1. Background

Skills for Life and Work is for 16-17 year olds who left school, or under 22 years for those with a disability, and under 24 years for those who qualify under the Children (Leaving Care) Act (NI) (2002). It is suitable for young persons who need qualifications at Entry Level or Level 1 and assists in providing essential work experience. This then allows the participant to move on to higher training such as a Traineeship or an Apprenticeship or full or part-time employment.

Skills for Life and Work includes a significant amount of time spent in a workplace (usually every week) as well as training for the participant. They work towards qualifications in personal development and employability, and a qualification in the vocational (work) area they are employed in. Participants can also work towards Essential Skills qualifications in literacy, numeracy and ICT. Participants may be able to follow one or more Level 2 qualifications while on Skills for Life and Work, depending on their individual needs and circumstances.

2. Key facts and figures

There were 1,956 starts in the 2024/25 academic year. Around three-fifths (60%) of starts were male.

In the 2025/26 academic year (up to the end of January 2026), there were 2,010 starts.

There were 3,325 participants on Skills for Life and Work at the end of January 2026.

Male participation (60%) was higher than female participation (40%).

Over half of participants (55%) were aged 16.

Almost half (46%) of participants were in the most deprived deprivation quintile compared with 8% in the least deprived quintile.

In the 2024/25 academic year, 1,462 leavers left the course.

3. Starts

Participants who join Skills for Life and Work for the first time are known as starts. All starts have been on the course for at least 28 days. The data exclude those who rejoin Skills for Life and Work, after taking a break from their training.

There were 1,956 starts in 2024/25. This was increase of 24% from 2023/24 and an 58% increase from the introduction of the programme in 2021/22.

In 2024/25, three-fifths (60%) of starts were male (Figure 1). Over three-fifths (61%) were aged 16 when they started their course.

In 2025/26 (up to the end of January 2026), there were 2,010 starts.

Figure 1: Starts are increasing each year, with about 60% of starts being male

Number of male and female starts (2021/22 to 2025/26 up to Jan 26)

4. Occupancy

Occupancy is the total number of participants on Skills for Life and Work 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 quarter ending in January 2024 and the quarter ending in January 2026, occupancy increased from 2,326 to 3,325, an increase of 43%. The highest occupancy period was Aug-Oct 25 at 3,485.

In the latest quarter, male participation (60%) was higher than female participation (40%)

Figure 2: Male participation is higher than female participation

Occupancy by male and female breakdown for quarters from Aug-Oct 22.

Over half of participants (55%) were aged 16 in the latest occupancy quarter.

Figure 3: Over half of participants (55%) were aged 16 in the latest occupancy quarter

Occupancy by age breakdown (January 2026)

Two-fifths (40%) of participants had a declared disability at the end of January 2026.

Belfast Local Government District had the highest number of participants on Skills for Life and Work at 1,259 (38%).

Figure 4: Belfast Local Government District had the highest number of participants on Skills for Life and Work

Map

Occupancy by Local Government District (January 2026)

Figure 4.PNG

Almost half (46%) of participants were in the most deprived deprivation quintile compared with 8% in the least deprived quintile.

Map data

Occupancy by Local Government District (January 2026)

Local Government District Total
Antrim and Newtownabbey 248
Ards and North Down 159
Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon 276
Belfast 1,259
Causeway Coast and Glens 156
Derry City and Strabane 420
Fermanagh and Omagh 147
Lisburn and Castlereagh 146
Mid and East Antrim 163
Mid Ulster 160
Newry, Mourne and Down 174
Unknown 17
Total 3,325
Figure 4.PNG

Figure 5: Almost half participants were in the most deprived deprivation quintile

Participants on Skills for Life and Work by Deprivation Quintile (January 2026)

5. Leavers

Participants who leave their course, either with or without completing qualifications, are known as leavers. In 2024/25, 1,462 leavers left the course.

Figure 6: The total number of leavers who have left the course since it began is 4,834

Leavers on Skills for Life and Work by sex 2021/22 to 2025/26 (Jan 26)

Associated Tables

Detailed tables can be downloaded from the Skills for Life and Work page in excel format on the Department for the Economy website.

Notes

i. Programme Definitions

Academic year: Refers to 1st August to 31st July.

Achievements: A participant may gain more than one achievement.

Leavers: Refers to the number of participants leaving Skills for Life and Work who are on provision for more than 28 days and excludes Rejoins.

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 or study 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 a Skills for Life and Work 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 Skills for Life and Work. An individual can participate on Skills for Life and Work more than once.

Rejoin: Refers to a participant who leaves a programme but later returns to the same programme, at the same level, regardless of the Training Supplier they return to.

Starts: Participants who join Skills for Life and Work for the first time on a new programme level are known as starts. All starts have been on the course for at least 28 days. The data exclude those who rejoin Skills for Life and Work at the same programme level.

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.

Deprivation Quintile: Deprivation Quintile is based on a participant’s home postcode where the 890 Super Output Areas in Northern Ireland are classified to provide a spatial measure based on seven distinct types of deprivation. This Multiple Deprivation Measure provides a mechanism for ranking areas in Northern Ireland where 1 is the most deprived area and 890 is the least deprived area. These are then converted into quintiles with an equal number of Super Output Areas (178) in each.

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 Skills for Life and Work databases. A small number of erroneous records are excluded from the Skills for Life and Work databases.

Timeliness and Punctuality: Data in this Bulletin include all participants who commenced Skills for Life and Work on or before the 31st January 2026. 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 quarterly 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

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.

Contacts

For further details on any of these statistics, or to provide feedback, contact Mervyn.Wilson@economy-ni.gov.uk (telephone: 028 9025 7506), Glynn.Robinson@economy-ni.gov.uk (telephone: 028 9025 7594), or Matthew.McIlwaine@economy-ni.gov.uk (telephone: 028 9025 7911). This publication is produced by Youth Training Statistics and Research Branch, Analytical Services Division, Department for the Economy.

Accessibility

Please contact Youth Training Statistics and Research Branch for assistance with accessibility requirements or alternative formats. Contact details are:

Email:

Telephone: +44 (0)28 9052 9900

Youth Training Statistics and Research Branch Department for the Economy
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