher Education) in England, based on 2007/08 data. Success rates data for Apprenticeships will be updated in the December edition of this Statistical First Release (SFR), and success rates for Further Education colleges and providers will be updated in the March 2010 edition of this SFR.

3. Statistics for 2005/06, 2006/07 and 2007/08 reflect the FE and Skills system before the introduction of DLF. Statistics for 2008/09 show the FE and Skills system following the introduction of DLF and are therefore not directly comparable with those for earlier years. More information can be found on Demand Led Funding on the Data Service website here: http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/statistics/sfroct09/

Contacts:

BIS Press Office
NDS.BIS@coi.gsi.gov.uk

Jane Parsons
Phone: 020 7215 5947
Jane.Parsons@bis.gsi.gov.uk