Apprenticeship starts for the whole of 2022/23 fell by 3 per cent on the previous academic year – solely driven by falling numbers in small and medium-sized employers, new data shows.
Provisional government figures published this morning show 336,510 starts reported to date for last year compared to the 347,920 recorded at the same point in 2021/22.
Starts for 16- to 18-year-olds held up compared to other age groups, increasing by a few hundred from 77,150 to 77,510. Apprenticeships for those aged 19 to 24 fell by the biggest proportion of all age groups – declining by 7 per cent from 105,940 to 98,490.
Continuing the trend since the launch of the apprenticeship levy in 2017, it was level 2 starts that saw the biggest drop. Level 2 starts fell 17 per cent from 91,310 to 76,210. Higher apprenticeships at levels 4 and above grew by 7 per cent from 105,840 to 112,890.
