1. About this report
This report presents information on ApprenticeshipsNI programmes in Further Education Colleges and other Training Organisations at Levels 2, 2/3 and 3. ApprenticeshipsNI aims to:
- provide apprentices with the knowledge, understanding, and competence to work at a higher level in their chosen occupation;
- offer high quality training to fulfil the requirements of an appropriate Apprenticeship Framework;
- contribute to raising the skills level of the Northern Ireland workforce;
- provide opportunities for progression to further and higher education and training; and
- encourage the direct involvement of employers in training key personnel.
The statistics presented detail starts, occupancy, leavers and outcomes for participants on these programmes.
2. Key facts and figures
There were 7,519 starts in 2023/24, half of which were at Level 2 (50%)
Level 3 Apprenticeships account for 46% of all those participants starting in the latest academic year.
There were 11,733 participants on ApprenticeshipsNI (4,960 at Level 2, 802 at Level 2/3 and 5,971 at Level 3) at the end of January 2025.
“Electrotechnical”, “Health and Social Care” and “Engineering” are the three most popular frameworks for the current occupancy quarter.
Males account for 72% of current participants. The proportion of male participants is highest in the Level 2/3 Apprenticeship group at 95%.
More than half (58%) of those who left Level 2 Apprenticeships in 2023/24, achieved a Level 2 Framework.
Around three fifths (63%) of those who left Level 3 Apprenticeships in 2023/24, achieved a Level 3 Framework.
3. Starts
Participants who join ApprenticeshipsNI for the first time on a new programme level or Framework within that level are known as starts. All starts have been on the course for at least 28 days. The data exclude those who rejoin ApprenticeshipsNI at the same Framework within the same programme level.
There were 7,519 starts in 2023/24; 3,748 (50%) at Level 2, 321 (4%) at Level 2/3 and 3,450 (46%) at Level 3. This total was a 69% increase from 2019/20 (Figure 1). In the 2024/25 year, there were 5,213 starts up to January 2025.
Figure 1: Total starts increased by 69% between 2019/20 and 2023/24 and by 48% between 2022/23 and 2023/24
Number of ApprenticeshipsNI Starts by Level (2019/20 to 2023/24)
In 2023/24, 4,389, (58%) starts were in Other Training organisations while 3,130 (42%) starts were in FE Colleges.
STEM accounted for 3,881 starts in 2023/24 (1,816 at level 2, 307 at Level 2/3 and 1,758 at Level 3). This was an 55% increase from 2019/20.
Figure 2: The most common age group for Starts continues to be the 16 to 19 age group
ApprenticeshipsNI Starts by Age at Start of Programme (2019/20 to 2023/24)
Participants aged 16 to 19 years accounted for 3,409 (45%) of starts, while those aged 20 to 24 years accounted for 1,430 (19%) starts and those aged 25 years and over accounted for 2,680 (36%) of starts (Figure 2).
Around two thirds (63%) of starts were male. The percentage of female starts is highest in the 25 years and over category, with 21% of these participants being female.
4. Occupancy
Occupancy is the total number of participants on an ApprenticeshipsNI course at the end of each academic quarter. This is irrespective of how long participants have been on the course, including those on course less than 28 days.
Between the quarters ending in October 2019 and January 2025, occupancy increased from 8,451 to 11,733, an increase of 39%. The highest occupancy period was Nov-Jan 25 at 11,733 (Figure 3).
Figure 3: Male participation is considerably higher than female participation
All participants in ApprenticeshipsNI by Sex (August 2019 to January 2025)
Figure 4 shows the percentage of occupants at each level of ApprenticeshipsNI at the end of January 2025. Of the total of 11,733 participants, 4,960 (42%) were on Level 2; 802 were on Level 2/3 (7%), and 5,971 (51%) participants were on the Level 3 route.
Figure 4: The highest proportion of ApprenticeshipsNI participants are on Level 3
All participants on ApprenticeshipsNI by Level (January 2025)
Males (8,458) accounted for 72% of participants; males making up the majority of participants at each Level of ApprenticeshipsNI. This was particularly noticeable at Level 2/3 (Males: 759, Females: 43).
Males accounted for 93% of participants studying STEM subjects at Level 2, 96% at Level 2/3 and 96% at Level 3.
Belfast Local Government District had the highest number of participants on ApprenticeshipsNI at 1,556 (13%).
Almost half (47%) of participants at Level 2 were in the bottom two quintiles compared with two-fifths (42%) of Level 2/3 and Level 3 participants (Figure 5).
Figure 5: Almost half (47%) of participants on Level 2 come from quintiles 1 and 2, compared with 42% for Level 2/3 and 3
Participants on ApprenticeshipsNI by Deprivation Quintile and Level (January 2025)
The three most common frameworks at Level 2 based on current occupancy are “Construction”, “Health and Social Care”, and “Engineering”. For Level 2/3, the top three are “Engineering”, “Vehicle Maintenance and Repair”, and “Construction Crafts”. For Level 3, the three most numerous are “Electrotechnical”, “Health and Social Care” and “Construction Crafts”.
Female participation is highest on frameworks including “Children’s Care Learning and Development” (99%), “Hairdressing” (98%), and “Dental Nursing” (97%), . There are popular frameworks where participation by gender is more balanced including “Providing Financial Services” (55% male, 45% female), “Management” (49% male, 51% female), and “Team Leading” (42% male, 58% female).
5. Leavers and Main Outcomes
Participants who leave their course, either with or without completing their Framework, are known as leavers.
In 2023/24, 6,437 participants left ApprenticeshipsNI courses; 3,496 at Level 2, 259 at Level 2/3 and 2,682 at Level 3.
More than half (58%) of participants achieved a Level 2 Full Framework (Figure 6). This was 1 percentage points less than 2019/20 but 15 percentage points more than 2020/21.
Around three fifths (63%) of participants on Level 2/3 and Level 3 ApprenticeshipsNI courses obtained a Full Framework at Level 3 (Figure 6). This was 2 percentage points less than 2022/23 and 14 percentage points more than 2021/22.
In the 2024/25 year, there were 1,699 leavers at Level 2 up to January 2025. The corresponding figure for Level 2/3 was 108 and for Level 3 it was 1,375.
Figure 6: The highest achievement rate for Level 2 was in 2019/20, while the highest achievement rate for Level 3 was in 2022/23
Percentage of Full Frameworks Achieved by ApprenticeshipsNI Leavers (2019/20 to 2023/24)
Associated Tables
Detailed tables can be downloaded from the ApprenticeshipsNI page in excel format on the Department for the Economy website.
Notes
i. Programme Definitions
Academic year: Refers to 1st August to 31st July.
Full Framework: All the required elements of an Apprenticeship including the relevant NVQ and Technical Certificate if applicable and Essential Skills if applicable.
Leavers: Refers to the number of participants leaving ApprenticeshipsNI who are on provision for more than 28 days and excludes Rejoins.
Level 2: Refers to those Apprentices with a specific Personal Training Plan, the targeted outcome of which is NVQ Level 2 or equivalent, but no higher.
Level 2/3: Refers to those Apprentices with a specific Personal Training Plan, who are pursuing an NVQ Level 2 en route to a targeted outcome which is NVQ Level 3 or equivalent.
Level 3: Refers to those Apprentices who have already met the Level 2 requirement before commencing a Level 3 programme.
Level not assigned: Refers to those Apprentices who are undertaking an apprenticeship but the level is not known. This is most likely due to the fact that the participant has not been on programme long enough to complete their initial assessment period and establish which framework they should be on. Without the framework code, the level of their apprenticeship cannot be determined.
Local Government District (LGD): The LGD is based on a participant’s home postcode. It should be noted that although they live in a particular LGD, they may work elsewhere. Reform of Local Government reduced the number of LGDs from 26 to 11 from April 2015. ‘Not Known’ includes those clients for whom postcode is not known, incorrect or cannot be mapped to an LGD.
Occupancy: Occupancy is the total number of participants on an ApprenticeshipsNI course at the end of each academic quarter. This is irrespective of how long participants have been on the course, including those on course less than 28 days.
Parliamentary Constituency (PC): The PC is based on a participant’s home postcode. It should be noted that although they live in a particular PC, they may work elsewhere. PC relates to the new 18 boundaries outlined in the Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023 that came into force on 29th November 2023. ‘Not Known’ includes those clients for whom postcode is not known, incorrect or cannot be mapped to a PC.
Participant: A participant is defined for statistical purposes as an individual on ApprenticeshipsNI. An individual can participate on ApprenticeshipsNI more than once.
Rejoin: Refers to a participant who leaves a programme but later returns to the same programme, at the same level, on the same Framework, regardless of the Training Supplier they return to.
Starts: Participants who join ApprenticeshipsNI for the first time on a new programme level or Framework within that level are known as starts. All starts have been on the course for at least 28 days. The data exclude those who rejoin ApprenticeshipsNI at the same Framework within the same programme level.
STEM Frameworks: STEM Frameworks are Bus and Coach Engineering and Maintenance, Construction, Construction Crafts, Construction Technical, Electrical and Electronic Servicing, Electrical Distribution and Trans. Engineering, Electrical Power Engineering, Electrotechnical, Engineering, Fire and Security Systems, Food and Drink Manufacturing, Gas Utilisation, Installation and Maintenance, Glass Industry, Heating, Ventillation, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration, IT and Telecoms Professional, IT User, Information Technology Services and Development, Land-based Service Engineering, Light Vehicle Body and Paint Operations, Mechanical Engineering Services (Plumbing), Polymer Processing, Polymer Processing and and Signmaking, Print, Print Production, Printing Industry, Rail Industry, Rail Transport Engineering, Scientific Technologies, Security Systems, Vehicle Body and Paint, Vehicle Fitting, Vehicle Maintenance and Repair, Vehicle Parts, Water Utility Operations, and Water and Wastewater Operations.
ii. Equality Definitions
Age: Refers to the age of the participant on starting provision.
Background: The Department records information reported by the participant, who may indicate if they are from a Catholic, Protestant or Other background. Participants who do not respond are classified as Not Known.
Dependants: The Department records the number of dependants as reported by the participant. Each participant is asked to indicate (yes or no) if they have any dependants. By dependants the Department means that they are the main carer for a child (aged 16 or under), a person with a disability or an elderly person.
Disability: Refers to those participants on the system who have indicated that they have a disability.
Ethnic Origin: The Department records ethnic origin as reported by the participant under the following categories - Bangladeshi, Black-African, Black-Caribbean, Black-Other, Chinese, Indian, Irish Traveller, Malaysian, Mixed, Pakistani, Vietnamese, White, Other or Unknown. For statistical purposes ethnic origin is reported in this publication as White, Non White and Not Known. The ‘Non White’ figures quoted are those clients who record their ethnic origin as other than White.
Marital Status: The Department records marital status background information as reported by the participant, who is asked if they are married, living with a partner, single (never married), separated, divorced or widowed. For statistical purposes marital status is reported in this publication as Single, Married/Co-Habiting, Widowed/Separated/Divorced and Not Known.
Note: In each of the equality categories above, an answer of ‘Not Known’ may occur – this is where no data have been recorded by the Department and the information is not known.
iii. Quality Measures
Relevance: This Statistical Bulletin has been drafted following consultation with customers. The key customers within Government use the data to monitor performance of the programme and consider operational impacts of delivering the programme. There is ongoing interaction with users to ensure the data are still relevant to meet their needs.
Accuracy: The statistics included are representative of the administrative databases at the time of data extractions. The administrative system has in-built validation checks to minimise user error and can be interrogated to assess data quality and cross check statistics. Validation checks are also carried out on the ApprenticeshipsNI databases. A small number of erroneous records are excluded from the ApprenticeshipsNI databases.
Timeliness and Punctuality: Data in this Bulletin include all participants who commenced ApprenticeshipsNI on or before the 31st October 2024. The time gap between this date and the publication date is due to a lag of two months before data can be extracted, along with time taken to complete validation and processing.
Accessibility and Clarity: This Statistical Bulletin is part of a regular series published by the Department for the Economy. The Bulletin is published on a biannual basis. It is available on the Department’s website and is free of charge. The Bulletin includes tables, text and charts. The Bulletin is available in other formats upon request.
Comparability: The Bulletin provides data by academic year and by quarter to enable comparisons over time. When methodological changes or other effects such as programme changes are made, every effort is made to ensure that all previous data are amended to make them directly comparable.
Official Statistics
For further details on any of these statistics, or to provide feedback, contact Mervyn.Wilson@economy-ni.gov.uk (telephone: 028 9025 7506) or Glynn.Robinson@economy-ni.gov.uk (telephone: 028 9025 7594).
This publication is produced by Youth Training Statistics and Research Branch, Analytical Services Division, Department for the Economy.
Our statistical practice is regulated by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR). OSR sets the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics that all producers of official statistics should adhere to. You are welcome to contact us directly with any comments about how we meet these standards by emailing Jamie Stainer, Youth Training Statistics and Research Branch Jamie.Stainer@economy-ni.gov.uk. Alternatively, you can contact OSR by emailing regulation@statistics.gov.uk or via the OSR website.