The number of people achieving an advanced level Apprenticeship has increased by approximately a third, according to provisional data released today by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

This provisional data shows that an extra 2,700 people completed their advanced Apprenticeship, which is the equivalent of two A Levels, in the first three months of the 2009/10 academic year compared to the same period in 2008/09. This is an increase from 9,700 to 12,400.

Further Education, Skills and Apprenticeships minister, Kevin Brennan, said:

“These statistics show there has been a huge wave of success in the number of people achieving a training qualification, and prove we are backing young Britain during the recession.

“The figures show a large number of people are starting and achieving qualifications of different varieties, and we will not be complacent in ensuring opportunities continue to be made available for even more people in the future.”

‘Skills for Growth’ – the national skills strategy – sets out the Government’s ambitions to create a modern class of technicians to secure our economic future and drive growth, and to boost the numbers of advanced Apprenticeships for young adults aged 19-30. This increase in the number of people achieving an apprenticeship at this level is encouraging and consistent with the Government’s ambitions to create a technician class.

The provisional data also shows:

  • There were 95,800 apprenticeship starts in the first quarter of the 2009/10 academic year.
  • Overall, there were 36,500 apprenticeship framework achievements in the first quarter of the 2009/10 academic year.
  • Learners started 146,300 Train to Gain courses in the first quarter of the 2009/10 academic year.
  • Learners achieved 111,600 Train to Gain qualifications in the first quarter of the 2009/10 academic year.
  • Learners have started over 1.54 million Train to Gain courses since the scheme was launched in April 2006, and achieved over 960 thousand qualifications through Train to Gain.

Further information

  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/sfrdec09.
  2. The Government’s PSA target to increase the number of apprenticeship completions to 130,000 by 2010/11 has been achieved two years early.
  3. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills published Skills for Growth – the National Skills Strategy in November 2009, which sets out an ambitious vision for giving people and businesses the skills they need to help drive economic growth. The Government will create a modern class of technicians through a dramatic expansion of advanced apprenticeships, creating 35,000 new places over the next two years. For further information, see: http://www.bis.gov.uk/skillsforgrowth