Department for the Economy publishes Higher Level Apprenticeship Steady State Activity Statistical Bulletin

The Department for the Economy has today published a statistical bulletin on Higher Level Apprenticeship steady state activity. This official statistics release presents a range of analysis regarding enrolments during the steady state phase of the Higher Level Apprenticeship programme. This covers provision across the academic year 2017/18 delivered in the Northern Ireland Further Education (FE) Sector. The statistics presented in this bulletin cover the characteristics of those enrolling and types of courses delivered within FE colleges.

Labour market statistics

Key points include:

• Since the commencement of the steady state phase of the Higher Level Apprenticeship (HLA) programme, covering 2017/18, there have been a total of 327 enrolments (324 individuals) in the scheme in Further Education (FE) Colleges.

• The largest proportion (38.0%) of individuals enrolled on HLA steady state programmes were in the age group ‘16 to 19’.

• The majority (62.0%) of individuals enrolled on HLA steady state programmes were male.

• Over a third (38.6%) of individuals enrolled on HLA steady state programmes were from the two most deprived quintiles.

• Nearly all (99.1%) HLA steady state enrolments were at Level 5.

• The largest proportion (36.1%) of HLA steady state enrolments were studying ‘Engineering and manufacturing technologies’.

• Enrolments identified as Broad STEM accounted for nearly three-fifths (59.6%) of all HLA steady state enrolments, while there were 56.6% in Narrow STEM subjects ( a subset of Broad STEM).

This full statistical bulletin and other information is available to download on the DfE website .

Notes to editors: 

1. The statistics presented in this bulletin are based on data collected by the FE colleges and submitted to the Department through an electronic data return called the Consolidated Data return (CDR).
2. For Further Education information, each academic year period is defined by each FE College and potentially will differ across all six colleges. An academic year traditionally starts in August and finishes in July the following year.
3. Further notes and technical details are available in the bulletin on the Department’s website.
4. For further information, please contact the Department for the Economy Press Office on 028 9052 9604 or pressoffice@economy-ni.gov.uk. Outside office hours please contact the Duty Press Officer on 028 9037 8110 and your call will be returned.
5.  Follow the Department for the Economy on Twitter @Economy_NI

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