Publication of Higher Level Apprenticeships in Northern Ireland Statistical bulletin: Academic years 2017/18 – 2019/20

The Department for the Economy has today published a statistical bulletin on Higher Level Apprenticeship (HLA) activity.

Publication of Higher Level Apprenticeships in Northern Ireland Statistical Bulletin: Academic years 2017/18-2019/20

This official statistics release presents a range of analysis on the Higher Level Apprenticeship (HLA) level 4/5 programme in Northern Ireland. This covers provision across the academic years 2017/18 to 2019/20 and reports on HLAs delivered in Northern Ireland Further Education (FE) colleges and the College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE).

The statistics presented in this bulletin cover the characteristics of the participants enrolled on HLA courses and analysis of performance in terms of achievements.

Key points:

• In academic year 2019/20, there were 553 starts on an HLA programme. This was an increase of 101 (22.3%) compared to 452 HLA starts recorded in 2018/19.
• A trend is emerging showing more males are entering HLA programmes than females. Approximately one in three starts in 2019/20 were female; 188 females compared to 365 males.
• In total there were 981 participants on HLA programmes in 2019/20; this included 553 starts, 361 in year 2 and 67 in year 3.
• In 2019/20, ‘Engineering and manufacturing technologies’ was the most popular subject area, accounting for over one third (36.8%) of all HLA participants.
• The overall success rate for final year individuals in 2019/20 was 84.7%, this equated to 255 HLA participants successfully achieving their qualification.

This full statistical bulletin and other information is available to download on the Department for the Economy website.

Notes to editors: 

1. The statistics presented in this bulletin are based on data derived from two sources:

• The FE colleges submit an electronic data return called the Consolidated Data return (CDR) to The Department.
• College of Agriculture, Food & Rural Enterprise (CAFRE) Administration System.

2. An academic year period is defined by each provider and can potentially differ; an academic year traditionally starts in August and finishes in July the following year.

3. Further notes and details are available in the bulletin on the Department’s website.

4. For further information, please contact the Department for the Economy Press Office at pressoffice@economy-ni.gov.uk

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