Apprenticeship starts
Published
1. Main facts and figures
- in the 10 years to July 2023, the percentage of apprenticeships started by people from Asian, black, mixed and ‘other’ ethnic groups went up from 10.3% to 15.4%
- the total number of apprenticeships started went down from 440,420 to 337,140 – down by 23%
- the number of apprenticeships started by people from ethnic minority backgrounds (not including white minorities) went up from 44,830 to 51,110 – up by 14%
- in the year ending July 2023, white people made up 84.6% of apprenticeship starts and 81.0% of the general population in England
2. Things you need to know
What the data measures
The data shows the number of apprenticeships started in each academic year (1 August to 31 July), by the ethnicity of participants.
The data only includes people funded by the government.
Apprenticeship starts are rounded to the nearest 10. Percentages are rounded to 1 decimal place.
The ethnic groups used in the data
Data is shown for 5 aggregated ethnic groups:
- Asian
- black
- mixed
- white
- ‘other’
This means estimates are shown for these groups as a whole. This is because the number of people in apprenticeships was too small to make any reliable conclusions about any of the 19 ethnic groups used in the 2021 Census.
The percentages by ethnicity do not include people whose ethnicity was not known. This was 1.5% of apprenticeship starts in the academic year ending in July 2023.
Methodology
Read the detailed methodology document for this data on this page.
If someone starts more than one apprenticeship in the same academic year, they are counted for each apprenticeship they start.
3. By ethnicity over time
| All | Asian | Black | Mixed | White | Other | Unknown | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | All % | All Starts | Asian % | Asian Starts | Black % | Black Starts | Mixed % | Mixed Starts | White % | White Starts | Other % | Other Starts | Unknown % | Unknown Starts |
| 2003/04 | 100.0 | 193,560 | 2.2 | 4,210 | 1.5 | 2,820 | 1.2 | 2,260 | 94.8 | 182,140 | 0.3 | 670 | N/A* | 1,460 |
| 2004/05 | 100.0 | 189,030 | 2.5 | 4,660 | 1.6 | 2,920 | 1.3 | 2,460 | 94.2 | 176,450 | 0.4 | 820 | N/A* | 1,720 |
| 2005/06 | 100.0 | 174,970 | 2.4 | 4,100 | 1.4 | 2,350 | 1.3 | 2,310 | 94.5 | 164,120 | 0.4 | 750 | N/A* | 1,340 |
| 2006/07 | 100.0 | 184,430 | 2.6 | 4,680 | 1.3 | 2,430 | 1.5 | 2,660 | 94.3 | 172,470 | 0.4 | 750 | N/A* | 1,440 |
| 2007/08 | 100.0 | 224,770 | 2.9 | 6,500 | 1.6 | 3,600 | 1.4 | 3,150 | 93.6 | 208,230 | 0.4 | 1,000 | N/A* | 2,290 |
| 2008/09 | 100.0 | 239,960 | 4.0 | 9,450 | 2.2 | 5,110 | 1.6 | 3,840 | 91.7 | 217,890 | 0.5 | 1,220 | N/A* | 2,450 |
| 2009/10 | 100.0 | 279,670 | 3.4 | 9,390 | 2.3 | 6,390 | 1.8 | 5,020 | 92.0 | 254,780 | 0.5 | 1,430 | N/A* | 2,660 |
| 2010/11 | 100.0 | 457,210 | 4.3 | 19,270 | 3.2 | 14,610 | 1.8 | 8,290 | 89.9 | 407,050 | 0.8 | 3,440 | N/A* | 4,550 |
| 2011/12 | 100.0 | 520,580 | 4.0 | 20,720 | 3.4 | 17,350 | 1.9 | 9,850 | 90.1 | 464,960 | 0.7 | 3,430 | N/A* | 4,270 |
| 2012/13 | 100.0 | 510,220 | 3.9 | 19,690 | 3.3 | 16,590 | 2.0 | 10,110 | 90.1 | 455,440 | 0.7 | 3,380 | N/A* | 5,010 |
| 2013/14 | 100.0 | 440,420 | 4.3 | 18,600 | 3.1 | 13,650 | 2.2 | 9,470 | 89.7 | 391,480 | 0.7 | 3,110 | N/A* | 4,110 |
| 2014/15 | 100.0 | 499,910 | 4.3 | 21,510 | 3.5 | 17,250 | 2.2 | 10,930 | 89.3 | 442,340 | 0.7 | 3,500 | N/A* | 4,380 |
| 2015/16 | 100.0 | 509,370 | 4.3 | 21,380 | 3.5 | 17,500 | 2.2 | 11,100 | 89.4 | 448,830 | 0.7 | 3,500 | N/A* | 7,060 |
| 2016/17 | 100.0 | 494,890 | 4.5 | 22,010 | 3.7 | 18,080 | 2.3 | 11,020 | 88.7 | 434,220 | 0.9 | 4,200 | N/A* | 5,360 |
| 2017/18 | 100.0 | 375,770 | 4.7 | 17,430 | 3.3 | 12,340 | 2.5 | 9,390 | 88.6 | 327,720 | 0.8 | 3,070 | N/A* | 5,820 |
| 2018/19 | 100.0 | 393,380 | 5.5 | 21,370 | 3.5 | 13,510 | 2.7 | 10,520 | 87.5 | 338,330 | 0.8 | 2,990 | N/A* | 6,660 |
| 2019/20 | 100.0 | 322,530 | 5.8 | 18,250 | 3.9 | 12,240 | 2.7 | 8,680 | 86.7 | 273,980 | 0.9 | 2,970 | N/A* | 6,410 |
| 2020/21 | 100.0 | 321,450 | 6.1 | 19,280 | 4.2 | 13,200 | 3.0 | 9,520 | 85.7 | 269,170 | 0.9 | 2,850 | N/A* | 7,430 |
| 2021/22 | 100.0 | 349,190 | 6.5 | 22,320 | 4.0 | 13,580 | 3.3 | 11,490 | 85.3 | 293,180 | 0.9 | 3,010 | N/A* | 5,620 |
| 2022/23 | 100.0 | 337,140 | 7.0 | 23,180 | 4.1 | 13,460 | 3.4 | 11,260 | 84.6 | 280,920 | 1.0 | 3,220 | N/A* | 5,100 |
Download table data for ‘By ethnicity over time’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity over time’ (CSV)
Summary of Apprenticeship starts By ethnicity over time Summary
The data shows that in the 10 years to July 2023:
- the percentage of apprenticeships started by Asian people went up from 4.3% to 7.0% – the number went up from 18,600 to 23,180
- the percentage started by people with mixed ethnicity went up from 2.2% to 3.4% – the number went up from 9,470 to 11,260
- the percentage started by black people went up from 3.1% to 4.1% – the number went down from 13,650 to 13,460
- the percentage started by white people went down from 89.7% to 84.6% – the number went down from 391,480 to 280,920
4. By ethnicity compared with the overall population
| Apprenticeship Starts | Population (2021 Census) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ethnicity | Apprenticeship Starts % | Apprenticeship Starts Number | Population (2021 Census) % | Population (2021 Census) Number |
| All | 100.0 | 337,140 | 100.0 | 59,597,542 |
| Asian | 7.0 | 23,180 | 9.6 | 5,515,420 |
| Black | 4.1 | 13,460 | 4.2 | 2,409,278 |
| Mixed | 3.4 | 11,260 | 3.0 | 1,717,976 |
| White | 84.6 | 280,920 | 81.0 | 48,699,249 |
| Other | 1.0 | 3,220 | 2.2 | 1,255,619 |
| Unknown | N/A* | 5,100 | N/A* | N/A* |
Download table data for ‘By ethnicity compared with the overall population’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity compared with the overall population’ (CSV)
Summary of Apprenticeship starts By ethnicity compared with the overall population Summary
Population figures are based on data from the 2021 Census.
The data shows that, in the year ending in July 2023:
- white people made up 84.6% of apprenticeship starts and 81.0% of the overall population in England
- Asian people made up 7.0% of apprenticeship starts and 9.6% of the population
- black people made up 4.1% of apprenticeship starts and 4.2% of the population
5. Data sources
Source
Apprenticeships and traineeships, academic year 2022 to 2023
Type of data
Administrative data
Type of statistic
National Statistics
Publisher
Department for Education
Publication frequency
Yearly
Purpose of data source
The Education and Skills Funding Agency uses data about learners' demographics and their type of learning to allocate funding. Apprentices participating on apprenticeship programme aims are included in this data.
Secondary source
Ethnic group, national identity, language, and religion: Census 2021 in England and Wales
Type of data
Survey data
Type of statistic
Official statistics
Publisher
Office for National Statistics
Publication frequency
Ad-hoc
Purpose of data source
The Census takes place every 10 years. Census data gives the government the information it needs to plan and run public services. It is also used as a benchmark for other statistical estimates, and can help illustrate differences between various groups in the population.
6. Download the data
This file contains the following variables: measure, ethnicity, ethnicity_type, time, time_type, geography, geography_code, geography type, age, denominator, numerator, value